TEXTILES.ORG
Artificial industrial-use spider silk developed
January 1st, 2022
Researchers at the Karolinska Institutet and the Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences (SLU) announced that they have developed spider silk that can be produced in large volumes without strong chemicals. This would make it possible to scale up this strong fiber for industrial and medical applications. “In this study, we have developed a production method […]
PrimaLoft® manufacturing platform reduces carbon emissions
January 1st, 2022
PrimaLoft Inc., developer of high-performance insulations and fabrics, has announced enhancements to its PrimaLoft® P.U.R.E.™ manufacturing platform. P.U.R.E. (Produced Using Reduced Emissions), a proprietary, renewable manufacturing technology, now achieves up to 70 percent reduction in carbon emissions. “We looked at the whole manufacturing process and focused on where all the dirty emissions are coming from,” […]
Growth path
January 1st, 2022
Photography by Mark Skalny / www.markskalnyphotography.com Like many textile entrepreneurs, Amy Bircher got her start in the industry in a family business—even as she blazed her own path. “I got into the textile industry because my family owned a dyeing and finishing facility of wide fabric, broad-woven fabrics in the Carolinas,” Bircher says. In 1980, […]
Anybody out there?
January 1st, 2022
The pandemic may be loosening its stranglehold in many parts of the U.S. but its effects are still being felt across the country in the form of supply issues, logistic and transportation challenges, and labor shortages. The latter may be the most vexing of all for business owners who see the jobs coming back but […]
Finding balance
January 1st, 2022
When the pandemic hit, Camel Expeditionary was able to shift from a Department of Defense workload to a mobile hospital workload. Photo: Camel Expeditionary. There’re always challenges to running a successful business—keeping a step ahead of the competition, anticipating the changing needs of the customer, paying attention to the financials. But the past two years […]
Providing your own power
January 1st, 2022
Biofuel cells harvesting energy from sweat, part of a wearable microgrid developed at the Center for Wearable Sensors, UC San Diego. Photo: Lu Yin. Power and efficiency are important drivers in energy harvesting technology for e-textiles, but there is much more to consider. Bulk, weight, flexibility, sustainability, ease of integration and scalability are also among […]
Good gossip
January 1st, 2022
Custom cushions created by Patricia Wallace of Bear Paw Custom Design contribute to the warm, relaxing feel in the salon of this boat. Photo: Bear Paw Custom Design. What’s the best way to market your small upholstery shop? It comes down to one simple concept, “word of mouth.” It doesn’t matter whether your shop is […]
Pink stain-resistant value-priced vinyl
January 1st, 2022
Morbern’s Voyager and Sandpiper vinyls for marine upholstery deliver high performance at a value price point. Both employ Splash construction, a pink stain-resistant vinyl formulation, the gold standard in the marine industry. With UV protection, cold crack resistance and four-way stretch, they are designed for boat interiors and exteriors. Available in a range of neutral […]
Value-packed desktop printer/cutter
January 1st, 2022
Roland DGA’s new VersaSTUDIO BN-20A desktop printer/cutter delivers the same ease of use, print quality and versatility of the original BN-20, but by removing the recirculating specialty color channel for white and metallic inks, this value-packed “business in a box” combines functionality, reliability and affordability. Able to produce vibrant graphics and to cut around virtually […]
Wide width shade mesh for zip blinds
January 1st, 2022
Serge Ferrari’s Soltis® Veozip shade mesh for outdoor zipper blinds combines quality and long-term performance with a textile look and feel. The fabric’s natural hemp fiber composition is woven with three different colored yarns to give it a tone-on-tone aesthetic that matches all standard aluminum pergola and façade frames. With an openness factor of 5 […]