Company News

Cotton Incorporated appoints William Kimbrell CEO, president

February 14, 2025

Cotton Incorporated, a Cary, N.C.-based research and promotion company for U.S. cotton growers and importers, announced the appointment of William Kimbrell as its new CEO and president. Kimbrell assumed the role effective Nov. 2, 2024. Prior to his role as president and CEO, Kimbrell held the role of executive vice president and COO. “We are …

Industry News

Leigh Fibers hits post-consumer textile waste milestone

February 13, 2025

Leigh Fibers, a recycled fiber products producer based in Wellford, S.C., announced that the company’s facility in Brownsville, Texas, has recycled more than half a billion pounds of post-consumer textile waste since the facility’s opening in the late 1990s. “We are proud to have been one of the first to engage the post-consumer textile waste …

Company News

CAF and CGS’s BlueCherry announce partnership

February 12, 2025

The Canadian Apparel Federation (CAF) and CGS’s BlueCherry® announced a partnership to help accelerate the digital transformation of the Canadian apparel sector. CAF is the national association of the Canadian apparel industry, providing members with advice on national and global competitive issues. BlueCherry is an end-to-end supply chain management solution for high-growth organizations in fashion, …

Features

Challenges and rewards

February 10, 2025

Biomedical textiles are a highly specialized, relatively small segment of the global textile industry. Even among the more advanced textile technologies, the path to commercializing  medical textiles, generally, and biomedical textiles, in particular, is unusually challenging, facing stringent industry standards and government regulations that can take years to meet.  According to Allied Market Research, the global …

In the Industry

Cooling fabrics market increased growth is expected 

February 10, 2025

A report from research firm MarketsandMarkets says that the cooling fabrics market is projected to grow to from $2.70 billion in 2024 to $4.08 billion by 2030, at a CAGR of 7.1 percent. The market for cooling fabrics is on the rise due to the need for high-performance textiles in many applications, such as sportswear, healthcare and industrial …

What's New?

LOOMIA and AFFOA collaborate on a new textile heater

February 10, 2025

Brooklyn, N.Y.-based LOOMIA, provider of electronic textiles and flexible electronics, and the Advanced Functional Fabrics of America (AFFOA), have introduced the Gentoo Heater, which has been engineered to perform in ultra-cold environments.  According to AFFOA, a non-profit Manufacturing USA Institute driving fabric-based innovation in the U.S., the next-generation heater is a thermoplastic polyurethane (TPU)-based resistive heater that …

What's New?

Shielding suit by Vollebak deflects radio waves

February 10, 2025

Vollebak has released the Shielding Suit, a wearable technology made with pure silver that blocks radio waves so no one can track, hack, or call the users. The silver-added suit, which shares the same electromagnetic shielding technology that NASA has used for its Mars Rover, blocks electromagnetic radiation and shields users from infrared cameras.  Comprised of a jacket and pants, the suit deflects …

Company News

Randy Blackston receives Southern Textile Association award

February 10, 2025

Randy Blackston, vice president of operations at Charleston, S.C.-based Glen Raven Inc. was presented the Southern Textile Association’s (STA) David Clark Award during an STA Board of Governors meeting. The award is named after the founder of STA. It honors past presidents who continue to contribute leadership and service to the association and the textile …

Company News

NECPA announces new leadership team appointments

February 10, 2025

The Northeast Canvas Products Association (NECPA) announced the start of the term for its newly appointed leadership team, which became effective at the association’s last board meeting. John Tavano has assumed the role of president, following his tenure as first vice president. Tavano succeeds Ed Keough, who has now transitioned to the position of immediate …

In the Industry

Spiber Inc. partners with Botto Giuseppe in yarn launch 

February 10, 2025

Spiber, a pioneer in protein fiber, announces its partnership with Italian premium mill Botto Giuseppe, provider of  yarns made from natural fibers such as wool and cashmere. Since beginning their collaboration in 2023, this partnership has resulted in the development of yarn blends containing 20–50 Brewed Protein™ fiber combined with cashmere, as well as 100 percent …

ATA News

Messe Stuttgart’s Sun Shading Expo North America moves co-location debut with IFAI Expo to 2022

July 7, 2021

Messe Stuttgart announced that its new U.S.-based show Sun Shading Expo North America will not be held in 2021 as a separate trade show but will instead contribute its expertise in internal and external sun shading systems at IFAI Expo 2021 in the form of expert talks, open discussions and more. IFAI Expo 2021 will still take place …

Expo News

Registration is open for IFAI Expo 2021

May 10, 2021

Registration is open for IFAI Expo 2021. IFAI Expo celebrates the 100th anniversary of the show this November, and you won’t want to miss it! After a long hiatus of in-person events, this year’s show is the perfect place to reconnect with your industry. Register now to get the Early Bird rate! Early Bird rates end …

Expo News

Standard for active illumination developed in Europe

November 16, 2020

In a session at IFAI Virtual Expo 2020, “Smart Textiles Standardization, Active Illumination,” Dr. Jan Beringer, senior scientific expert Hohenstein Group, explained the new standard for active illumination that will soon be implemented in European Union countries.  Organizations worked together to develop the standards. It is notable, he said that both textile and electronics industries …

Expo News

Textile industry leaders call for policy changes to support U.S. production of PPE

November 13, 2020

The U.S. textile industry has stepped up to meet the demand for face masks, medical gowns, wipes and other products necessary to combat the coronavirus pandemic, but it needs policy changes from Washington so that the U.S. is not caught off-guard again in a future crisis, according to association leaders speaking at Industrial Fabrics Association …

Expo News

The larger issues in respiratory protection

November 12, 2020

Dr. Bryran Ormond, assistant professor, Wilson College of Textiles, NC State explained respiratory protection in an “Ask an Expert” session with Jing Liang, Medical PPE Consulting LLC. Dr. Ormand has typically worked in the area of chemical and biological protective equipment, but with the onslaught of the pandemic, began to focus on respiratory protection generally, …

Expo News

Surgical gowns require extra manufacturing considerations

November 11, 2020

All surgical gowns are not created equal, and a Nov. 11 presentation at IFAI Virtual Expo 2020 helped sort out the differences. The finer points of surgical gowns were discussed by Dr. Martin King, a professor at the Wilson College of Textiles, North Carolina State University, and Jing Liang, president of Medical PPE Consulting LLC. …

Expo News

Rodgers: Textiles are the “T” in STEM

November 11, 2020

How do you create a channel from research to application? How do you create a pathway toward understanding complex human problems across supply chains and market sectors? STEM—a curriculum based on teaching science, technology, engineering and math—has branched out from basic chemistry and biology and physics classes, into collaborative efforts, including textiles, according to Stephanie …

Expo News

E-textile testing and standards are evolving

November 11, 2020

At the 2020 Virtual Expo session, “Ask the Expert: Textile Electronics Testing and Standards,” Jesse Jur, a professor at the Wilson College of Textiles, North Carolina State University, discussed how standards and testing continue to evolve due to the evolution of textile-based electronics (e-textiles). Jur said that standards have long been a vital resource for …

Expo News

Guidance offered in commercial insurance market

November 10, 2020

Wildfires, hurricanes, a pandemic and civil unrest have wreaked plenty of chaos on the commercial insurance market in 2020. Steve Christenson, with Marsh & McLennan Agency LLC, offered guidance to business owners Nov. 9 at IFAI Virtual Expo 2020. “The business insurance market has been going through several changes this year,” says Christenson, with U.S. …

Expo News

How to make your business attractive to a buyer

November 6, 2020

Thinking about selling your business—either to an outside party or the next generation? Then it’s time to start considering how your equipment and processes fit into your succession plan. Jonathan Palmer, the second-generation owner and CEO of equipment supplier Autometrix, and Autometrix director of global sales Truy Pham, led an educational session at IFAI Virtual …

Features

Challenges and rewards

February 10, 2025

Biomedical textiles are a highly specialized, relatively small segment of the global textile industry. Even among the more advanced textile technologies, the path to commercializing  medical textiles, generally, and biomedical textiles, in particular, is unusually challenging, facing stringent industry standards and government regulations that can take years to meet.  According to Allied Market Research, the global …

Features

The crisis of textile waste

January 27, 2025

December 12, 2024, the U.S. Government Accountability Office released a report titled “Textile Waste: Federal Entities Should Collaborate on Reduction and Recycling Efforts.” The report also offers practical solutions to address the problem, centering on a collaborative approach. Not that it will be easy, but it is, says the report, very important. Advanced Textiles Source has talked …

Features

Textile waste to wealth

January 13, 2025

According to the United Nations’ Environment Programme, cities globally are expected to produce 2.2 billion tons of waste each year by 2025. Given the economic, environmental and health impacts of waste, it is important for the textile industry to reduce, reuse and recycle the waste. For example, in a spinning mill, recyclable and reusable textile …

Features

An end-of-year industry wrap-up 

December 16, 2024

Research and development (R&D) have a direct impact on economies worldwide. In the case of textiles, including agriculture related to textiles, it provides job opportunities to millions, including an unskilled workforce. Within the textile industry, advanced textiles and chemicals sectors place relatively more emphasis on research. The nature of the industry, size and flexibility, pressure …

Features

Noteworthy innovations in healthcare textiles

December 9, 2024

In the midst of noteworthy innovations in healthcare textiles over this past year, comes the news that the Taliban has now forbidden women to train in midwifery in Afghanistan, where the number of mothers who die in childbirth is amongst the highest in the world. Midwifery was also the last form of education open to …

Features

A plan for meeting EPA PFAS regulations 

November 18, 2024

As state and federal PFAS regulations continue to increase, textile manufacturers must prioritize thorough record-keeping and create a long-term plan for their business to accommodate these regulations. At this year’s Advanced Textiles Expo and Emerging Technologies Conference (ETC) in Anaheim, Calif., education about new regulatory requirements for PFAS substances was a major theme. Top of …

Features

Advances in Textile Recycling

November 11, 2024

Advanced textile recycling, including chemical, enzymatic, and molecular technologies, is considered by many to be the path to true circularity, making waste into materials not once, but over and over.  Globally, 73 percent of collected apparel textile waste, according to the Ellen Macarthur Foundation, is landfilled or incinerated. Textile Exchange (TE) reports that of the 124 million …

Features

Surmountable challenges

October 28, 2024

The smart fabric segment of the textile industry is poised to grow from $4.19 billion in 2024 to $15.21 billion by 2032, according to a Business Research Insights market report, but stumbling blocks remain that keep smart products from wider acceptance, and therefore even larger commercial success. The Advanced Textiles Association’s Emerging Textiles Conference in …

Features

The biomaterials alternative 

October 14, 2024

This year’s Emerging Technologies Conference, presented by the Advanced Textiles Association (ATA)  had a clear focus on the topics on everyone’s minds, with sessions addressing sustainability and PFAS updates, smart textiles and e-textile technology, biomaterials, artificial intelligence, health and wellness markets, and textiles needed for space missions. Additional sessions were presented on the show floor, with …

Features

Navigating global trade compliance

September 18, 2024

Manufacturers of advanced textiles often are new entrants in young markets, so the regulatory hurdles can feel high—or invisible, until you hit them. This article highlights three regulatory issues related to global trade compliance, which advanced textile manufacturers must navigate to succeed in the international market. Unlocking government contracts The customer for advanced textiles often …

Industry News

Leigh Fibers hits post-consumer textile waste milestone

February 13, 2025

Leigh Fibers, a recycled fiber products producer based in Wellford, S.C., announced that the company’s facility in Brownsville, Texas, has recycled more than half a billion pounds of post-consumer textile waste since the facility’s opening in the late 1990s. “We are proud to have been one of the first to engage the post-consumer textile waste …

Industry News

Tariff on China goes into effect, tariffs on Mexico and Canada pause for 30 days

February 4, 2025

President Donald Trump has paused tariffs on Mexico and Canada for 30 days following conversations with Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum and Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau. The president initially signed executive orders imposing 25% tariffs on the two countries on Saturday, Feb. 1, which were expected to go into effect on Tuesday, Feb. 4. The president …

Industry News

Tariff on China goes into effect, tariffs on Mexico and Canada on pause for 30 days

February 4, 2025

President Donald Trump has paused tariffs on Mexico and Canada for 30 days following conversations with Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum and Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau. The president initially signed executive orders imposing 25% tariffs on the two countries on Saturday, Feb. 1, which were expected to go into effect on Tuesday, Feb. 4. The president …

Industry News

AATCC, SEAMS to hold inaugural conference in October

February 4, 2025

The American Association of Textile Chemists and Colorists (AATCC) and SEAMS announced the organizations have partnered to host a joint event, the Fabricating the Future 2025 Annual Conference. The inaugural event will take place Oct. 5–7 at the Westin Savannah Harbor Golf Resort & Spa in Savannah, Ga., and will offer networking and other professional …

Industry News

President Trump announces tariffs on Canada, Mexico and China

February 1, 2025

President Donald Trump signed executive orders imposing tariffs on imports to the United States from Canada, Mexico and China beginning Tuesday, Feb. 4. Tariffs on imports from Canada and Mexico will be set at 25% while Chinese imports will be set at 10%. More information about the tariffs on imports from Canada can be found …

Industry News

President Trump announces tariff plans for Canada and Mexico

January 21, 2025

President Donald Trump announced Jan. 20 that his administration plans to impose a 25% tariff on Mexico and Canada. This tariff would take effect Feb. 1. He also announced Jan. 21 plans to impose tariffs on the European Union. His administration is currently discussing a 10% punitive duty on Chinese imports. The tariffs he imposed …

Industry News

U.S. CBP proposes new rule to strengthen enforcement, limit duty exemption for low-value shipments

January 17, 2025

U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) announced Jan. 17 a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) aimed at tightening the de minimis duty exemption for certain low-value shipments entering the U.S. The proposed changes would make certain products ineligible for the exemption, which currently allows goods valued at $800 or less to enter the country without …

Industry News

Cocona Labs Establishes Wholly Foreign-Owned Enterprise in India

January 2, 2025

Cocona Labs, creator of 37.5® Technology, announced that it has established a Wholly Foreign-Owned Enterprise (WFOE) in Gurugram, India, expanding its presence in the country’s market. 37.5 Technology is based in Boulder, Colo., and makes sustainable temperature-regulating fabrics and materials used in performance clothing, footwear, bedding and home goods. “Cocona has been investing heavily in …

Industry News

INDA, EDANA release eighth Global Nonwoven Markets Report

December 9, 2024

The Association of the Nonwoven Fabrics Industry (INDA) and the European Disposables And Nonwovens Association (EDANA) announced the release of the Global Nonwoven Markets Report: A Comprehensive Survey and Outlook, 2023–2028. It is now available for purchase through both INDA’s and EDANA’s websites. This latest edition offers an analysis of global nonwoven macro drivers, supply …

Industry News

Apex Mills appoints Chris Rojas as assistant plant manager for Apex Aridyne facility

December 5, 2024

Apex Mills Corporation Inc., a technical textiles manufacturer based in Inwood, N.Y., has named Chris Rojas as assistant plant manager for the Apex Mills Aridyne facility in Graham, N.C. Rojas brings over a decade of production, process and quality improvement experience in warp and circular knitting, dyeing, and finishing from multiple manufacturing facilities.  Rojas most recently …

Out There

Rewoven silk cocoon waste used as a leather alternative 

December 9, 2024

Japanese designer Hiroto Ikebe recently showcased a leather alternative he developed using rewoven silk cocoon waste. His exhibition COCOON ANATOMY, shown during DESIGNART Tokyo 2024, displayed clothing that was designed to demonstrate that silk materials typically discarded or not used for mass production can be repurposed into fabrics and materials with multiple uses.  The leather alternative comes from raw silk, …

Out There

Project explores human-bacterial interaction in textile design

September 18, 2024

Carolina De Lara’s project, Bacterial Brickbats, explores the interaction between bacterial cellulose and knit textiles to challenge traditional, human-centered design in fashion and textiles. The project negotiates human/non-human liaisons by proposing a study where sharing agency between designer and bacterial cellulose produces a material library illustrating differing needs, creative or biological, resulting in an expressive …

Out There

Solid-knitting machine builds reconfigurable objects

August 12, 2024

A new materials technique has blended the usefulness of knitting needles and yarn with cutting-edge technology to create the equipment and process to make a solid-knit object of almost any kind. Yuichi Hirose first dreamed up this technique when he was a student at Keio University in Tokyo. There, working on digital fabrication methods in …

Out There

FLOAT designed for moving on the Moon

June 24, 2024

NASA Innovative Advanced Concepts (NIAC) 2024 Phase II awardee Ethan Schaler has proposed the first lunar railway system to provide reliable, autonomous and efficient payload transport on the Moon. The Flexible Levitation on a Track (FLOAT) system is a durable, long-life robotic transport system—a function that will be critical to the daily operations of a …

Out There

Color-changing resin material is heat-activated

April 22, 2024

Artist and designer Kim Mesches has unveiled his “Collection 5,” featuring garments made of a color-changing resin with a technology activated by heat. The material is a mix of thermochromic dyes, pigments and other ingredients, which are then mixed with hardened resin to create the garments.  For example, on sunny days the garments change themselves …

Out There

U.K. firm launches second-generation invisibility shields 

April 8, 2024

Following the successful development of functional invisibility shields in 2022, U.K.-based Invisibility Shield Co. has launched its second-generation invisibility shields on Kickstarter. Among the products is the “Megashield,” which the company claims is the largest one ever created. According to a report on designboom.com, more than four years ago the company focused on refining optical …

Out There

E-skin can produce tactile feedback

March 25, 2024

In recent years, materials scientists and engineers have introduced increasingly sophisticated materials for robotic and prosthetic applications, including a range of electronic skins, or e-skins, designed to sense the surrounding environment and artificially reproduce the sense of touch. As explained on techxplore.com, researchers at Tsinghua University in Beijing recently introduced a new dual-modal tactile e-skin that could …

Out There

Interactive pavilion knitted with smart yarns 

February 26, 2024

An interactive installation that combined textile arts, smart materials and engineering and received a 2023 Black Rock City Honorarium at the 2023 Burning Man. Set against the vast and surreal backdrop of the Black Rock Desert in Nevada, Burning Man is an annual gathering that transforms the flat, barren expanse into a vibrant playground for artistic …

Out There

Augmented reality T-shirts demonstrated at Art Basel

January 15, 2024

Avery Dennison has completed a project with NRVLD, a community-based agency comprised of artists, technologists and media personalities supporting disruptive innovation. Innovation in Textiles reports that the company created limited edition augmented reality T-shirts worn by the NRVLD executive team during an immersive event held during Art Basel Miami Beach in December 2023. The 30 …

Out There

New inks make it possible to draw stretchable LEDs

September 11, 2023

Although we’re hearing more about stretchable electronics, the fabrication of such devices’ components is far beyond most people’s abilities. Now, however, scientists have created inks that let anyone draw stretchable LEDs onto various surfaces, including fabric, using regular ballpoint pens. The inks were produced at Washington University, St. Louis, Mo., by a team led by Assoc. …

What's New?

LOOMIA and AFFOA collaborate on a new textile heater

February 10, 2025

Brooklyn, N.Y.-based LOOMIA, provider of electronic textiles and flexible electronics, and the Advanced Functional Fabrics of America (AFFOA), have introduced the Gentoo Heater, which has been engineered to perform in ultra-cold environments.  According to AFFOA, a non-profit Manufacturing USA Institute driving fabric-based innovation in the U.S., the next-generation heater is a thermoplastic polyurethane (TPU)-based resistive heater that …

What's New?

Shielding suit by Vollebak deflects radio waves

February 10, 2025

Vollebak has released the Shielding Suit, a wearable technology made with pure silver that blocks radio waves so no one can track, hack, or call the users. The silver-added suit, which shares the same electromagnetic shielding technology that NASA has used for its Mars Rover, blocks electromagnetic radiation and shields users from infrared cameras.  Comprised of a jacket and pants, the suit deflects …

What's New?

Vest designed to safeguard astronauts from radiation 

January 13, 2025

The latest issue of Upward, official magazine of the International Space Station (ISS) National Laboratory, highlights the AstroRad vest, a pioneering wearable technology designed to safeguard astronauts from harmful solar radiation during deep-space missions. Developed through a collaboration between StemRad and Lockheed Martin, the vest has undergone extensive testing through the ISS National Lab, leading …

What's New?

Manta rays inspire a fast-swimming soft robot 

January 13, 2025

A team of researchers has beaten its own record for the fastest swimming soft robot, drawing inspiration from manta rays to improve their ability to control the robot’s movement in the water. “Two years ago, we demonstrated an aquatic soft robot that was able to reach average speeds of 3.74 body lengths per second,” says …

What's New?

Moisture sensors for textile manufacturing

January 13, 2025

MoistTech Corp., Sarasota, Fla., a global provider of moisture measurement technologies, highlights its IR3000 series moisture sensors for the textile and nonwoven industries. These state-of-the-art sensors, featuring Near Infrared (NIR) technology, offer accuracy and reliability in moisture analysis, which, the company says, significantly enhances product quality, productivity and energy efficiency throughout the textile manufacturing process. …

What's New?

Graphene nanotubes used in conductive PET fibers 

December 16, 2024

Taiwan-based YAO I Fabric Co. Ltd. has unveiled innovative conductive PET fibers, with the brand name FLEX™ Yarn, that are enhanced with TUBALL™ graphene nanotubes from OCSiAl. Polyethylene terephthalate (PET) fibers, valued for their high strength, low weight and resistance to moisture, UV radiation and chemicals, are essential in various high-performance applications. But electronics, clean room …

What's New?

NUS researchers develop multifunctional robotic fibers 

December 16, 2024

A team of interdisciplinary scientists from the Dept. of Materials Science and Engineering under the College of Design and Engineering at the National University of Singapore (NUS) has developed flexible fibers with self-healing, light-emitting and magnetic properties. Scalable Hydrogel-clad Ionotronic Nickel-core Electroluminescent (SHINE) fiber is bendable, emits highly visible light, and can automatically repair itself after being cut, regaining nearly 100 per …

What's New?

New kinetic energy harvesting material is in development

December 9, 2024

Scientists are working to create a new textile material for the U.S. Navy Seals that will generate kinetic energy (from movement) and temperature changes. Backed by the U.S. Office of Naval Research Global (ONRG), this innovative textile is designed to power communication systems and health monitoring devices. The project, named “Dual Envelope Multifunctional Fabric,” is led …

What's New?

Jackets are made from NASA’s rover mission parachutes

November 18, 2024

Specialty clothing brand Vollebak has made “Martian Aerogel Jackets” from space parachutes that NASA used in developing its Rover mission on Mars in 2021. The jackets are fabricated using two materials that NASA employed during its missions. The parachute fabric is used for its exterior, while the inside uses the laser-drilled aerogel built by the same team …

What's New?

MIT’s 4D knit dress created by a robot arm

November 11, 2024

MIT’s Self-Assembly Lab team has developed the 4D Knit Dress, a new way to personalize a dress in any size using a six-axis robot arm (typically used in the automotive industry), computerized knitting and heat-activated yarns. Led by Sasha MicKinlay, a recent graduate of the MIT Dept. of Architecture, in collaboration with fashion company Ministry of Supply, the 4D Knit Dress …