According to the United Nations, nearly 70 percent of all people are expected to be living in metropolises and megacities by 2050. This poses new challenges for living and mobility concepts, as well as food supplies and health services provision. Functional apparel, with smart functions for example, could also play an even more important role in people’s everyday lives in the future. The Techtextil and Texprocess exhibition area presented examples of textile applications.

„Sustainability at Techtextil“: In the field of technical textiles, more and more firms are adopting approaches to greater sustainability. Techtextil was explicitly turning its focus for the first time onto its exhibitors' approaches to sustainability.
The Techtextil Forum was providing a series of contributions devoted exclusively to sustainable textile innovations. For the first time the Techtextil Innovation Award was presented to two firms in the category of sustainability.

Expert lectures and discussion formats right in the heart of the industry: The new Techtextil Forum provided an opportunity for an interactive exchange of ideas and information between exhibitors and trade visitors, as well as researchers and developers and users.  

For the 15th time, Techtextil awarded students and young professionals for their work, as part of the 'Textile Structures for New Building' competition. The competition is supported by the international network TensiNet as sponsor, the Institute for Lightweight Structures and Conceptual Design at the University of Stuttgart, and the architecture and design platform Architonic.  

A major focal point of Techtextil and Texprocess is trainees in the textile sector. Both fairs offer a common Campus for international universities and academies, the student competition for textile building and the BMWi area for young companies. NEW: The digital job exchange of Messe Frankfurt Texpertise Network.