PERFORMANCE DAYS: Renowned experts & new special areas

Spring fair continues to establish itself as a top information platform

In addition to sustainable fabric highlights and innovations for the Spring/Summer 2026 season, the fair offers an exciting Expert Talks program, the high-quality Trend Forum with this year's Focus Topic "Beyond Bottles," the informative Innovation Zone, a dedicated Media Lounge, as well as the Sustainability Lounge and, since winter 2023, a dedicated Footwear Area. However, two platforms are completely new: the Reality Zone with its own workshop program and the technology hub with focus on digitization.

The countdown is on – just under four weeks left until PERFORMANCE DAYS opens its doors – once again on an expanded area in Halls C1 and C2 at the Messe München grounds. The fair is already fully booked, confirming to the organizers that it has established itself as an important all-around information platform. PERFORMANCE DAYS is particularly proud of this year's Expert Talks program and, brand new this spring, the Reality Zone with its own workshop format, held in cooperation with Accelerating Circularity.

First-hand information: Expert Talks & Reality Zone The Expert Talks Area has become an important platform in recent years. Industry experts meet on-site for information exchange, and the audience is always enthusiastic about the inspiring presentations, panels, pecha kuchas and discussions. In addition to insights from this year's Trend Forum, the Footwear Forum, and the Innovation Zone with Alexa Dehmel and Nora Kühner's color trends, the organizers have outdone themselves this spring, compiling a program with more than 25 different lectures on March 20th and 21st, 2024.

Here are some highlights from the stage in advance:

1. Mark Held - The man who has always been at the center since the founding of the European Outdoor Group, although he has relinquished control, remains active as a member of the FESI board and chairman of FairWear. He will talk about how the EOG has evolved and in which direction it will move in the future, especially since the association's membership recently decided to follow the Race To Zero.

2. A kind of recycling summit: Accelerating Circularity with the first presentation on the first day and a world premiere announcement from the Alliance of Chemical Textile Recyclers; Cyndi Rhoades & Eastman in a panel on the second day discussing how much recycling has improved (especially in the acceptance of contaminated & mixed textiles); followed by BASF presenting their Loopamid rNylon6 made from post-consumer waste.

3. The team from the University of Leeds, which helped develop the wash test for the MicroFibre Consortium to calculate fiber fragmentation during washing: Still perceived by the public as the evil of the performance clothing industry. The associated pollution is NOT the ocean's biggest problem...

4. René Bethmann from Vaude delivers the keynote on this year's Focus Topic "Beyond the Bottle". The upcoming EU Green Deal will disrupt the rPET raw material source as old beverage bottles need to be recycled into new ones. So where will the (new) recycled yarns come from?

5. Laurent Bocahut from PEF Trust discusses the similarities between the upcoming PEFs (for Due Diligence) and the Higg Index - the most popular metric for impact calculation.

All Expert Talks can be found here:

https://www.performancedays.com/the-fair/program/expert-talks-program.html

Participate & learn: the Reality Zone with its own workshop program For the first time, PERFORMANCE DAYS is offering its own workshop area with the new Reality Zone platform. At each fair, the format is conducted in cooperation with an exciting partner to provide visitors and participants with a wide range of topics. In the spring, PERFORMANCE DAYS presents a workshop program in close collaboration with Accelerating Circularity. The non-profit organization led by founder Karla Magruder, based in New York, is a catalyst for new, circular supply chains and business models to convert used textiles into common raw materials. Therefore, the focus of the two workshop days is on solutions and approaches that offer actors in the circular supply chain the opportunity to participate in textile-to-textile systems. The workshops aim to connect polyester recyclers in the industry with fabric producers who are able to integrate textile raw materials into their processes and products.

Exchange & network: Special areas as important industry meeting points PERFORMANCE DAYS no longer sees its role solely as a sourcing fair for technical, sustainable fabrics in the performance, footwear, and accessories sectors – rather, it aims to exchange ideas with the industry, make new contacts, and ultimately obtain important information about innovations and new projects. As usual, the Trend and Footwear Forum will provide visitors with an inspiring and exclusive overview of materials, trends, and innovations from exhibitors. This year, the Eco and Performance Awards will also be presented within this framework. Additionally,the Innovation Zone will focus explicitly on never-before-seen, groundbreaking innovations and revolutionary products.

Future of Digitalization: Technology Hub showcases current trends Digital transformation is omnipresent. The increasing demand for individuality and the influence of digitalization are causing significant changes in the textile industry. What key trends must innovation leaders respond to in order to take a leading role in the industry? PERFORMANCE DAYS addresses this with a new platform – the Technology Hub in Hall C1 showcases solutions for digitization processes from companies and manufacturers. In the future, how do 3D clothing and product visualization processes work? How can materials be digitized in a high-quality manner? How advanced is the industry in terms of digital catalog production, and how do designers create their collections on the computer in the future? Renowned experts will present initial solutions and be available for questions and answers.

With its own Sustainability Lounge, PERFORMANCE DAYS provides the ideal environment for industry-wide networking. The lounge aims to promote exchange and discussion and serve as an information platform. The focus is on developments, news, highlights, innovative projects, and innovations related to sustainability issues.

SAVE THE DATE: Happy Hour on March 20th, 2024! PERFORMANCE DAYS invites you once again to a get-together with live music on the first evening of the fair. Exhibitors and visitors of the fair meet for industry-wide networking and also have the opportunity to relax at the new Italian Bar.

All information about PERFORMANCE DAYS & registration can be found here: https://www.performancedays.com/