The 34th edition of Colombiatex de las Américas will be held from January 25 to 27, 2022 in Medellín, Colombia, and from Monday the 17th to Friday the 28th of January the virtual business platform will be advanced. It is one of the most important events in the fashion industry in Latin America, which opens the calendar of the sector and the return to face-to-face.
The fair, which annually brings together the textile sector chain to do business and learn about the offer of textiles, supplies and machinery, will have the participation of 400 exhibitors (67% are national and 33% international) and 10,000 national buyers and international, of which 700 are international. The attendees will meet to do business at a key moment, as the world faces a supply crisis due to logistics problems. Thus, the national textile and clothing industry will be able to meet with industries from other countries to supply themselves in categories such as textiles, chemicals and inputs.
Carlos Eduardo Botero, president of Inexmoda, said in an interview with this newspaper that the container crisis is affecting all sectors, not just textiles. “And, in that order of ideas, countries like the United States, which are the largest importers in the world, want to look for productivity much closer. Colombia has very interesting opportunities there”.
Read also: The impact of the container crisis on the national textile industry
Botero added that "we are immensely fortunate that 2022 begins for the fashion industry with a fair where we will be able to have a large supply of different raw materials from various countries around the world in one place." Although Colombia does not produce all the raw materials and inputs it needs to make garments, the participation in the fair of exhibitors from other countries will allow the garment manufacturer, according to Botero, "to have more supply to transform products and better serve way to its consumer.
On the other hand, the fair comes after a year of good results for the fashion industry. In 2021, household spending on fashion grew 21% compared to 2020 and 5% compared to 2019. In addition, the country's fashion exports grew 27% compared to 2020 and 2% compared to 2019.
“People did well. In general terms, the business community that adapted, that did things well, did much better than what was planned when we started this pandemic”, said the president of Inexmoda.
In addition to the good results, the pandemic accelerated two aspects in the industry: digital and sustainability, topics that will be addressed at the fair. “We understand sustainability from the environmental, social and economic aspects. The good intention of the manufacturers to produce a sustainable and sustainable product has to start from the raw materials. This edition of Colombiatex is the fair of raw materials”, affirmed Botero.
Colombiatex will highlight the sustainable practices of the fashion industry through the Sustainability Route, through a tour in which nearly 100 participating brands will present products or processes in the three aspects of sustainability.
Read also: Sustainable fashion: the challenge of the textile industry in Colombia
“We are going to see companies that are going to present products that help reduce gas emissions and others that are working on the reuse and purification of water. Companies are really making a very important commitment in terms of sustainability”, explained from the communications department of Inexmoda.
Another of the challenges of the fashion industry is the implementation of technology throughout its value chain. Colombiatex will address artificial intelligence, robotics, virtual reality and smart textiles applied to the fashion industry at the new Tech Forum. The metaverse and fashion will be another theme that will be present. "You also have to try to land so that people do not believe that only luxury companies can participate in the metaverse, but that it is affordable for all people and national brands," said Botero.
In the Knowledge Pavilion, 24 conferences will be held with Colombian and international speakers from the Netherlands, Spain, Mexico, Brazil and Argentina. The free talks will also be available through www.colombiatex.com.
It is worth mentioning that fashion trends start from textiles, inputs and processes that allow us to offer the final product. In the Trends Forum, product trends for the universe for women, men, children and the home will be presented. Visitors will be able to learn about trends through experiential spaces in the physical event and virtual conferences.
“We hope that the fair will be very prosperous in terms of business. In addition, the fair is the opening of a great work agenda that we have for 2022, which begins with Colombiatex and ends with Colombiamoda”, added Botero.
According to the president of Inexmoda, the event will take place with biosafety measures and strict protocols. For example, to enter, visitors must present the vaccination certificate with a complete schedule, the use of face masks will be mandatory and Inexmoda will make hand washing and sanitizing stations available on the premises. "In addition, the fair will have a Covid testing point for all those visitors who need to take the exam to return to their country of origin."
Regarding the projections for the sector this year, Botero mentioned that “we are going to have a first semester still with questions about supply. We believe that this situation will not be solved in the first. We see an opportunity in terms of exports. As long as they don't lock us up, consumption will continue to increase. Since we are in an election year, that generates a lot of uncertainty and will have some impact,” Botero pointed out.
