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Where will sustainability, now a\nmega trend, take The World of Advertising and Selling and how far has the new\n\u201cgreen wave\u201d now reached? These questions will be addressed by PSI, viscom and\nPromoTex Expo held concurrently at the D\u00fcsseldorf exhibition centre from 7 to 9\nJanuary 2020. One thing is for sure: Sustainability has become a pivotal\nsuccess factor. More and more people are fighting for a world designed with\npeople and the planet in mind \u2013 and are increasingly holding companies to their\npromises. Be this on the cross-show \u201cGo Green\u201d Route or at special forums and\nconference sessions: At all three trade shows you can witness how individual\nindustries are adapting their DNA to current and forthcoming challenges that go\nhand in hand with a desire for more sustainability. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Go green \u2013 in the truest sense of the word<\/strong><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Although sustainability is currently\non everyone\u2019s lips it is not a fashion fad in The World of Advertising and\nSelling. It is an increasingly prevalent commitment taken by the protagonists in\nthe various sectors of this industry. Be it in the area of companies\u2019 quality\nand environmental management, working conditions at production sites, of environmental\ninitiatives and environmental\/social standards launched and developed in-house\n\u2013 there have been quite a few activities going on for years \u2013 and across\nindustries. Accordingly, the side events accompanying PSI, viscom and PromoTex\nExpo revolve around innovations, regulations and best practice. Orientation\nwill come care of the new, cross-show themed \u201cGo Green\u201d route leading to\nexhibitors with sustainable products in Halls 9 to 12.<\/p>\n\n\n\n PSI: A trade show that resonates. A network that lasts.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n The PSI trade show is the only event\nwhere so many sustainable companies from the promotional products sector come\ntogether. After all, the PSI Network of this sustainable community and the\nresulting Sustainable League of the promotional products industry (comprising\nowners, general managers, shareholders and top managers) is home to the Sustainability\nAwards presented since 2015. The new themed \u201cGo Green\u201d route will correspondingly\nguide visitors at the three trade shows to the 2019 PSI Sustainability Award winners,\ndemonstrating their award-winning ranges and, hence, sustainability par\nexcellence. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Another stop-over on the \u201cGo Green\u201d\ntour \u2013 only on the Wednesday of the trade show and only for PSI members \u2013 is\nthe PSI Members Only Lounge in Hall 9. Here not only will numerous \u201cWork &\nFocus\u201d ranges be presented exclusively for PSI members that drive sustainable\nbusiness at the trade show, there will also be talks held on such themes as \u201cBesser\ndastehen! Wie Nachhaltigkeit die Marktposition st\u00e4rken kann\u201d (Better off! How\nsustainability can strengthen the market position) or \u201cGr\u00fcn rundum:\nNachhaltigkeit spielt nicht nur bei Produkten, sondern auch bei deren\nVerpackung eine Rolle\u201d (Green all round: Sustainability plays a role not only\nfor products but also for their packaging) to help companies handle\nsustainability. These lectures are just some of the many knowledge benefits\nthat come with a PSI membership. The PSI Network has constantly provided its\nmembers with industry information and data for 60 years. And what\u2019s more: For\nsixty years the PSI has been a fixture in the European promotional products\nsector that fosters sustainable business and offers lasting contacts. As a\nsustainable network it not only \u201chosts\u201d well-established household names under\nits umbrella but also engages in promoting newcomers and start-ups. In this\nspirit, the PSI trade show serves as an ideal platform for up-and-coming\ncompanies to make contacts with potential producers, distributors and\nlicensees. An established feature is therefore the Newcomer Area in Halls 10 and\n11, which has been the first point of contact for every trade show visitor on a\nquest for novelties. Companies here include first and second-time exhibitors, creative\ninventors and young innovative companies such as Microbytes IT, a producer of\nnotebooks that are re-writable thanks to thermo-sensitive paper, and the two\nglass drinking straw producers Pacific Straws and HALM. The company that has\n\u201cgrown out\u201d of the PSI Newcomer Area this year is Stadtg\u00e4rtner with its \u201cseedbombs\u201d,\nsmall spheres of soil, clay and seeds made of purely organic components in\nGermany. Innovative young companies that have not yet ventured into the\npromotional products sector can obtain competent counselling for free in the\nPSI Start-Up Consulting Area \u2013 also in Hall 11. The experts available there\ninclude staff from the German Patent and Trade Mark Office as well as from the\nPSI Design Forum. All questions related to product design and safety, brands\nand patents will be answered. <\/p>\n\n\n\n PromoTex Expo: Fair fashion is more than up and\nrecycling<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n At PromoTex Expo the Textile Campus\n\u2013 one of the 17 \u201cGo Green\u201d stops \u2013 focuses specifically on sustainability in\nthe textile supply chain. In this special area in Hall 12 visitors can get to\nknow both young and established brands as well as their business models\nhands-on. There is a special focus on the exchange with experts about fair and\nsustainable textile production, eco-design, labels, certifications and the \u201cGr\u00fcner\nKnopf\u201d (Green Button). This new state-issued textile seal for sustainable,\nsocially and ecologically manufactured apparel, which was already awarded to 27\ncompanies in 2019, will take over patronage for the Textile Campus in 2020. In\nline with this the employees of the responsible German Ministry of Economic\nCooperation and Development (BMZ) will provide information on the 46 demanding approval\ncriteria \u2013 ranging from waste water limits to the prohibition of child labour \u2013\nand will explain the audit processes for obtaining the seal. \u201cWhat is so\nspecial about the Green Button is that companies themselves are also audited in\naddition to the submitted product,\u201d explains German development minister Dr.\nGerd M\u00fcller. \u201cDoes the company comply with its due diligence? Do seamstresses\nhave the chance to lodge complaints? Does it disclose its supply chain?\nIndividual showcase products alone do not suffice.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Other partners from the Textile\nCampus include Pure Waste from Finland, a company that turns second-hand\ngarments into new products, Nikin from Switzerland, a producer of sustainable\npromotion wear, and Intertek Holding Deutschland, one of the leading suppliers\nof tailor-made quality assurance, testing, inspection and certification\nsolutions. The Textile Campus ranges are rounded off by Texmex Fashion\nPrototyping Lab. Here a sustainable Merch collection will be designed and made\nfrom trade show visitors\u2019 garment donations at the pop-up sewing factory of\nSarah Klein under the guidance of the Cologne-based companies Die Hehlerei and\nEFFEKT. The results will be presented in a closing \u201cfinnissage\u201d at the Textile\nCampus on 8 January at 4.00 pm. <\/p>\n\n\n\n viscom: The greener future has begun <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n In signmaking and large-format\nprinting the calls for more sustainable solutions are also growing louder. Forum\n13 at viscom therefore already addresses the question of \u201chow concept, design\nand skilled crafts can sustainably produce a real effect\u201d with best-case\npresentations on Tuesday afternoon. Frank Chaki will be demonstrating that\nsignmakers can indeed forego films, chemicals and machines because this D\u00fcsseldorf-based\nsignmaker works exclusively with analogue brushes and paints. And J\u00f6rn Hartmann\nalso proves that signmaking operations can re-invent themselves sustainably. In\ncooperation with GI-PLANT he, Robert Moos and Kim M\u00fcller have established a\nfull-service provider for textile finishing that succeeds in raising awareness\nfor more sustainability in textile purchases by selling college shirts and jerseys.\n <\/p>\n\n\n\n The Wednesday of the trade show\nfollows on from this theme \u2013 being the cross-show themed day of sustainability.\nIn the morning the renowned speakers Gary Parker, Alexandra Wallner and Paul\nK\u00fcndiger will address current sustainability trends in brand communication,\nwhile Rainer Schlatmann, Ingrid Elbertse and Bianca Seidel will shed some light\non the importance of ecological and social workwear in corporate communication.\nThe afternoon talks delivered by Dr. Ulrich Hofmann, Franziska Dormann and\nBirgit Jussen will revolve around everything workwear has to deliver today. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Sustainable to the power of 3: The business offers for\nvisitors<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n PSI, viscom and PromoTex Expo offer\nvaluable synergies for the expert trade audience made up of agencies, printers,\nmarketers, media producers, exhibition stand builders and shop fitters, textile\nfinishers as well as promotional product distributors and signmakers. A\nmust-have here is the long-established matchmaking feature, allowing\nparticipants of all three trade shows to \u201cextend\u201d the duration of the event\nproper by already making contact and appointments with potential cooperation partners,\ninvestors, manufacturers and distributors in the run-up to it: for efficient,\nsustained business. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Those less interested in closing\nbusiness deals and more in finding new career challenges, can not only seek\njobs via the online job exchange of PSI, viscom and PromoTex Expo but also look\nfor exhibitors\u2019 matching vacancies on the job advertising pillars at PSI in\nHall 9 and at viscom in Hall 13. Needless to say, appointments for interviews\ncan also be made at the trade shows. <\/p>\n\n\n\n