10th Anniversary of the DNFI Natural Fibres Award – Discover Natural Fibres Initiative

In 2026, the Discover Natural Fibres Initiative (DNFI) will be presenting the international DNFI Innovation in Natural Fibres Award for the tenth time. Since its launch in 2017, the competition has developed into a recognised platform for innovation across the entire natural fibres value chain. The awards recognise scientific research, new manufacturing processes, and innovative products and applications that expand the potential of natural fibres for industrial and technical applications.

Previous award winners reflect the diversity of international research into natural fibres. Among the projects recognised were bio-based composites made from cellulose (PureCell, DITF Denkendorf), innovative insulation materials made from wool fibres for the automotive industry, novel processes for utilising agricultural waste, and high-performance natural fibre composites for technical applications. The current winner of the 2025 competition, Mohammad Faraz from BUITEMS University in Pakistan, worked with his project partners to develop a fully sustainable manufacturing process for high-performance composites made from banana and cotton fibres. The technology combines chemical-free fibre extraction with solar-assisted processing and opens up new prospects for lightweight construction applications, particularly in the automotive sector.

The international participation in the competition is particularly noteworthy. Year after year, universities, research institutes, start-ups and industrial companies from every continent demonstrate the wide range of ways in which natural fibres can be used in the future. The projects range from technical textiles and composites to the circular economy and innovative processing methods. The competition thus impressively demonstrates that natural fibres make an important contribution to sustainable material solutions and new industrial applications.

The 2026 anniversary edition once again offers the opportunity to present outstanding developments to an international panel of experts. The DNFI invites companies, research institutions, universities and individual developers worldwide to submit their innovations and play an active role in shaping the future of natural fibres. The award helps to raise the profile of successful developments and further promote the international transfer of knowledge and technology in the field of natural fibres.

Nominations for the 2026 DNFI Innovation in Natural Fibres Award are now being accepted.

Candidates for the DNFI Innovation in Natural Fibres Award 2026 are requested to send the application with the appropriate submission form by email to: Secretariat[at]dnfi.org.

Closing date for applications is 30th September 2026.

The winner will be announced in a press release in October 2026 and invited to attend the DNFI plenary session on 13 January 2026. The award ceremony will take place the following day, 14 January 2026, at the Heimtextil trade fair in Frankfurt am Main, Germany. The 2026 award will be sponsored by the DNFI member organisation The International Textile Manufacturers Federation (ITMF).

Download press release: 2026 DNFI Innovation Award Announcement

Cookie	Type	Duration	Description
cookielawinfo-checkbox-	session	1 year	The purpose of this cookie is to check whether or not you have given the consent to the usage of cookies under the categories "Necessary", "Functional" and "Non Necessary". The cookie is set by the GDPR Cookie Consent plugin.
CookieLawInfoConsent	session	1 year	The cookie is used to store the summary of the consent given for cookie usage. It does not store any personal data. Records the default button state of the corresponding category & the status of CCPA. It works only in coordination with the primary cookie.
PHPSESSID	session	no	The PHPSESSID cookie is native to PHP and enables websites to store serialized state data. On the Action website, it is used to establish a user session and to pass state data via a temporary cookie, which is commonly referred to as a session cookie. As the PHPSESSID cookie has no timed expiry, it disappears when the client is closed.
viewed_cookie_policy	session	no	The cookie is used to store whether or not you have consented to the use of cookies. It does not store any personal data.
wf_loginalerted_	session	no	WordPress cookie to provide protection against hackers.
wfwaf-authcookie	session	no	WordPress cookie to read and to determine if the user is logged in.
wordpress_	session	no	WordPress cookie that is only set for logged users.
wordpress_test_cookie	session	no	This cookie check if cookies are enabled on the browser to provide appropriate user experience to the users. This cookie is used on the front-end, even if you are not logged in.
wp_dlm_downloading	session	no	Download Manager cookie which is used for correct counting of downloads (double counting is avoided).
wp_lang	session	no	WordPress cookie to store language setting.
wp-icwp-wpsf	session	no	WordPress Security cookie
wp-settings-{user_id}	session	no	Used to persist a user’s wp-admin configuration.

Related Posts

Cookies