One of the world's leading trade fair companies and a leading fashion school have joined forces to promote sustainable fashion.

Messe Frankfurt, Germany's leading trade fair organiser and the international École Superieure des Arts et Techniques de la Mode (Esmod) have signed a cooperation agreement in Paris with the common aim of promoting sustainability in the fashion business.

Member of the Messe Frankfurt Executive Board, Detlef Braun described the partnership as being:  ‘driven by the dedication of both parties to top performance and high quality', adding that Messe Frankfurt and Esmod intended to develop a ‘solid platform for fashion produced by ecologically and socially responsible means'.

Esmod International General Manager, Christine Walter-Bonini, believes that: ‘For us it is very important to be with professional and specialists concerning environment to inform and to teach our students. With Messe Frankfurt we found a strong partner in the field of sustainable textiles with a worldwide network. Messe Frankfurt is very credible in this way and is the organizer of the only trade show in Paris: Ethical Fashion Show'    

The Ethical Fashion Show is a trade fair for ethical fashion that features more than one hundred brands. The GREEN showroom presents high-end fashion, accessories and lifestyle products that have been created in accordance with environmentally compatible and socially responsible standards.

Sustainability is the core element of the long-term cooperation and is to be established as a permanent fixture in the world of fashion, among designers, producers and users alike. Messe Frankfurt is to contribute the extensive market knowledge that it has gained from organising over 30 international textile fairs every year, with a wide international network in this field.

With the Ethical Fashion Show in Paris and the GREENshowroom in Berlin, Messe Frankfurt already has two events in its portfolio that are dedicated to sustainable fashion. In the months to come, both partners will develop a study programme entitled ‘Sustainability and Eco-Fashion' that will be gradually integrated within the curricula.

In addition, they will hold an "Eco-Fashion" international design award and create the trend show ‘Esmod/Ethical Fashion Show'. Also in the pipeline are plans for presentations, special shows, joint PR activities, and the creation and expansion of a joint international network.

At the signing of the contract, Detlef Braun declared:  ‘I am very proud that Esmod is working together with Messe Frankfurt. This is a great honour, and one that would have been inconceivable five or six years ago.'

Michael Scherpe, President of Messe Frankfurt France and initiator of the project with Esmod believes that: "Since 2007, Messe Frankfurt and its textile fairs have been striving to promote textiles produced in an ecologically and socially beneficial manner, thus creating a unique platform for sustainable materials and accessories."

"This cooperation clearly shows how seriously we take our objective of promoting fair trade and supporting brands that share this goal, thereby helping them to raise their profile and further their commercial development."