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Sustainability as a factor of success

Dominique Schroller

Published on 17.12.2019

PSI, PromoTex Expo and viscom are focussing on where the mega-trend sustainability is leading the world of advertising and selling, and just how far the green revolution has actually come.

Sustainability is not just a recent fad in the world of advertising and selling. It is a responsibility that the protagonists of individual industries are facing up to more and more. Whether we are talking about companies’ quality and environmental management, working conditions in production plants, environmental initiatives, or environmental and social standards that they have defined themselves – changes have been ongoing right across the board for many years now. This has of course had a profound effect on the fringe events taking place at PSI, PromoTex Expo and viscom which feature innovations, guidelines and practical examples from this area. The new “Go Green” theme route, which embraces all three trade fairs, enables you to find exhibitors with sustainable products in Halls 9 to 12.

PSI: a fair with a lasting effect – a network, that is here to stay

Nowhere else do you find so many sustainable companies from the promotional product industry come together as you do at PSI. After all, it is the PSI network that provides a home for the Sustainability Awards that have been awarded since 2015. Appropriately, the new “Go Green” theme route leads visitors to the prize winners. Another station – albeit only on the Wednesday of the fair and only for PSI members – is the PSI Members-Only Lounge in Hall 9. There are not only numerous “Work & Focus” matters on offer there but also lectures devoted to company sustainability on subjects like “How to look better! How sustainability can strengthen your market position”, or “Total green: sustainability is not just important for products but also plays a role in their packaging”. This lecture programme is one of the many knowledge benefits that come with PSI membership. This is how PSI has provided its members with data and information from the industry without interruption for 60 years. Moreover, PSI has been a continuous institution in the European promotional product industry for six decades now, promoting business and long-term contacts over such a long period.

PromoTex Expo: fair fashion is more than just upcycling and recycling

At PromoTex Expo, it is the textile campus – one of 17 “Go Green” stations – that is particularly devoted to the topic of sustainability in the textile supply chain. You can find institutions, certifiers, young brands and their business models in the special area in Hall 12. Here, you can find experts on fair and sustainable textile production, eco-design, labels, certification and the green button. The new governmental textile seal for sustainable clothes produced both ecologically and socially, and with which 27 companies have already been distinguished in 2019, takes over the patronage of the textile campus in 2020.

viscom: a greener future has already begun

The call for more sustainable solutions has also grown louder in the field of advertising technology and large format printing. As a result, on Tuesday Forum 13 at viscom is devoted to the question of how concept, design and craftsmanship can generate a real sustainable effect. Frank Chaki, the Düsseldorf signmaker, will be demonstrating that he can work without transparencies, chemicals and machines, because he works exclusively analogously with brush and paint. Jörn Hartmann will prove that an advertising technology company can also re-invent itself as a sustainable entity. Together with Robert Moos and Kim Müller, he has created GI-PLANT, a full-service supplier in the area of textile finishing which manages to increase awareness of greater sustainability in purchasing textiles in the schoolwear and sports shirts business.

Sustainability is also the hot topic on the Wednesday of the fair when it becomes the overriding theme for all three fairs on that day. In the morning, the renowned speakers Gary Parker, Alexandra Wallner and Paul Kündiger will be covering current developments in the field of sustainability in brand communication before Rainer Schlatmann, Ingrid Elbertse and Bianca Seidel highlight the importance of ecological and social workwear in company communication as from noon. In the afternoon, talks by Dr Ulrich Hofmann, Franziska Dormann and Birgit Jussen will focus on everything that today’s workwear needs to be able to provide.

www.viscom-messe.com