On 23 August 2023, the STFI invited representatives of the textile industry to an open exchange around the topics of skilled labour qualification and sustainable innovations. The first STFI Academy Breakfast brought textile entrepreneurs, the Federal Employment Agency and the Chamber of Industry and Commerce to a richly laid breakfast table to discuss approaches to solving the shortage of skilled workers. The STFI Academy also presented its further education portfolio for the textile industry. Around 50 participants enjoyed the donuts and bagels while being provided with a wealth of information. We would like to thank Ines Damm from the Plauen Chamber of Industry and Commerce, Julia Zurbel as well as Sascha Ißleib from the Chemnitz Employment Agency and Nico Teutsch from OTEX Textilveredlung Flöha for their extensive contributions and impulses.

This was followed seamlessly by the STFI Innovation Day, which focused on the topic of sustainability. After the keynote speech "Sustainable into the textile future", our scientists presented sustainable trends and innovations from STFI in subsequent pitch presentations. The tours through our laboratories and pilot plants provided detailed insights into the presented topics such as hemp-based lightweight construction applications, capillary textiles for plant irrigation in cities, the mechanical tearing process in textile recycling and the field of functionalisation and digitalisation, which is driven by the demand for more sustainability in the textile industry. Almost 60 participants took the opportunity for intensive discussions with our technicians, lab technicians and scientists.

During our event, the participants had the opportunity to support the campaign "My Tree for Saxony" of the Forest for Saxony Foundation with an individual donation. A proud € 200 was collected, which will be donated to the Forest for Saxony Foundation. With this campaign, the foundation plans to plant one tree for every Saxon by 2027, i.e. 4 million trees.