The Smart Fabrics Conference 2023

May 8, 2023  |  Features

This year’s Smart Fabric Summit was again organized by the Advanced Textiles Association (ATA) and the Wilson College of Textiles, North Carolina State University (NC State) in Raleigh, N.C. The event took place on the NC State campus April 11–12. It began with a full day of education and ended …
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The future of polyester (as we know it)

April 24, 2023  |  Features

Where would we be without polyester textiles? Fibers created from polyethylene terephthalate (PET) are ubiquitous in our apparel, home furnishings, automotive, filtration and personal care industries. In 2021, they represented 57.57 percent of the global fiber market, according to Fibre2Fashion’s …
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Advanced durable textiles for protective applications

April 10, 2023  |  Features

We wear textiles for protection from the elements—walking in the rain, shielding ourselves from the sun, or even removing dinner from the oven. It’s interesting to consider what goes into making these everyday textiles, but what about making more robust protective textile applications, such as g…
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Helping the body heal itself 

March 27, 2023  |  Features

The health and wellness market has been among the first to embrace advances in smart yarns and to take advantage of the versatility of engineered textiles. Supreme Corp., a producer of high-tech textiles and electrically conductive yarn and sewing thread, has now created a revolutionary fabric calle…
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Protective textiles: a sunrise sector

March 13, 2023  |  Features

Images full of camouflage patterns and army combat gear are seen frequently in the news, no doubt in part because of the ongoing war in Ukraine. Next to weapons systems, the bullet proof gear and garments we are so used to seeing are, in fact, occupying an important place in defense procurement.
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Trends in smart textiles for health and wellbeing

February 27, 2023  |  Features

Smart textiles for health and wellbeing are becoming both more diverse and interconnected. Three key market segments—home healthcare, healthcare facilities and in work environments are worth noting. Home healthcare has come to dominate the wearable medical device market globally, with an estimate…
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Avenues and opportunities

February 13, 2023  |  Features

Recent world events as they pertain to supply chain issues, the ongoing war in Ukraine, market volatility and persisting inflation issues are underscoring the need to diversify and strengthen the manufacturing sector. While the commodity textile sector has migrated to the East in the past two or thr…
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Resiliency in the face of change

January 23, 2023  |  Features

Editor’s note: This month in our features we’re looking at the question, “What defined the advanced textiles industry in 2022?” I asked the Advanced Textiles Association (ATA) board chair, Amy Bircher, and the ATA 1st vice chair, Roy Chism, to respond to my questions about the industry in 20…
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The year ahead in textiles

January 9, 2023  |  Features

Will 2023 be the year that heralds a deglobalized, but more highly networked, textile industry? If so, what might that look like? One may look at this topic through four different lenses, starting with the supply chain, then robotics in manufacturing, 3D printing and the scalability of biotechnology…
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Safe, sustainable and successful

December 19, 2022  |  Features

“The U.S. health care system is responsible for an estimated 10 percent of national greenhouse gas emissions, which cause extreme weather events and contribute to worse health outcomes.” This is the sobering start to the U.S. House of Representatives Ways and Means Committee report, “Health ca…
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