Archives

Navigating Canadian market challenges

July 1st, 2025

A hybrid frame tent from Fiesta Tents’ Legacy series that was built on a floating dock for a wedding (right) and a clearspan reception tent from its Solar System line. Image: Fiesta Tents As of this writing, most Canadian textile manufacturers whose goods are included in the Canada-United States-Mexico Agreement (CUSMA) haven’t been directly affected […]

Read More

PFAS regulations offer challenges and opportunities

July 1st, 2025

Glen Raven’s Joseph Davis says the company’s transition to eliminate PFAS in manufacturing began nearly a decade ago and supports the company’s commitment to sustainability. Glen Raven has offered non-PFAS solutions for its Sunbrella® Contract fabrics since 2019, followed by a rolling transition across the entire Sunbrella fabric portfolio beginning in 2023. Image: Sunbrella Regulations […]

Read More

Making wearable technology work

July 1st, 2025

This image demonstrates capacitive touch using conductive yarns that are knitted into the garment. This example highlights a potential integration of hard goods and electronics with soft goods and wearables. The prototype features a small circuit board attached to a section of knit fabric with conductive yarns. Image: Priority Designs We are in the middle […]

Read More

California’s Responsible Textile Recovery Act

July 1st, 2025

Signed into law by California Gov. Gavin Newsom in September 2024, the Responsible Textile Recovery Act (RTRA) intends to drastically change the life cycles of apparel and textiles in California. The law does not impact just California-based businesses; it imposes obligations on anyone who sells, offers for sale or distributes certain products in California, regardless […]

Read More

Consortia pursue solutions to textile recycling’s challenges

July 1st, 2025

North Carolina State University Wilson College of Textiles fiber researchers Erika Ford, Ph.D., and Hajara Babayo. Image: The Textile Engine /Franzi Charen Imagine a future when all textiles are recycled, when trucks no longer haul millions of tons of them to landfills and incinerators and it’s easy to put them into a smooth, efficient waste […]

Read More

Quantum physics inspires interactive fabric art

July 1st, 2025

Images: Transformit A 2023 interactive art project involving two Maine artists, Cynthia Thompson, owner of Transformit in Gorham, and James LaPlante, Sputnik Animation, South Portland, led to another. The 2024 installation was inspired by quantum physics concepts and explored through giant lotus flowers. “I realized that we could deconstruct several of our [Dazzle] rental flowers,” explains […]

Read More