New textile manufacturing expo to launch in Charlotte next year alongside recycling event

Applied Market Information (AMI) Plastics is set to launch a new industry trade fair in Charlotte, North Carolina, next year, focusing on textile manufacturing, that will run alongside its textile recycling expo.

Taking place from April 7 to 8, 2027, at the Charlotte Convention Center, the new event brings both the textile manufacturing and textile recycling industries together in one location, offering a platform that covers the complete textile lifecycle, from fiber and yarn production through to end-of-life recycling.

The new expo builds on the success of previous Textiles Recycling Expos in Brussels, Belgium, and the inaugural Textiles Recycling Expo USA last April, which welcomed 1,858 visitors and 95 exhibitors. 

“This new expo will provide a much-needed forum for the suppliers of raw materials and production technologies to connect with textile manufacturers to discuss the innovations and applications that will move the industry forward,” said Chrissy Winegarden, exhibition sales manager at AMI, in a statement. “Those manufacturers already attend Textiles Recycling Expo USA in large numbers, so we have a ready-made audience looking for new solutions.”

By hosting the two events at the same time and place, exhibitors and visitors can connect with a broad range of professionals across the textile supply chain, including manufacturers, technology providers, material suppliers, brands, designers, recyclers and other industry specialists. In addition to welcoming its own selection of exhibitors, including machinery suppliers, fiber and yarn suppliers, dye, chemicals and finishing solutions providers and software solutions providers, the Textiles Manufacturing Expo will also host its own keynote presentation and technical sessions.

The launch of the expo comes as textile recycling and manufacturing garners more regulatory attention across the USA. California's Responsible Textile Recovery Act (SB 707), previously signed in 2024, established the country's first statewide extended producer responsibility programme for textiles. CalRecycle appointed Landbell USA as the programme's producer responsibility organisation in February, with producers required to join by July and enforcement due by 2030. 

The selection has been challenged in court by the American Apparel & Footwear Association, though a Sacramento judge tentatively denied its bid to pause implementation in August. Similar bills in New York and Washington have since stalled.