Textile Trade Show Information

Keep your business in fashion by attending textile trade shows

By Nikki Wheeler

Participating in a textile trade show is a sure way to expand your business through networking, industry information and direct sales. At textile tradeshows, there are huge numbers of businesses under one roof servicing all areas of the textile industry from fashion to industrial, and representing a wide range of products and services, including designing, weaving, spinning, knitting processing and finishing.

There are textile tradeshow attendees looking for new textile designers and manufacturers to sell their products to, as well as companies looking for manufacturers and designers to order textiles from. There are many good reasons for a textile business to set up as an exhibitor at a textile trade show, so keep the following things in mind before you sign up for your booth:

1. Embrace new ideas presented at textile trade shows with the increasingly eco-friendly atmosphere of textile manufacturing.

2. Learn new ways to compete in an increasingly international market.

3. Use new found textile trade show information as an industry forecast and guide to innovations in technique and technology.

Attend the top textile trade shows for the greatest exposure

While there are many textile trade shows to choose from, the industry's biggest are a great place to see and expose your products to most that the textile industry has to offer.
Try: Attend Textile America's annual trade show or sign up for a booth at the next IFAI Expo, which focuses on technical textiles and specialty fabrics.

See the latest trends at a fashion textile tradeshow

Fashion-focused textile trade shows will feature textiles intended to be made into wearable garments of all types. Exhibiting at a textile trade show will introduce your products to a huge number of potential buyers in one location.
Try: Direction by Indigo is a semi-annual show that features textile designs by the top international textile designers specializing in creative fashion-forward textiles for apparel, but also features some for the home as well. Printsource New York is a fashion textile tradeshow that features not only fashion textiles from top studios, but also surface design which includes various printing techniques on fabric like screen printing at three shows each year.

Attend textile trade shows for the newest home textiles

Exhibiting at textile trade shows provides the opportunity for retailers and wholesalers to view your products with the Home textiles trade shows showcase a wide range of home decor including rugs, curtains, upholstery, linens, tablecloths, shower curtains, towels and more.
Try: Visit the Atlanta International Area Rug Market to see the latest in area rugs for the home, or attend one of the semi-annual week-long New York Home Textiles Market Week featuring textiles from over 500 top vendors.

Exhibit your textile arts and crafts at the right textile tradeshow

Some fiber arts and crafts that will be seen at textile trade shows include quilts, needle point, crochet, knitting and embroidery. Exhibit your own textile arts to sell directly or find retailers to wholesale your arts to, or simply attend the show to see the latest trends and innovations in fiber arts.
Try: The National NeedleArts Association has three shows each year featuring textile arts of all kinds. The International Quilt Market holds several trade shows a year at different locations across the country.

When exhibiting at a trade show, contact management early and try to get listed in in the textile trade show guide as a form of advertisement.
While attending a trade show, take advantage of all textile trade show services available including seminars and networking opportunities.