The event at the Renaissance Hotel, Shanghai, takes place alongside the huge Intertextile Apparel Fabrics exhibition and will feature some of the most influential textile industry figures including John Cheh, CEO of Esquel Group; Kenneth Lo, Chairman of the Crystal Group; Eleanor Wright, Global Fabric Director of Wal-Mart; and Bril Lacno, Director Environmental Sustainability, Asia, Levi Strauss & Co.

Other leading executives scheduled to speak include Liazzat Rabbiosi, United Nations Environment Programme; Dr Delman Lee, Director, TAL Group; Linda Greer, Executive Director of Natural Resources Defense Council; Paul Hulme, President of Huntsman Textile Effects; and Sun Ruizhe, President of CTIC & Vice President of CNTAC, among others.

In addition, Q&A sessions will be hosted by Pat-Nie Woo, Chairman of the Sustainable Fashion Business Consortium, Phil Patterson, Chairman of the not-for-profit RITE Group and Nico van Schoot from Genencor.

The event, which first debuted in Hong Kong in 2009, is jointly organised by MCL Global - the publisher of Ecotextile News and Messe Frankfurt. It aims to improve the environmental and social impact of the global textile and clothing supply chain by raising awareness of these issues in Asia and providing a unique networking platform for retailers, brands and textile innovators.