“The most sustainable product is of course always the one you have at home”

Tips: What topics can visitors expect at WeFair in October?

Pfoser-Almer: We have a few smaller focal points today – one of them is the topic of “Sustainable Travel” and how you can see the world without destroying it. There are again a few exhibitors who are dealing with the topic and there will also be a few program items on our stage. Then we have put a focus on hemp, which is not only used as a drug but is also a great sustainable resource for textiles, cosmetics, etc. Of course there will also be a trade fair restaurant again, Rudi Anschober will be reading from his latest book on our stage, the Volkshilfe Repair Café will be there again and there will be a short yoga session every day to join in.

Post AG is also taking part this year. In recent years, the topic of online shopping has become more and more important. There is an incredible amount of waste because all the packaging is thrown away. And the post office has now created a recyclable packaging – this is what they are talking about at WeFair.

Tips: You also have a special programme item on Saturday…

Pfoser-Almer: Exactly – the WeFair usually takes place on the first weekend in October, just like the civil protection test alarm. For this reason, the Austrian Civil Protection Association will be presenting itself with us on Saturday, October 5th, and explaining how to make sustainable and sensible preparations for disasters.

Tips: Sustainability means, among other things, reducing your consumption. How does a trade fair like WeFair Zügel fit in with this, where products are still offered for sale?

Pfoser-Almer: This is a very important topic and I always emphasize it in my lectures: in most cases, the most sustainable product is of course the one you already have at home. That’s why it’s incredibly important to look after your things and keep them for a long time – and that’s where the Volkshilfe Repair Café plays an important mediating role.

But at some point the products break or you’ve eaten too much ice cream in the summer and need a new tube because the old one is pinching. It’s good to think about what you’re buying. What does it do to the environment if I just go somewhere and buy something?That’s why we have our trade fair, where you can say: OK, I need this thing again, but then I’ll buy something sustainable that minimizes the impact on the environment as much as possible.

Tips: It is always important to you that the trade fair is a greenwashing-free zone. How do you implement this?

Pfoser-Almer: Greenwashing occurs when companies jump on the sustainability “trend” and write everywhere that their product is sustainable, even though that is not true. I saw a great example today: I was holding a T-shirt in a conventional clothing store. Because it says on the label, this label is made of organic cotton. Only the label was made of organic cotton, not the T-shirt. This is really greenwashing par excellence. It can hardly be done better – in a negative sense.

When it comes to greenwashing, there is a lot of creativity in how you can fool people into thinking that something is sustainable, because consumers don’t always have the time to look at the entire product in detail. That’s why we look at it in advance for our visitors and, together with our three supporting NGOs, Südwind, Klimabündnis and Global 2000, have developed criteria for what sustainability means to us.

We then check all of our exhibitors very carefully to see whether they meet these criteria. And if someone does not meet the criteria, then they are not included in our exhibition. Today we have again rejected 10 to 15 applications from exhibitors who pretend to be sustainable, but in reality are simply not really sustainable.

And that means that visitors can simply shop with us and don’t have to think about whether it’s sustainable or not greenwashing.

Tips: Last year around 6,500 people visited the WeFair in Linz. What are your expectations for this year’s fair?

Pfoser-Almer: Of course, we are always happy to have more visitors, but we will see. I think the topic of travel is an interesting point for many people. We have all had our holidays now and we are slowly starting to think a little about where we could go on holiday next. I think the topic works quite well for the visitors. We are happy about everyone who comes to WeFair. With every euro you spend with us, you can save the world a little bit, because you are strengthening the truly sustainable economic sector and thus a sustainable future.

Tips: How many exhibitors will there be at the fair this year and what are you particularly frustrated about – where should visitors definitely stop by?

Pfoser-Almer: There will again be three categories: fashion, lifestyle and nutrition, and there will be new exhibitors in each category – there are around 150 exhibitors in total. I’m particularly looking forward to the reading by Rudi Anschober – I saw him at the Vienna trade fair and it was a really inspiring moment. I thought it was nice how he simply addressed the topic of climate change.

Otherwise, I’m really looking forward to the civil protection issue, because we’ve never had that anywhere before. I recently read Marc Elsberg’s book “Blackout,” which is about a long, large power outage. For this reason, I’m particularly interested in the topic of how to prepare for this.