For Janice Grieshop, vice president of Celina Tent in Celina, Ohio, it all began in 1996 when a local hardware store went out of business after 74 years. “My husband, Herb, and I purchased its small inventory of tables, chairs and three tents and started Celina Tent Rental out of our rural home,” she says. “Our early customers were local people hosting parties and other events.”

People in the entertainment world make their living around drama, suspense and unexpected plot twists and turns. But the people who make their living supplying entertainers with the tools of their trade—such as theatrical-based fabrics—would rather their business not have the kind of unpredictability that audiences crave.

COVID-19 battered economies and companies worldwide, with few industries spared its effects. But if the pandemic turned lives upside down, it also unleashed creativity, determination and a refusal to say “uncle.” The result in a lot of cases wasn’t just mere survival, but something closer to thriving despite it all. Examples of this can be found among manufacturers and suppliers of fasteners, webbings, elastics, trims, bindings and other goods that textile products providers rely on.

A seemingly simple job can sometimes create many challenges but still result in a great finished project. A case in point is the canopy built for a homeowner’s outdoor space by Fresco Shades, of Auckland, New Zealand. The homeowner had provided a CAD drawing of the desired space and even visited the designer’s office to discuss various options.

Green. Sustainable. Environmentally friendly. These issues are top of mind for manufacturers of all kinds, and outdoor fabric manufacturers and end product manufacturers are no different. But what does it all mean? How does one measure immediate impact against long-term impact? How do businesses meet the needs of consumers and do their part for the environment—all while maintaining the bottom line? There are no easy answers, but outdoor fabric manufacturers are asking the right questions—and in response are developing innovative fabrics that address sustainability in all its complexity.

Awnings, tents, shade sails, marine upholstery, protective gear, furniture: regardless of the end product, the fabric needs to perform in harsh conditions while looking good, keeping the planet green and fitting into a client’s budget. For our two-part annual showcase, we asked contributors to send us information about their latest high-performance textiles. We’ve organized the information into performance categories, and Part 2 is included in this issue. In the April issue, Part 1 of the showcase included fabrics that emphasize durability, strength, versatility, UV protection and performance upholstery.

IFAI’s Smart Fabric Summit returned to an in-person event with a new location at North Carolina State University (NC State), its producing partner. This choice allowed for adding another day of activities that included student demonstrations and tours of the Zeis Textiles Extension complex and the Nano-EXtended Textiles lab (NEXT) at the Wilson College of Textiles on the NC State campus.

The R-S-P-F Sales Formula™ focuses on four measurable and repeatable habits, traits and processes that all salespeople must be proficient in, and that all sales leaders must monitor closely. Part One of this series outlined the first two crucial habits: Research and Scheduling. But that is only part of the equation that differentiates salespeople who are consistently exceeding goals from everyone else.

The magic target is 1.5 degrees Celsius. The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (the United Nations body for assessing the science related to climate change) has set an ambitious goal to limit global warming to 1.5 degrees. Experts say that to maintain the global warming target, greenhouse gas emissions must be curtailed by one-third. Fuel emissions have a major effect on global warming. Petrochemical, synthetics, manufacturing, agriculture and construction are some of the important sectors that have their tasks cut out for them to reduce carbon dioxide and hence protect the environment. The transportation sector is eyeing nonmetallic components to tackle global warming.

Electronic or e-yarns are a natural development within e-textiles as the sector strives toward greater miniaturization, flexibility and a more seamless integration of electronics and textiles. What has started to emerge in a relatively short time is the added value and novelty that it can bring to both smart materials and to yarn development.

A research and development facility intended to spur business development, innovation, entrepreneurship and sustainability in the textile industry in North Carolina and points beyond is tentatively set to open for testing later this year, with a grand opening expected to take place in 2024.

As the world continues to call for commercial fabrics that can withstand ever-greater environmental challenges, shade sail vendors are waiting to see whether that will translate into greater demand for flame-retardant (FR) shade sails.