CBI largest presence at Ambiente ever

This year CBI had its largest ever presence at Ambiente 2016 for home decorations and home textiles, and presented two special exhibitions: the 'Fair Trade Finest' programme and 'Linking Maker and Market'. These exhibitions show products from fair trade certified producers and from producers which show synergy of crafts and design and who adopt more sustainable practices.

On four separate stands CBI presented 36 suppliers with their latest product collections from Egypt, Indonesia, South Africa, East Africa, Madagascar, Bangladesh and Mongolia. The fair was a success and most participants made good business contacts and some even realized first orders.

Besides that CBI also presented two special exhibitions at Ambiente 2016.

Fair trade certified producers

In the foyer of hall 10, CBI introduced its new ‘Fair Trade Finest’ Programme. A collaboration between the World Fair Trade Organization and the Dutch Association of World Shops that aims to assist more producers in developing countries to become fair trade certified. The programme also seeks to create a greater awareness for fair trade products in the EU market for home decorations and home textiles. The exhibition gave a sneak-preview of products produced by companies in the program and informed buyers on how to source products from fair trade suppliers.

Sustainability in desigh, production and distribution

In the hall for contemporary design, CBI's presented its exciting new pop-up exhibition ‘Linking Maker & Market’ - a curated selection of outstanding products from 32 exporters participating in CBI’s Export Coaching Programmes. The products show an interesting synergy of crafts and design and also show how CBI encourages its participants to adopt more sustainable practices in the design, production and distribution of their products.

Linking Maker & Market

In the past 6 months, CBI has been invited to present ‘Linking Maker & Market’ at 4 of the most important trade fairs in the sector - Ecostyle in August 2015, Heimtextil and Maison & Objet in January 2016 and Ambiente in February 2016. It has helped to give CBI more visibility and generated interesting business contacts for the companies involved.