At the leading international trade fair for technical textiles and nonwovens, running April 21 to 24, 2026, at Messe Frankfurt, BASF is set to make a bold statement. 

 

The chemical giant will showcase a sweeping portfolio of cutting-edge solutions and new textile projects—placing innovation and future-ready technologies firmly in the spotlight.

 

 

Front and center are everyday performance items—shoes, climbing ropes and clothing—engineered with Ultramid Ccycled. Whether outdoor pants, sports shoes or climbing ropes all showcased items are made with Ultramid Ccycled. 

 

BASF offers an innovative mass-balanced product that supports the use of alternative raw materials derived from the chemical recycling of hard-to-recycle plastic waste, such as scrap tires. The recycled raw material is fed into the grid at the beginning of BASF’s production network and assigned to the Ultramid Ccycled products via a mass balance approach. The product quality remains unchanged.

 

 

Sustainability takes another leap forward with a collaboration between BASF and VAUDE. The TRAILCONTROL ZERO 20+ bike backpack from VAUDE, a leading manufacturer of sustainable outdoor clothing and equipment, sets new standards in collaboration with BASF. 

 

For the production of the backpack, VAUDE uses BASF’s innovative Ultramid ZeroPCF, a polyamide 6 (PA6) with a CO2 footprint (PCF) of zero according to a certified cradle-to-gate calculation.

 

 

BASF is also pushing circular fashion into the mainstream. With Ultramid BMB, the company introduces a sustainable drop-in concept using biocircular raw materials—already realized in a Zara jumpsuit. 

 

BMB, BASF has developed a sustainable drop-in concept that enables the use of biocircular starting materials in product manufacturing – the result is a jumpsuit from Zara. REDcert²-certified feedstocks replace fossil resources at the very beginning of the production process and are then allocated to Ultramid BMB products via a mass balance approach. 

 

Without compromising on quality and performance, the CO₂ footprint (cradle-to-gate) can be reduced by more than 50 % compared to standard Ultramid.

 

 

Beyond fashion, BASF is targeting industrial transformation. Advanced binder technologies for nonwovens and fiber-reinforced composites will be on display, with Acronal and Styrofan solutions tailored for construction and automotive uses. Selected Acronal grades are part of BASF’s bio based portfolio and help reduce reliance on fossil resources.

 

The company is also showcasing acForm, a dispersion-based binder technology reshaping furniture and interior design. acForm enables the production of wood fiber mats used as core structures for complex, three-dimensional components with veneer surfaces, offering greater design flexibility than conventional plywood and veneer approaches.

 

Meanwhile, Acrodur—a low-emission acrylic resin—features in lightweight composite solutions, including glass filter media for paint booth exhaust air treatment and reinforcement materials for plaster and insulation systems.

 

 

In a major leap for performance textiles, BASF has teamed up with dimpora to reinvent waterproof membranes. BASF’s thermoplastic polyurethane (TPU) Elastollan is combined with dimpora’s technology, to enable a new stretch-capable membrane concept. 

 

The result is a truly microporous membrane that provides elastic recovery under functional strain, while maintaining high waterproofness and reliable breathability. It remains PFAS free and solvent free. Because the membrane itself can stretch, it unlocks greater design freedom in textiles, by improving stress distribution, reducing resistance during movement, and supporting complex garment designs.

 

 

Rounding out the showcase is loopamid, BASF’s answer to textile circularity. loopamid is BASF’s innovative solution for recycling polyamide 6 (PA 6) textile waste and thus promoting circularity in the fashion industry. The first PA6 made exclusively from textile waste is featured in the Zara jacket launched in 2024, in an adidas tracksuit resulting from the T-Rex project, and in a T-shirt produced together with Fulgar and Pompea.

 

 

From zero-emissions materials to fully circular textiles, BASF’s presence at Messe Frankfurt signals a decisive push toward a more sustainable and high-performance textile industry—where innovation is no longer optional, but essential.