The event will look at prospects for raw materials, fibers and textiles in the context of sustainability challenges, global health issues, and lifestyle and demographic changes. The conference will review the raw material chains for polyester, polyamide, cotton and viscose. After such a rapid decline in oil prices, the event will look at recovery possibilities, assessing whether excessive investment in polyester and polyamide intermediates continues to prejudice margins.

Presentations will address fiber demand numbers and will also look at the crucial issue of how to recover value, one of the most pressing requirements throughout the industry. Other presentations will look at factors influencing fiber choices by textile and garment companies, the important dynamics in key applications such as nonwovens and automotive products, and the definition of sustainability at various levels of the chain, and the role of recycling and bio-based products in providing sensible solutions.

Global fiber and textile supply chains have endured difficult and unpredictable years in which raw material prices have soared and crashed. Heavy investment in China and volatility in exchange rates have reconfigured supply chains, and trade patterns and over-capacity at all levels have become a major threat to the financial stability of large parts of the industry.