NORWALK, CT — July 28, 2025 — Functional Fabric Fair, powered by PERFORMANCE DAYS®, successfully concluded its Summer 2025 edition at the Javits Center in New York City, marking a significant milestone with the launch of its inaugural Day 0 Sustainability Workshop and steady attendance across the three-day event.
Bringing together over 2,100 apparel executives, product developers, designers, and sourcing professionals from top performance and athletic brands including Alo, Calvin Klein, Carhartt, Lululemon, Nordstrom, Ralph Lauren, Tommy Hilfiger, Rhone, Under Armour and many others, the fair continued momentum in attendee quality and engagement.
The Day 0 Sustainability Workshop, held on July 21, was a standout success. Making its New York debut, the full-day, deep-dive conference had more than 150 attendees who participated in presentations and interactive roundtable discussions aimed at advancing sustainability across the global textile supply chain. Curated by respected industry leaders Jill Dumain, Todd Copeland and Kevin Myette, the sold-out program delivered actionable strategies and candid insights into material innovation, supply chain complexity, climate impact and responsible sourcing.
“We’re at a critical turning point for sustainability in our industry, and the conversations that happened on Day 0 are shaping how we move forward,” said Steve McCullough, Event Vice President. “Functional Fabric Fair is proud to be driving these efforts with meaningful programming, expert education and opportunities to build real solutions.”
Following Day 0, the exhibit hall opened July 22–23 with over 150+ highly-vetted exhibiting companies focused on sustainable innovation, alongside a dynamic lineup of Expert Talks covering industry trends, sourcing strategies and materials innovation.
Program Highlights:
- Future Fabrics Expo Innovation Hub: Making its U.S. debut, this curated display featured 33 cutting-edge materials and suppliers, putting sustainability front and center. The showcase highlighted innovative sustainable products, materials and dyes including inkjet technology using living fungi and bacteria to create self-composing, regenerative print media; biomaterials forming next-gen textiles from plants grown in regenerated wetlands; and enzymes capable of breaking down blended fibers into their constituent building blocks. The displays represented varying levels of commercial scalability.
- Expert Talks: Sponsored by CovationBio® bioPTMEG, this free-to-attend stage drew strong crowds across both days. Sessions tackled hot topics from tariff impacts and circularity to women’s leadership and 3D garment technology.
- Trend Forum: Presented twelve key fabric categories with sustainable samples accessible via QR code for streamlined sourcing.
- Networking Events: Including the AATCC “Social in the City,” Happy Hour sponsored by Sorona, and daily Complimentary Coffee hosted by Coloro, fostering connections across the textile supply chain.
Voices from the Show Floor:
“Innovation, performance and sustainability. This fair shapes our short-term and long-term sourcing strategies and it helps us make informed decisions about where the world and industry is headed towards,” said attendee Gurvinder Malhotra, Vice President, Global Raw Materials at Alo.
“Functional Fabric Fair continues to impress with the caliber of attendees and brands you want to meet with. The quality of conversations here makes it the most valuable sourcing event we participate in,” says Peter Lucier of exhibiting company WidePlus International.
“As a first-time exhibitor, we are very happy with the quality of attendees and their genuine interest in synaptic fabrics. The Functional Fabric Fair has provided an excellent platform for showcasing our innovations to the right audience,” added Ray He of Jooya Textile.
“We’re seeing a noticeable shift among fashion and apparel brands – sustainability, eco-design, and circularity are no longer niche concerns but core business drivers. There’s a growing understanding that innovation and circularity don’t stand in the way of profit, on the contrary, they can be profitable, especially in the realm of sustainable functional products,” said Alexa Dehmel, performance sportswear design expert, strategic advisor, and Head Judge and Functional Fabric Curator of the Trend Forum at Functional Fabric Fair.
Save the Date for Upcoming Functional Fabric Fair Events:
- Portland Fall: November 11–13, 2025, — Sustainability Workshop on November 11
- NEW! Orlando Winter co-located with the PGA Show: January 21–22, 2026
- Portland Spring: April 7-9, 2026, — Sustainability Workshop on April 7
- New York Summer: July 7-9, 2026, — Sustainability Workshop on July 7
Posted: July 28, 2025
Source: Functional Fabric Fair powered by PERFORMANCE DAYS® – RX Global
