For those of you who don’t yet know what Avantex is, it’s the ever-growing sustainable solutions section of the large trade show called Texworld, that runs every September, with a smaller edition in February. This is the fourth year that TCBL has participated, initially with a stand and a conference programme as well as involvement in the Avantex Pitch event, now with a whole “village of solutions”. Every year, we are able to offer our members access to this package at a vastly discounted cost compared to a stand at this fair thanks to our partnership.
As the starting point of the Econogy Tour – a one-hour tour for press and interested buyers led by a sustainability expert – the TCBL Village in the Avantex section of the fair introduced its ecosystem of 300 connected textile value-chain actors with a sampling of its members, most of whose innovations have been supported by EU projects including Vetrine, Fabrix, S2G, Woolshed, Velkin, and Aladin, TechStyle, Lauds Factories, Circufash or GreenFashion Startup.
TCBL highlighted five exhibiting members through their concrete achievements:
- Mitwill presented a branded printed collection demonstrating their digital printing machines and service solutions.
- Musa, Blanthé and Studio Haering, three SMEs who received awards from the FABRIX project, showcased garments and accessories resulting in part from local collaborations formed through the project activities and platform.
- YLI, SOULSTE and Paddle sportswear demonstrated how hybrid training with VETRINE effectively supports sustainable fashion entrepreneurship.
- Le Textile Lab Lyon displayed two material‑focused panels: Alpine wool transformation (WOOLSHED) and semi‑cylindric insulation panels (VELKIN).
- Mythos Fashion District featured a collection produced through the combination of innovative and traditional methods by Flavia Pinello, designed and manufactured in Sicily.
Avantex Fashion Pitch: Innovation at work
Another integral part of the Avantex experience and an opportunity that we encourage our members to participate in is the Avantex Fashion Pitch. After an initial shortlist, ten startups and SMEs are selected to present how their solutions can transform the T&C sector in front of a constructive jury.
Pigmentoco won with its super‑critical CO2 process facilitating denim dyeing. Iroony received a special prize for its hemp/miscanthus/linen yarns and fabrics. Our exhibitor YLI (low‑wash and wash‑retardant herbal solution applied on knitted kimonos) certainly impressed the jury but was not amongst the winners.
The remaining pitches included:
- Altmat, biorefinery processes tested on 500-1000 tons of biomass
- Brod‑X, AI‑based embroidery using post-consumer shredded waste from mixed fabrics
- Ceylook, avatars to design new looks from existing wardrobes
- Le Lab Plus, local upcycling lab from training to remanufacturing
- Seconde Matière, Vinted‑like second‑hand platform for materials and machines
- Usep, AI final pattern check to reduce industrial production waste
- Yawha, digitally fine-tuned patterns to fit any body shape
As in the past, TCBL contributed to the line-up of conferences in the fair. This year, our morning of talks was co‑organised with the Circular Fashion Federation and was called the “Threading Circularity Forum”.
The day started with two conversations moderated by Baptiste Chrisostome (Circular Fashion Federation) with Le Lab Plus on local remanufacturing and upcycling in ateliers and REC on new processes for sustainable polyamide recycling.
In conversation with Teresa Bua from Mitwill, we highlighted the growing ecosystem of microfactories to enable local production and small series, and the importance of smooth digitalisation to offer business clients a single entry point for European manufacturing compliant with new legislation, to be further developed in the ALADIN project.
Le Textile Lab Lyon emphasised the need to rebuild the fragmented Alpine coarse wool value chain to support breeders’ revenues and biodiversity. Pauline Gamore also shared promising adoption of semi‑industrial fermentation washing by breeders in Italy.
In a panel moderated by Frédérique Thureau, we brought together diverse profiles to make lifespan extension a reality:
- Juliette Malaquin, consultant for Fashion Revolution France and the Circufash project, focussed on regenerative materials for more durable fabrics ;
- Eleni Exadaktilou, co-founder of YLI, a startup in Greece, explained how design for emotion encourages longer garment use;
- Tom Atkin, co-founder of Fibre to Fibre, closed the loop from waste to garments at an accessible price, thus nudging more high‑street brands to launch recycled collections;
- Thomas d’Argon (Seconde Matière), expanded the vendor-seller platform of unused fabrics to materials, accessories and machines.
At the end of this intense and exciting few days, we always look forward to the next edition, and warmly invite you to take part in the entire experience of pitching, showcasing and speaking in what will be TCBL’s fifth year as a partner of Avantex, and the 30th year of Texworld Apparel Sourcing in Paris – a great crowd is thus expected.
For TCBL members interested in participating, please contact Frédérique!
