TEXTILES.ORG
Thermal control in wearable technology
August 1st, 2024
The textile-heated garment industry is revolutionizing how we stay warm. Advanced Functional Fabrics of America (AFFOA), the organization I work for, is at the forefront of developments in the types of heat sources used, particularly how they are controlled for optimal comfort and efficiency. Disposable hand warmers, popular for their immediate heat via the exothermic […]
Mesh seats keep soccer fans cooler in Houston heat
August 1st, 2024
Images: Serge Ferrari Keeping cool in Houston, Texas, is practically a year-round endeavor, as temps can hit the 90s F even in the spring. One way the new owners of the Houston Dynamo Football Club addressed fan comfort in their stadium redo was by converting its seats from plastic chairs to mesh fabric from Serge […]
Effective leaders encourage their employees’ creativity
August 1st, 2024
Image: Dreamstime.com/© Marish When we think of assets in an organization, our thoughts generally lean toward the accounting definitions. We have cash tied up in inventory and accounts receivable. We have cash tied up in equipment or other fixed assets. And we have cash tied up in, well, cash. These are all perfectly acceptable definitions […]
How far textile finishes have come
August 1st, 2024
Graniteville Specialty Fabrics began as a Graniteville Mill division producing coated striped awning fabrics, as in this 1947 photo showing a festoon oven range. Image: Graniteville Specialty Fabrics Fabric coatings and finishes have played a role in iconic pieces of America’s past and, with new technology, are poised to play a role in a more […]
Lacemaking tradition inspires 3D-knit sculpture
August 1st, 2024
To create the Common Thread sculpture, design studio SO – IL used black and white rPET yarn knit at different ratios to create the varying shades of gray. The yarn was made from recycled bottles and knit with a Steiger industrial knitting machine. It took three months to create, and installation at the secluded site […]
Södra, Lenzing AG repurpose polyester-cotton fiber waste
August 1st, 2024
A log stacker working in the timber yard at Södra Wood Värö in Väröbacka, Sweden. Image: © Södra Skogsägarna/Malin Arnesson Lenzing AG, a specialty fiber supplier headquartered in Lenzing, Austria, and Södra, a Swedish forest-owner association, jointly developed OnceMore®, a process that enables the recycling of polyester-cotton fiber blends to make textile pulp. Södra’s pulp […]
Evrnu creates textile waste production-based yarns, fibers
August 1st, 2024
Evrnu® partnered with Christopher Bevans, a Portland, Ore.-based fashion designer, to create the 360 Hoodie made from 55% Nucycl® and 45% Supima cotton. The hoodie is fully recyclable and can be re-formed into a new garment up to five times as part of Evrnu’s take-back program. Image: Evrnu Evrnu®, a B-corp-certified materials science company based […]
Designing shoes with diassembly in mind
August 1st, 2024
The Disassembly Lab was an undergraduate research and design project developed by Robin Luginbuhl at L’école cantonale d’art de Lausanne (University of Art and Design Lausanne, or ECAL) for his bachelor’s degree in product design. It was composed of three shoe models made of thermoplastic polyurethane soles and 3D-knitted polypropylene material that can easily be […]
Bacteria eating plastic produce “spider silk” material
August 1st, 2024
Genetically engineered bacteria consumed plastic to create a bio-inspired "spider silk" protein that could be spun into thread. Images: Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute/Dakota Pace Turning waste plastic into a valuable resource is under investigation by researchers at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (RPI), who fed it to bacteria and came up with a “bio-inspired spider silk.” The scientists […]
Traceable recycled down partnership established
August 1st, 2024
NEMO Equipment Inc. designed its Endless Promise® sleeping bags to make them fully recyclable. The company is partnering with Allied Feather + Down to use its traceable materials in the sleeping bags, which the company will return to Allied at the end of a bag’s life, and the polyester also will be recycled. Image: NEMO […]