TEXTILES.ORG
U.S. Secretary of Commerce shares insights at Smart Fabric Summit
April 26th, 2018
IFAI and the Dept. of Commerce sponsored the event April 24 in Washington, D.C. “I’m taking this up there with me,” U.S. Secretary of Commerce Wilbur Ross told his interviewer, Amit Kapoor, as the two of them stepped on stage for the Secretary’s “fireside chat” at IFAI’s Smart Fabrics Summit April 24. Kapoor is chair […]
How textiles get smarter
April 9th, 2018
Advanced Textiles Source was launched to provide information about the most sophisticated textiles in the industry, and, specifically, new developments and trends in materials, technologies and end products. Increasingly, I find myself talking about smart fabrics as research in this segment is expanding at an impressive rate, and breakthroughs are announced with some regularity. Part of […]
What is a textile?
March 12th, 2018
Easy answers: woven, knit or felted materials, generally composed of yarn or fibers. Hmm. Nonwovens, then? Same deal, only not knitted or woven. Sometimes. Felted, then? How about films? Plastics, generally? Shall I go on? Regardless of your take on this question, I would challenge you to find two dictionary definitions of the word “textile” […]
NASA wants you!
February 12th, 2018
About a week ago, SpaceX successfully launched its first Falcon Heavy booster. The private aerospace company may now claim ownership of the most powerful rocket, launched from the same site in Florida that was used for NASA's Apollo missions. As much as it was a successful flight, the rocket's second stage sent the rocket’s payload […]
Mutual benefits
January 22nd, 2018
From small startups to global corporations, academia and business forge alliances. Just days ago, VF Corp. and North Carolina State University (NC State) announced a strategic, multi-year partnership to “support student development at NC State and advance apparel and textiles innovation within VF,” the company says. It will also bring $1 million to the campus […]
Collaboration is where it’s at
January 8th, 2018
We’re going to start this year out with a one-question test: Name five institutions of higher learning/research institutions that have industry partners. You have 20 seconds. Go. Done? Maybe some of you named more than five. Maybe as many as 10. With a longer time limit, you might have been able to fill a page […]
The all-encompassing commitment
January 8th, 2018
Sustainability is a way of doing business, and certification systems can support the effort. “Sustainable practice in simple terms means looking after workers, using quality materials, minimizing waste and making fair margins.” This statement from the Council of Textile and Fashion Industries of Australia (TFIA) does indeed put the topic in simple terms, which is […]
Eco news increases
December 11th, 2017
This month we’re talking specifically about issues of sustainability. In fact, we talk about this all the time, posting stories most often under our “Eco Note” tab. When I was putting together our newsletter, I was struck by the fact that I could easily post all “Eco Note” stories this time—relevant, timely and varied, but […]
Getting down to business
November 20th, 2017
A good portion of this website is filled with product information, including materials, end products and the companies who make them. Sometimes, however, we should talk business, because if we don’t, all these great products may not survive in the marketplace—or even have the opportunity to try. A company needs to research the market to […]
Small scale, big impact
November 8th, 2017
Breakthroughs in biomedical textiles will offer high-tech solutions in tomorrow’s medical markets. As the impact of technology gets bigger, some advanced textiles are getting smaller, particularly in the medical market, where biomedical or implantable textiles are having growing success. Because of the versatility of highly engineered textile substrates, medical markets are benefitting from impressive developments […]