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Opportunities arising from the plastic crisis

A new report says that, if we don’t change how we do things, 2040 will see another 29 million tonnes of plastic leakage enter our oceans in a single year. Averting this will be difficult and will take more than just recycling, but it also presents a number of opportunities for our industry. The images are distressing. There is a virtual island of plastic garbage three times the size of France floating in the...
  • Enhanced awareness
    By weaving better support and body awareness into a unique compression baselayer, a new London-based...
  • Quest for the magic circle
    Houdini and Polartec's partnership has resulted in a jacket with 80% less microfibre shedding, and by publishing the details...
  • TITAS 2020 goes ahead
    Interesting innovations on display, and creative ways of presenting them to a mixed on-site and online audience...
  • Greener chemistry
    Reducing the amount of chemicals, water and energy used to dye and finish textiles is a key challenge for the apparel industry.
  • The patchy sustainability of recycled polyester
    Many of the sustainability claims made by sportswear brands revolve around an...

06 October 2020
Natural reaction to Higg rejig
The Sustainable Apparel Coalition has released a new version of the Higg Materials Sustainability Index as part...
01 October 2020
The great indoors
Emerging from months of lockdown into a world in which competitive sports and outdoor activities are still very much limited...
29 September 2020
Crash Protection
Riders from Team Sunweb wore Dyneema-enabled wound-resistant cycling shirts at the 2020 Tour de France...
22 September 2020
Antibacterials up the ante
The covid-19 pandemic has makers of antimicrobial additives racing to find solutions that will keep face coverings and clothes virus-free.
15 September 2020
High time for hemp
A hemp and organic cotton fabric made by Swiss weaver Stotz won the Performance Days Eco Performance Award last April.
23 July 2020
Wisdom of the crowd
Fruits of crowdfunding are everywhere, though it is easy to overlook...
21 July 2020
Cotton farmers fight back against GM
As part of its work to empower disadvant­aged producers...
16 July 2020
More time for Olympic innovation
As late as mid-March, with countries around the world in lockdown...
14 July 2020
Race for protection gathers speed
If any single positive has come out of the Covid-19 pandemic...
07 July 2020
Break down the blends
The problem is well-known, and the numbers staggering...
30 June 2020
Infinite regeneration of polyester
Take a batch of monomer molecules, string them together...
28 May 2020
The war on waste will continue
Programmes to reduce and even eliminate waste are well advanced...
26 May 2020
Extreme measures
Vollebak is accustomed to hype around product launches...
21 May 2020
When partners push each other
As 2020 began, cyclists around the world were pedalling through cold rainy...
12 May 2020
A biosourced polyamide renaissance
Among the many sustainability claims brands put forward...
07 May 2020
BASF’s footwear investments bear fruit
Standing on your feet all day in a workplace...
05 May 2020
Textiles for travel and wellness
The wellness and travel wear trend has been quietly building...
20 March 2020
How to unlock the blockchain
Sourcing materials for garment manufacturing is a messy business...
17 March 2020
Plastics under the microscope
Germany-based testing institute Hohenstein has developed...
12 March 2020
Into the dark places
The Woolmark Company is to be one of a number of official technical partners...
05 March 2020
New mountains to conquer
Early this year, M.T. Imports announced...
03 March 2020
Raising the bar on reducing waste
In January, global sports brand adidas announced a major initiative...
The power of algae
The food, pharmaceuticals and biofuels industries...
16 January 2020
Smart thinking from Greek cotton collective
“If one way be better than another, that you may be sure is nature’s way,”...
Could thermosetting become obsolete?
For CEO Mike Joyce, offering recycled products no longer...
Why so few business leaders rock the boat on sustainability
HKRITA, the Hong Kong Research Institute of Textiles and Apparel...
Sciencing the bulk out of outerwear
It is all about the science...
Finnish textiles building a true circular economy
Words like “sustainability” and “circular economy”...
Take back to end throw-away culture
Keeping clothing in circulation is widely regarded as one of the best solutions...
Smart textiles power up
The market for smart clothing is heating up, literally...
31 October 2019
Taiwan’s experts stay one step ahead
The 23rd Taiwan Taipei Innovative Textile Application Show (Titas)...
Why nearly 3,000 businesses are now B Corps
Gaining B Corporation Certification is proving popular with outdoor brands...
A new source of funding to help innovators scale up their textile ideas
There are an increasing number of technologies on the market...
Truly traceable down
A provider of molecular technologies, Applied DNA Sciences Inc...
Two years’ R&D go into machines to make cotton recycling easier
It is one of the industry’s toughest nuts to crack...
The slow switch to waterless
It is safe to say that the textile industry relies heavily on clean water...
06 September 2019
VF’s new London HQ ‘shows commitment’
US-based clothing and footwear group VF Corp has launched a UK headquarters...
Industry players combine to develop a new range of insulation materials
A new range of insulation products from South Korean manufacturer Youngone Corporation...
A path towards cooling solutions in textiles
Textile finishing specialist Devan has developed a new cooling solution...
Recent changes in the performance textiles exhibition landscape
Sourcing options for brands and manufacturers of sports clothing and footwear are in flux...
The companies that are showing the way on tackling waste
News is slowly emerging that the apparel industry is not the world’s second-most polluting...
20 June 2019
A new tool for driving life cycle assessment
You can’t manage what you don’t measure...
High-performance fabrics with a low environmental impact
“Our desire is to show the way forward, to be an example for other companies,”...
The case for monofibre fabrics
To blend or not to blend?...

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