#Home Textiles

Change of management at Heimtextil: Margit Herberth becomes new director of the household textiles segment

Change of personnel at Heimtextil: Margit Herberth will be responsible for the home Textiles segment of Heimtextil as director from 1 September 2023 and, together with Bettina Bär, will form the new dual leadership of the leading trade fair for home and contract textiles. Herberth, previously Director Marketing Consumer Goods / Multimedia & Data at Messe Frankfurt, succeeds Meike Kern, who is leaving the company of her own volition after 22 years to take on a new professional challenge.

Margit Herberth will take over as Director Heimtextil for the home textiles segment from September 1, 2023. She thus complements Bettina Bär, who has been responsible for the home textiles segment since September 2022. "We are delighted to have won Margit Herberth, a proven sales strategist with a strong global sales as well as marketing background, as Director Heimtextil," says Olaf Schmidt, Vice President Textiles & Textile Technologies.

New Director Heimtextil: Margit Herberth © 2023 Messe Frankfurt
New Director Heimtextil: Margit Herberth © 2023 Messe Frankfurt


Herberth has more than ten years of sales expertise as Senior Sales Manager for Messe Frankfurt's international consumer goods fairs Beautyworld, Hair & Beauty and Christmasworld. Since 2018, as Director Marketing Communications, she has managed all marketing activities for the Paperworld, Christmasworld and Creativeworld brands and was responsible for the design of global brand campaigns in the consumer goods sector, for example for Beautyworld.

Most recently, as Head of Multimedia & Data, she decisively drove strategic performance marketing, including the implementation of targeted smart data campaigns, as well as the further development of audio and video formats for consumer goods trade shows - including Ambiente.

Margit Herberth will in future be responsible for the household textiles segment and thus for the world's largest brand and private label exhibitor range of bedding, bed linen, bathroom textiles, table and kitchen linen, mattresses, sleep systems, home accessories, blankets, pillows and textile processing machinery. Another important component is the further expansion of the textile sustainability content strategy as well as an even stronger internationalization of the Heimtextil Conference Sleep & More.




Meike Kern leaves Messe Frankfurt after 22 years

Herberth replaces Meike Kern as long-time director, who is leaving the company for a new professional challenge. "In addition to the significant expansion of national as well as global sales structures, Meike Kern has also played a trend-setting role in the further development of Heimtextil into a content platform and global condensate of environmentally friendly textile innovations - not least in 2011 with the initiation of the first green formats. We wish her all the best for her new professional station," Schmidt continues.

Meike Kern initiated sustainable formats at Heimtextil back in 2011 © 2023 Messe Frankfurt
Meike Kern initiated sustainable formats at Heimtextil back in 2011 © 2023 Messe Frankfurt


In her 15 years as Director, Meike Kern built strategic partnerships with customers on a global level, expanded sales channels and increased the market presence of exhibitors from core markets. In 2019, she also played a leading role in shaping the restructuring of Heimtextil and achieved an even clearer and more efficient visitor orientation at the trade fair with the targeted bundling and placement of the product range. In addition to several sustainable formats, she also established the Heimtextil Conference Sleep & More as a knowledge platform for the bedding trade as well as the industry and helped young start-ups to gain worldwide visibility at Heimtextil as part of New & Next.Heimtextil.



 

More News from Messe Frankfurt GmbH

#Heimtextil 2026

Heimtextil 2026 strengthens the global home textile industry with trends, designs and AI technologies

With an optimised hall layout, progressive design collaborations, inspiring trends and AI-driven innovations, Heimtextil 2026 reacts to the current market situation – and offers the industry a reliable constant in challenging times. Under the motto ‘Lead the Change’, the leading trade fair for home and contract textiles and textile design shows how challenges can be turned into opportunities. From 13 to 16 January, more than 3,100 exhibitors from 65 countries will provide a comprehensive market overview with new collections and textile solutions. As a knowledge hub, Heimtextil delivers new strategies and concrete solutions for future business success.

#Techtextil 2026

Techtextil and Texprocess Innovation Awards: submit ideas now and increase international visibility

The countdown for submissions has begun. Until 15 December 2025, companies can enter their developments for the Techtextil Innovation Award and the Texprocess Innovation Award. Those selected by the distinguished juries benefit from international visibility as well as from the reputation and reach of the two leading trade fairs. From 21 to 24 April 2026, Techtextil and Texprocess bring together the global industries in Frankfurt. The presentation of the Innovation Awards and the showcasing of the winning ideas is among the most prominent highlights.

#Textiles & Apparel / Garment

Texworld Apparel Sourcing Paris: More than 7,000 textile buyers gathered in Paris

Texworld Apparel Sourcing Paris strengthens its position as the leading platform for the textile and apparel industry. By bringing together more than 7000 buyers and 1300 manufacturers from 35+ countries over three days, Messe Frankfurt reaffirms Paris’s central role on the international sourcing stage.

#Technical Textiles

Cinte Techtextil China proves to be dynamic international platform and launchpad for new market potential

After three days of facilitating meaningful exchange for numerous applications of technical textiles and nonwovens, Cinte Techtextil China 2025 concluded on 5 September at the Shanghai New International Expo Centre. Feedback across the fairground was highly positive, especially from first-time exhibitors and buyers who valued the platform’s capability to create new opportunities both in China and overseas markets.

More News on Home Textiles

#Home Textiles

International turnout reaffirms Intertextile Shanghai Home Textiles as a preeminent global business platform

Intertextile Shanghai Home Textiles – Autumn Edition 2025 concluded with clear signs of market vitality, as the fair recorded a rise in international participation and robust sourcing intent from buyers worldwide. Across three days at the National Exhibition and Convention Center (Shanghai), nearly 900 exhibitors from 20 countries and regions engaged with over 35,000 visitors representing 116 countries and regions, underscoring the show’s role as a key business platform for both exhibitors and visitors.

#Man-Made Fibers

ADVA®terra – A biodegradable Polyester fibre from ADVANSA brings eco-conscious comfort to home textiles

As global concern over synthetic textile pollution and microplastic accumulation in landfills and oceans continues to rise, initiatives like Plastic Free July and World Nature Conservation Day (July 28) are calling for urgent action. In response, ADVANSA is proud to highlight ADVA®terra – a polyester filling fibre that is made from 100% recycled materials, fully recyclable and biodegradable.

#Home Textiles

SHIMA SEIKI to exhibit at Intertextile Shanghai

Leading digital textile solutions provider SHIMA SEIKI MFG., LTD. of Wakayama, Japan, together with its Hong Kong and Chinese market subsidiary SHIMA SEIKI (HONG KONG) LTD., will exhibit at the Intertextile Shanghai Apparel Fabrics Autumn Edition 2025 show in Shanghai, China next month. It will exhibit once again as part of the Digital Solutions Zone which allows visitors various opportunities to partake in the digital revolution that is currently making waves in the apparel industry.

#Home Textiles

Intertextile Shanghai Home Textiles – Autumn Edition 2025 opens next week, spotlighting global textile innovation

Intertextile Shanghai Home Textiles – Autumn Edition is set to return from 20 – 22 August 2025 at the National Exhibition and Convention Center (Shanghai), once again positioning itself as Asia’s preeminent platform for the global home and contract textile industry. With nearly 900 exhibitors representing 20 countries and regions, including eight new countries, the event will span 100,000 sqm across four halls, showcasing the latest cutting-edge products, market trends, and design concepts.

Latest News

#Recycling / Circular Economy

A circular European value chain turns post-consumer textile waste into new garments for Dutch retailer Zeeman

A closed-loop recycling project has successfully transformed 24 tons of post-consumer textiles into nearly 50,000 garments for Dutch retailer Zeeman, with each product containing a high-rate of 70% recycled content. This achievement represents a major milestone in accelerating textile-to-textile recycling in Europe.

#Research & Development

The Textile Institute marks 100 years with a global expansion drive

Fresh from its highly successful 63rd conference held in Porto, Portugal, from October 7-10, The Textile Institute (TI) will celebrate a major milestone at the ITMA Asia+CITME textile machinery exhibition in Singapore later this month.

#Nonwovens

Freudenberg accelerates local production for apparel market by expanding its site in India

Freudenberg Performance Materials Apparel (Freudenberg Apparel) celebrates the grand opening of a major expansion at its manufacturing facility in Chennai, India, on October 14, adding 20,000 square feet of production space and introducing new production lines tailored to the Indian apparel market. This strategic investment is aimed at significantly reducing lead times and enhancing the availability of high-quality, locally produced interlinings for the fast-evolving apparel sector in India and South Asia.

#Man-Made Fibers

Eastman Naia™ launches Sustainability Progress Report and 2025-2030 Sustainability Goals at Textile Exchange Conference, reaffirming commitment to circular innovation

At the Textile Exchange Conference 2025, Eastman Naia™ released its 2025 Sustainability Progress Report and announced its 2025–2030 Sustainability Goals, presenting a record of genuine progress and outlining a renewed roadmap for the years ahead. This announcement demonstrates Naia™’s long-standing commitment to driving an industry-wide shift toward sustainability through scalable, commercially viable material solutions.

TOP