Festival for sustainabilty inspires with ideas, inspiration and a great sense of community
Würzburg, 25 November 2025 – On Saturday, 15 November 2025, the Festival for Sustainability was celebrated at the Kunsthaus Michel with an impressive display of forward thinking, creativity and social cohesion. From morning till night, Semmelstraße 42 in Würzburg was transformed into a lively meeting place where visitors experienced innovative ideas, lively discussions and impressive artistic contributions.
21 speakers from the worlds of business, culture, politics and civil society shed light on the social, ecological and economic facets of sustainable development. The diverse programme, featuring 5 keynote speeches, 5 business forums, 5 fashion and design presentations and an atmospheric musical finale, offered guests numerous opportunities to engage in conversation and take away new perspectives.
The hosts, artist and gallery owner Gerd Michel and the VDMD – the leading professional association for fashion and textiles – drew a thoroughly positive conclusion. Their shared concern to understand sustainability as active engagement shaped the entire day. ‘It is important to us that we put sustainability into practice and develop solutions together – in concrete terms, that we take the first steps,’ they emphasised.
After the official welcome, Mara Michel, CEO of VDMD, opened the day's programme with a first highlight: the presentation of the two EU Erasmus programmes FEA-VEE and SiT (Sustainability in Textiles).
The project objectives were clearly outlined:
FEA-VEE aims to strengthen professional skills in the European textile and fashion industry and to prepare companies and skilled workers for sustainable, responsible production methods.
SiT – Sustainability in Textiles aims to develop qualification pathways that promote the circular textile economy, define new professional standards and prepare skilled workers for the ecological requirements of the future.
In this context, she also presented the new job profiles developed in the SiT project for organic textile technicians and recycling managers, who are set to play a key role in the industry's transition towards a more circular economy and resource conservation.
The strong presence of the city of Würzburg – represented by Mayor Dr. Sandra Vorlová, Cultural Affairs Officer Benedikt Stegmayer and Social Affairs Officer Eva Frfr. von Vietinghoff-Scheel – also underscored how firmly sustainability issues are anchored in local politics and urban society.
The day began with a clear vision for the future of the city centre. Mara Michel emphasised the importance of attractive, green, lively and third urban spaces for social cohesion.
She also presented the ©ManuFashion Manufakturen project, which shows ways to strengthen regional production and value creation and reduce textile waste.
There was an intense focus on the issue of social interaction. Heike Leitschuh raised awareness of the growing lack of empathy with insights from her book ‘Ich zuerst – eine Gesellschaft auf dem Egotrip’ (Me first – a society on an ego trip) and called for a rethink.
The discussion continued with the controversial and highly topical subject of artificial intelligence: René Lang discussed the opportunities and risks of the technology and emphasised how crucial the responsibility of the people behind the prompts is.
Innovative materials and creative recycling ideas were particularly inspiring in the fashion sector. Pia Bender presented fabrics made from coffee grounds and apple pomace, among other things, and showed how circular thinking can revolutionise the fashion industry.
A special highlight was provided by young designer Paul Rendenbach, who impressively demonstrated how old newspapers can be used to create wearable fashion – demonstrated live by five models.
Between programme items, guests enjoyed a lovingly prepared, sustainable gastronomic offering.
The lively finale was provided by the duo Buffy & Böttger, who invited guests to dance to swing, bossa nova and samba, rounding off the day in style.
The Festival for Sustainability sent out a strong message: the future is created where people think, design and act together. More than twelve hours of inspiration impressively demonstrated how much potential there is in combining culture, innovation and community.
Admission was free – and the knowledge gained was priceless.
Quotes about the Festival of Sustainability:
Dr Thomas Fischer (Head of Management Research, German Institutes for Textile and Fibre Research Denkendorf):
‘It was a great day with you, thank you very much again!
Much of it still resonates and will trigger further conversations and discussions.’
Heike Leitschuh (author, musician, sustainable development consultant):
‘It was lovely to see you all again!
I hope you're happy with how your event went?
You put a lot of effort into it again. I thought it was very lovingly and thoughtfully organised.’
Charlotte Stegmayer (Creative Industries Innovation Network,
Project Manager, Consultant at Bayern Innovativ):
‘Thank you once again for allowing me to participate. It was an exciting programme.’
Nicolas Rumpel (Senior Police Officer, Head of the Lower Franconia Police Headquarters):
‘Thank you very much again for your invitation and your excellent organisation of the event!
I hope you were satisfied with your event, which, in my opinion, was very successful thanks to your advance planning and the contributions of all the guests – whether on the podium or not.’
Benjamin Blumberger (Head of 360° Base for Start-ups at Sparkasse Mainfranken):
‘Thank you very much for organising this and inviting us! It was a great event!’
Kai Knorpp (Alliance for Future Climate):
‘I would also like to express my sincere thanks for organising this highly interesting and very intensive sustainability day.
It was fun to discuss with you and the other panel participants, to exchange ideas with the other participants and to gain new inspiration for future actions and projects.’
Winfried Braun (CEO Braun-Consult):
‘Thank you very much again for the successful event.
The feedback from visitors and participants has been overwhelmingly positive.
Really great!!!!
We would like to discuss specific steps on how to shape our future cooperation.’
Paul Rendenbach (fashion designer):
‘Thank you again for the wonderful day and the opportunity to present my collection once more.’