FRIEDRICHSHAFEN – Organisers of the upcoming OutDoor trade show situated at the edge of Lake Constance in Germany have now opened up applications for its prestigious OutDoor Industry Awards. Last year, textile advances featured heavily among the winning entries that included a plasma-based treatment for shrink-proofing wool fabrics; the innovative Terrex Agravic Down insulation jacket from adidas; and a lightweight firstlayer from New Zealand brand Icebreaker that uses a Tencel and merino wool blend.
During its appeal for entrants to the awards, the show organisers have revised the assessment criteria.
For the first time a short list will be drawn up beforehand. At the same time, a bigger judging panel consisting of 12 international experts will evaluate all the products submitted in a digital process.
“The industry’s interest in the OutDoor Industry Award is growing every year. Last year, 329 new products were submitted for an OutDoor Industry Award and this year we’re again expecting more to be entered. In view of the large number of entries and to ensure proper and fair decisions, in 2016 we’ll be introducing a two-stage decision-making process for the first time. This will give members of the judging panel more time to assess really exciting innovations,” explains OutDoor project manager Dirk Heidrich.
Taking place from 13 to 16th July, this year’s OutDoor show is expecting around 21,000 industry professionals from 85 countries, over 1,000 journalists and 940 exhibitors.
Textile innovations
Performance and functional fabrics featured heavily in last year’s OutDoor Industry Awards.
Winners included the Naturetexx Plasma Wool by Südwolle. This is a plasma technique which is being used to prevent felting (shrinkage) and which avoids the use of chlorine and other harsh chemicals often used in the Hercosett shrink-proofing process. The judges consider it to be very important since wool represents a major trend in outdoor-clothing. “After down, wool is set to become the next hot topic,” said the panel.
Adidas was also a recipient of an award for its Terrex Agravic Down Jacket. This impressed the judges with its innovative, ‘well thought-out down chamber construction’. The seams overlap the stitch lines to eliminate cold spots and the jacket featured additional heat seals at the cuffs and collar keep the warm air trapped inside the jacket.
Meanwhile Icebreaker won an award for a shirt made from its ‘Cool-Lite’ fabric. This is a 150g woven fabric made from 56 per cent merino for temperature regulation and natural anti-microbial benefits, 42 per cent Tencel for cooling and 2 per cent Lycra for stretch comfort.
Companies interested to submit entries for this year’s award can enter their outdoor innovations online at www.outdoor-industry-award.com. The platform also includes detailed information on the procedure and terms and conditions.
For further information on OutDoor go to: www.outdoor-show.com.
