Around 50 representatives from the textile industry, chemical industry and dermatological university hospitals took part in a workshop on 6 and 7 December 2005 as part of the 2nd Hohenstein cluster initiative on cosmetic textiles and wellness clothing. The textile industry is very optimistic that these products will open up new target groups and markets. The functionality and effectiveness of initial products on the market is still highly disputed in some cases, however. As it will only be possible to open up sustainable markets with products which can be proven to be effective, the event focussed on the opportunities and limits for cosmetic and wellness applications of textiles, possible ways of incorporating active substances in a functional manner and practical methods of proving the effectiveness of products. The legal and regulatory framework conditions, possible product concepts and initial experiences on the market were also presented and discussed. The Hohenstein Institutes also broke new ground at the workshop in terms of event
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| technology. For the first time, a completely “paper-free” event was held at Schloss Hohenstein, in other words, the information was exclusively exchanged electronically and verbally. Participants were able to directly log onto an electronic conference portal using the laptops they had brought along, and were able to download the individual lectures from this in the newly refurbished conference centre. There was also a simultaneous interpretation for English-speaking participants at the workshop. The option for participants to import their own pictures and charts and the electronic voting on issues relevant to the workshop also achieved a high degree of interactivity. Around 40 participants learnt about the opportunities and limits of cosmetic textiles and wellness clothing on 6 and 7 December at the Hohenstein Institutes. The technical equipment at the newly refurbished events and conference centre at the Hohenstein Institutes include a booth for simultaneous interpreters, laptop connections at all places and the opportunity for participants to be interactively involved e.g. using televoting. 
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