d+a | Issue 129 • 2023

89 a fair start The world’s largest furniture fair – Salone del Mobile – held annually in Milan during spring is a force to be reckoned with. This year the fair reclaimed its usual springtime slot, where more than 400,000 attendees were welcomed from 18 to 23 April 2023. There were more than 2,000 exhibiting brands, with almost a third of them being foreign. China returned as the nation with the best representation after Italy, followed by Germany, France, the United States and Spain. Compared to last year, attendance increased by 15%, with roughly two-thirds from outside of Italy. Therefore, as the global benchmark event for the furnishing and design sector, it is important for Salone del Mobile to lead the charge. Its focus was aptly centred around “Sustainability”. From the exhibition stands to the products displayed, the takeaway message was all about circularity and reuse/recycling. The Italian organisers encouraged brands to rethink their exhibition designs – even to the point of easy dismantling and reuse of their stands for future shows. The exhibition stands were created to be lightweight and modular, and reusable – think wood and recycled cardboard. In past years, a huge amount of material wastes, post-exhibition, was sent to landfills. Maria Porro, president of Salone del Mobile Milano emphasised, “We have learned several important lessons from this edition: that it is indeed possible to redesign a huge event like the Salone in order to propel it into the future, that sustainability really is achievable when the entire system pulls together, and that new content can be devised and employed in order to generate knowledge, growth and value.” In addition, other topics like “energy saving” and “regeneration” were also flagged up as the organisers had the responsibility to tell the world how furniture brands would pivot to more earth-friendly ideas and processes. The impact of the changes has been partially minimised by Porro, who has led a team of active exhibitors into the future while rethinking the fair and moving in a more sustainable direction. In this context, sustainability refers to the fair's ability to continue serving as a catalyst for creative and cultural innovation as well as its environmental friendliness. By partnering with suppliers of recycled, recyclable, or reusable materials in buildings, using modular structures for Euroluce (the bi-annual lighting fair) built by Lombardini22, and choosing institutional partners whose strategies are based on sincere concern for people and the environment, Salone del Mobile sought to achieve ISO 20121 certification for sustainable events management. In 2022, The Salone signed up for the UN Global Compact. Arper: “Ralik” seating collection