In the past four months, our textiles division has been busy moving from tradeshow to tradeshow to share the latest news and innovations in odor control technologies as well as connect with research, marketing and product development experts and learn from the about new trends and technologies from the industry as a whole. From ISPO Shanghai to Outdoor Retailer and Outdoor by ISPO and many others in between, a few common trends have popped out around the globe. Below are three major takeaways and findings.
Sustainability is Everywhere
From large manufacturers incorporating it into supply chains to business models reinventing the wheel to be more sustainability friendly to incorporating it into consumers everyday lives, we’ve learned sustainability is much more than a fleeting trend, but that it’s here to stay. Even tradeshows, like Outdoor Retailer, eliminated single use plastic water from the event. Microban is committed to sustainability, if you haven’t noticed already, we are here to support it and have been as early as 2014. Microban participates in independent certification bodies (ISO 9001, bluesign®, Okeo-Tex®) ensures products, treatment processes and manufacturing adhere to professional standards with full transparency to rigorous audits in the areas of chemical sourcing, manufacturing, supply chain security and integrity, performance and safety of products.
Health is the New Wealth
Consumers are incorporating healthy best practices into everything they do—including clothing that doesn’t require as much laundering, in turn conserving water, freeing up our oceans of landfill waste and more. The need for high-performance textiles is on the rise. Did you know, one in six dollars is spent on sportswear globally? That’s a projected $83 billion in sales by 2020. Additionally, nearly 90 percent of consumers across the globe are wearing activewear beyond exercise. People want to appear like they just ran a marathon even if they just ran to their mailbox. More and more businesses and tradeshows are also taking this laid back but healthy approach seriously, employees are encouraged to dress casually and workout often, have you ever had a walking meeting at work?
More Attention to Quality is a Must
Consumers are willing to pay more for quality products. Products that touted the "multiple use" benefit where seen at all the tradeshows we attended, consumers want to use less and that seems to be a growing trend globally. They are paying attention to how companies are prioritizing causes that mean the most to them as well as what goes into the product they are about to purchase and how it’s impacting their lives in a positive way—big or small. Since our inception, quality has been at the forefront and consumers are noticing as 84 percent are more likely to purchase a product with Microban versus one without.
All of Microban’s odor control treatments are designed for durability over multiple washes by using advanced methods and technologies to ensure that the odor control attribute stays for the useful life of a garment. Non of our competitors invest in research like we do.
Microban is a technology company and believes in continual investment in research to ensure the creation of more effective odor control solutions to extend fabric life and functionality. This includes new chemistries and innovative manufacturing and application approaches to fully contribute to textile sustainability.
What trends and findings are you seeing at the industry tradeshows so far in 2019? Share it with us on LinkedIn!
Written by Maria Diefenbach, Global Textiles Marketing Manager
