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Manufacturers find niches in outdoor sports market
November 1st, 2008
Tent and apparel manufacturers target their products to outdoor sports enthusiasts, finding niches—and profit. By Holly O’Dell By nature, outdoor sports enthusiasts are an adventurous crowd. They’re also very committed to their activity of choice, a trait that makes them more willing to buy items that will enhance their experiences. To that end, tent and […]
Blast mitigation fabric wins PTA award
November 1st, 2008
An innovative textile with the potential to significantly reduce injuries inflicted by terrorist attack, industrial accident or natural disaster has won a national award designed to spotlight the best in performance textiles. The 2008 Performance Textiles Award for Excellence was presented to Heathcoat Fabrics Ltd. for the Auxetix material, developed in association with Auxetix and […]
Vinyl Roofing Division studies postconsumer recycling
November 1st, 2008
With its European counterparts blazing the trail, the North American vinyl (PVC) roofing industry has announced a new phase in its commitment to environmental sustainability through recycling. The Vinyl Roofing Division of the Chemical Fabrics & Film Association has initiated a feasibility study to evaluate strategies for making postconsumer recycling viable on a broad scale […]
ITAA names new president
November 1st, 2008
Nora MacDonald, a West Virginia University (WVU) professor in the fashion design and merchandising program, has been named president-elect of the International Textile and Apparel Association (ITAA). MacDonald came to WVU in 1971 as a textiles, apparel and merchandising instructor. In addition to teaching, she conducts research and creative activities related to clothing for the […]
Textile Monitoring Program expands
November 1st, 2008
In late September, 73 U.S. Representatives, led by textile caucus co-chairs Howard Coble (R-N.C.) and John Spratt (D-S.C.), sent a letter to President George W. Bush urging his administration to extend and expand the Textile Monitoring Program (TMP) to cover U.S. textile and apparel imports from China, beginning on Jan. 1, 2009, the first day […]
Wearable airbag prevents fall-related injuries
November 1st, 2008
Falls account for 70 percent of accidental deaths among people 75 years or older, according to the White House Medical Clinic in Washington, D.C. With this and other elder injury statistics in mind, Prop Corp., Tokyo, Japan, developed a wearable airbag, first unveiled at the International Home Care and Rehabilitation Exhibition in Tokyo in September. […]
Children in need receive a recycled GIFFT
November 1st, 2008
Members of the Sustainable Furniture Council decided that too many fabric samples ended up in landfills, and initiated the Sample Waste Initiative for Furniture and Textiles (SWIFT) to begin a conversation about how to re-use the waste. Avangard Innovative, Houston, Texas, spearheaded the Green Initiative for Furniture and Textiles (GIFFT) to provide samples, excess end […]
First Oeko-Tex Standard 1000 certification in Asia awarded
November 1st, 2008
Suzhou Deylon Textiles Co. Ltd., Wujiang City, China, one of 16 subsidiaries of the Saudi Arabia-based Ajlan & Bros., received Asia’s first Oeko-Tex® Standard 1000 certification for environmentally sound production conditions at the plant. The company, with more than 2,100 employees, manufactures traditional headwear (yashmagh and ghuttra) for Arab customers. Among those plant conditions that […]
Technology to provide renewable wood fiber for nonwovens
November 1st, 2008
Lyocell, a solution of plant-based cellulose that can be processed into a nonwoven fabric, is the foundation of a new collaboration between Lenzing Group AG, Lenzing, Austria, and Weyerhaeuser Co., Federal Way, Wash., one of the world’s largest forest products companies. A memorandum of understanding between the two global companies was signed in July, with […]
SmartSilverâ„¢ approved for natural wool fabrics
November 1st, 2008
After extensive testing, Australian Wool Innovation (AWI) has determined that NanoHorizons’ SmartSilver™ antimicrobial protection permanently guards wool fabrics against microbes that cause odor. NanoHorizons Inc., State College, Pa., created nanotechnology that allows silver, which has antimicrobial properties, to bond permanently to fibers so the protection doesn’t wash or wear out. The treatment doesn’t compromise other […]