What’s next in medical textiles?

April 27, 2026  |  Features

The medical, defense, and protective textiles (MDP) are market segments within advanced textiles which show promise even when stressful situations, such as war and natural calamities, dominate our attention. It is ironic that during challenging times prices of commodity products are in high demand, …
Biomedical textiles’ success stories

April 13, 2026  |  Features

There are a number of reasons why the success of biomedical textiles in recent years is worth noting. First, it’s a demanding market niche fraught with standards and regulations that take time—and time is money. The investment needed to even start in this market is considerable. It’s also high…
The system-level imperative

March 23, 2026  |  Features

Rapid advances in high‑performance fibers and the growing need for multi‑hazard protection are reshaping the protective textiles market, yet the real test of these innovations lies in the field. A compelling case in point is new research on how ballistic protection interacts with firefighter tur…
Are protective textiles the future?

March 9, 2026  |  Features

It appears that the time has come for protective textiles—a market that can also expect a strong future in the functional textiles industry. As the protective textiles sector is an important segment of the technical textiles industry overall, there is ample evidence supporting this assertion is av…
Photovoltaics for the future

February 23, 2026  |  Features

Editor’s note: The word “uncertainty” has been used more often in the last year than I can ever remember. There’s uncertainty regarding international trade, funding for new research, the current administration’s support—or lack thereof—for alternative energy, and many other areas that …
Powering a more climate friendly future

February 9, 2026  |  Features

Textiles have typically been an industry with high energy consumption. In some circumstances it can be highly labor intensive and show lower productivity, depending on the level of modernization. The industry in past decades has been addressing these issues, and it has opportunities to be more clima…
Navigating change

January 26, 2026  |  Features

EDITOR’S NOTE: With a new administration in Washington as of one year ago, change and its inherent uncertainties have been ongoing. I asked these experts in the industry to respond to questions about navigating the changes.
Textiles and Tariffs

January 26, 2026  |  Features

The U.S. – China trade deal has led to positive reactions by global financial markets, but uncertainty persists—and uncertainty is not good for business in terms of expansion and investments. Given the current scenario, China comes out to be a loser in the emerging textiles trade landscape, whil…