Sustainability Matters

With the central theme “Neo-ecology”, interzum 2023 will focus on the transformation of our economy towards a circular economy. As the most important megatrend of the next decade, neo-ecology describes a change in values throughout society towards a circular consumption logic in harmony with the mechanisms of nature.

Sustainability and ecological transformation

The focus is on consumer health and environmental awareness as drivers of a social movement that will have a profound influence on the offerings and production mechanisms of the furniture and interior industry.

Achieving maximum resource efficiency is just as high on the companies’ agenda as the recyclability of the materials used and the reduction of CO₂ emissions in manufacturing.

In this context, a multitude of material innovations are emerging that promote the formation of circular business models and make optimal use of the available resources. In this context, secondary materials that have been little used up to now are gaining in importance.

Examples are materials based on natural resins, fibreboards made from fast-growing plants and algae or leather alternatives from fruit residues. Above all, the realisation of the use of CO₂ as a resource in panel and textile production will lead to the development of new production methods. The furniture, mattress and furnishing industry can also look forward to a multitude of bio-usable material innovations that will give new meaning to the question of resource use in the age of neo-ecology.

“A global race is on to find the best ideas for developing recyclable materials. Manufacturers who want to remain competitive in the future must show how their products fit into the concept of the circular economy,” says Hon.-Prof. Dr. Sascha Peters of Haute Innovation on the current innovation climate.

As part of the special Trend Forum area “Materials & Nature – Sustainability Matters”, the future agency Haute Innovation will present more than 100 pioneering material innovations of “neo-ecology” on an area of 400 square metres and elaborate on the application potentials for the furniture and furnishing sector.

www.interzum.de