"Made in America” can mean different things, depending on context. It could refer to consumer products created with U.S. labor from raw materials sourced from around the world. It could describe an item sold to the federal government or used in an infrastructure project, where a percentage of it must be composed of American-made components. It could be an item for the U.S. military, which must be American-made from the yarn constructing the textile on up. It often is a custom product or a specialty item with advanced performance characteristics, as the industry that remains in this country is nimble, adaptive and often survives in niches.

The beauty of sunrooms is that they allow people to enjoy the outdoors without actually having to be outdoors. But the downside of sunrooms is that they let in a lot of natural light, potentially subjecting those trying to enjoy that space to fluctuations in UV exposure and uncomfortable temperature swings.

What we plan for ourselves isn’t always what life has planned for us. Just ask Zachary Wilson, who had no idea that a simple choice he made as an 18-year-old would change his life.

Statement-making draping is reshaping client expectations for events. As event planners use this technique more intentionally to define celebratory spaces, the bar for both design and execution is rising, particularly in tented events.

Last year, we were wondering how tariffs would affect the U.S. economy and the domestic portion of the global textile industry, as the rates seemed to change daily at the time the Advanced Textiles Association (ATA) annual industry survey was being conducted in the spring. Inflation thus wound up being No. 1 on people’s lists of top concerns—as it was the year prior—and tariffs being an inflation driver had people worried.

Fabrication work can be rewarding, but it often includes long hours. Unfortunately, outworking competitors doesn’t always translate into a more profitable operation. Getting estimates right for custom work is essential to run a successful business, but it’s tricky by nature to accomplish because of the myriad variables that go into each job.

As workforce gaps widen and fabric sourcing and development grow more complex, textile companies are partnering with academic institutions to shape solutions. Integrating research, resources and education, the most successful collaborations are based on shared goals and a commitment to moving the industry forward.

The success of biomedical textiles in recent years is worth noting. It’s a demanding, niche market with numerous standards and regulations that take time to adhere to—and time is money. The investment needed to start in this market is considerable. It’s also highly specialized, which means that the cushion that diversification brings to a product portfolio may not be a viable option.

External market pressures are everywhere in the textile industry. To succeed, thread manufacturers focus on service and developing products in response to their customers’ needs. Growth areas are in specialty niches and supported by internal R&D.

Chaos can often be mistaken for capability. Theability to pivot quickly, solve problems on the fly and “make it work” under pressure is what many of us built our businesses on.

Textiles have typically been an industry with high energy consumption. In some circumstances, it can be highly labor-intensive, depending on the level of modernization. A February 2026 report from the European Environment Agency notes that textile consumption in 2020 in the European Union had the third highest impact on water usage and fifth highest use of raw materials and greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions compared with other consumption categories.

Every tarp on a highway is a small engineering project in motion. At 65 mph, a cover is not just keeping a load compliant; it is resisting abrasion at tie-down points, surviving UV exposure and cycling through heat and cold. For truck tarp and cover fabricators and the suppliers that serve them, the market is steady, but expectations are rising.