Renewed vitality in domestic manufacturing

August 28, 2023  |  Features

Since the pandemic, the world economy has been run by anomalies. With a strong labor market, one normally expects higher demand in daily nonessentials such as clothing, home textiles and home accessories; the financial reports of major retailers, such as Walmart and Canadian retailer Loblaws, show t…
Read More
Concerns about chemicals 

August 14, 2023  |  Features

The chemicals used on many textiles are impacting apparel in concerning ways across the globe. In her book released in June 2023, To Dye For: How Toxic Fashion Is Making Us Sick and How We Can Fight Back, journalist Alden Wicker discusses the hazards certain chemicals pose for human health. In an in…
Read More
The challenge of making sustainable footwear

July 31, 2023  |  Features

A single method to calculate and mitigate the negative environmental impact of footwear is much needed. The European Commission is promoting the Product Environmental Footprint (PEF), designed to offer a single method to calculate, and perhaps as important, to communicate the environmental performan…
Read More
A new world in sustainable footwear

July 17, 2023  |  Features

When Nike launched its Flyknit trainer in 2012, it kickstarted a new era in sustainable footwear. The one-piece uppers, knit on a flat machine, created 60 percent less waste than traditional construction. The transition to recycled polyester (rPET) yarns in 2016 added to the brand’s sustainability…
Read More
The innovation ecosystem in advanced textiles

June 26, 2023  |  Features

Billionaire investor Raymond Dalio, founder and chairman of Bridgewater Associates, an American investment management firm, has said that education and technology are key influencers among the factors that propel economic development and spearhead growth, but specific skillsets, beyond professional …
Read More
Smart Fabrics Conference: Part II

June 12, 2023  |  Features

With a packed day-and-a-half, the Smart Fabric Summit in April 2023 provided plenty of information to process, ideas to incorporate and discussions to spark the imagination. Organized by the Advanced Textiles Association (ATA) and the Wilson College of Textiles, North Carolina State University (NC S…
Read More
The life-changing possibilities for biomedical textiles

May 22, 2023  |  Features

The pandemic heightened the public’s awareness of textile substrates and elevated the value of textiles in everyone’s eyes, but few know of breakthrough technologies that could transform segments of the medical textiles field. Key attributes of these textiles are their functionality and biocompa…
Read More
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 …
Read More