May 23, 2018
The Lenzing Group marks a new milestone in its sustainability journey: It is introducing the eco-responsible process for the production of Lenzing™ EcoVero™ branded viscose fibers in Nanjing, China. The environmental awareness of consumers has been steadily growing over the past decade, and especially more recently in the fashion and textile industry. Textile consumption is …
May 21, 2018
Under the leadership of designer and architect Neri Oxman, a group of researchers from the Mediated Matter group at MIT have developed a water-based digital fabrication platform using a renewable polymer from the ocean. The process combines an age-old, crustacean-derived material with robotic fabrication and synthetic biology. This biologically derived digital fabrication process creates forms that use graded material properties …
May 9, 2018
The nova-Institute has announced its six finalists for the Bio-based Material of the Year 2018 Innovation Award, which recognizes technologies in the bio-based chemicals and materials industry for suitable applications and new markets for their products. The finalists are from six different countries and offer a range of innovations, including: AIMPLAS (Spain): Bio-based and biodegradable …
May 7, 2018
Japanese scientists have developed a super-thin organic solar cell that can be heat-printed onto clothes. Because the cell can be integrated into textiles through the commercially available hot-melt process without degrading the cell’s performance, its developers believe the cell has immense potential for many applications in every day life. A report on www.technicaltextiles.net says that …
April 30, 2018
The Secondary Materials and Recycled Textiles Association (SMART) invites next generation recyclers to revitalize the way people think about recycling. SMART would like to see millennials and members of Gen Z lead the way in making conscious decisions about recycling textiles. “The ‘reduce, reuse, recycle’ motto, launched in April 1970, has been a powerful force in encouraging …
April 23, 2018
Italian fashion label Napapijri, launched its latest innovative endeavor, “Ze-Knit” at Milan Design Week. The line of digitally-knitted urban “future wear” is the result of the label’s research into sustainable manufacturing alternatives. Ze-Knit garments are digitally knitted from a single yard, which can mean up to 30 percent fabric waste reduction of raw material, water, and dye …
OEKO-TEX® recently announced new testing methods to identify genetically modified organisms (GMOs) in cotton that is labeled organic. Today, about 70 percent of cotton globally is genetically altered, OEKO-TEX says. Some forms of cotton have been engineered to be herbicide-resistant. Others have been infused with an insecticide to kill pests like boll weevils. Producers may …
April 9, 2018
Timberland® has launched a line of products that use Thread International PBC Inc.’s Ground to Good™ fabric made from plastic bottles that would otherwise litter the streets and fill landfills in Haiti. According to Timberland, the Thread X Timberland collection uses a canvas fabric Thread has developed that meets or exceeds all of Timberland’s durability …
April 5, 2018
The Hohenstein Institute has announced that Macy’s will bring MADE IN GREEN by OEKO-TEX® labels to select private brand sheets and towels. Macy’s says that selecting the MADE IN GREEN label is a way to make the company’s sustainability initiatives visible to shoppers. Because the label is traceable, customers can confirm the textile’s manufacturing origins …
March 15, 2018
The Global Organic Textile Standard (GOTS) hosted a roundtable for the textile industry in Charleston, S.C., in March, headlined “Making a Business Case for GOTS Certification.“ The event attracted brands, trade associations, textile manufacturers, organic certification agencies and organic cotton farmers. They heard and discussed presentations on topics ranging from general 2017 GOTS progress—particularly in …