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Top Austrian climbers and winning fibers
August 1st, 2010
Climbing a huge boulder hanging over a precipitous alpine drop requires rigorous training, faultless gear and brute courage—and a good t-shirt doesn’t hurt, either. The Lenzing Group, Lenzing, Austria, suited up the athletes of the Austrian Climbing Association with sportswear made of Tencel® fiber, a cellulose fiber made from wood. One of the top-ranked climbers […]
Textile implants improve bio tolerance
August 1st, 2010
Repair or replacement of human tissue damaged by illness or injury is fraught with complications, and the Hohenstein Institute, Boenningheim, Germany, is making progress on one of them—bio tolerance of textile implants. Textile implants, even those made of resorbable biopolymers such as polylactic acid, break down. The acidic waste products can inflame the wound or […]
Trash fashion on the runway
August 1st, 2010
Trash Fashion: “designing out waste” brought haute couture and recycled materials together in an exhibit at the U.K. Science Museum in London’s South Kensington area. The exhibit had a touch of C.L.A.S.S. (or Creativity, Lifestyle and Sustainability Synergy), an organization developing eco-innovations with a global network of members and three showrooms in Milan, London and […]
NY club opening features digitally printed entry curtain
August 1st, 2010
New nightclubs in New York City must make a big, bold statement in marketing and décor, and Color X, New York City, N.Y., brought creativity and large-format fabric printing services to the opening of one hot venue. A digitally printed entry curtain 35 feet wide and 20 feet tall greeted customers at the door. It […]
Shaping the future of PPE
August 1st, 2010
Nanotechnology, smart textiles and hybrid materials will increase the effectiveness and use of personal protective equipment (PPE), prompting more sales in this sector, according to a report from Textiles Intelligence, Wilmslow, U.K. According to the International Labour Organization, more than 2 million people die of work-related accidents and diseases each year, and for every dollar […]
New leadership for FESPA
August 1st, 2010
Gyorgy Kovacs, president of the Hungarian Screen Printers’ Association, assumed the presidency of the Federation for European Screen Printers Association (FESPA), which organizes international screen printing and digital imaging exhibitions. As a general director of sign-making machinery company Vasco Hungary Ltd., a former public school teacher, and co-driver of the Hungarian rally team, Kovacs’ vitality […]
Alliances help MOP up oil
August 1st, 2010
MOP Environmental Solutions Inc., Bath, N.H., holds the patent on the MOP™ Maximum Oil Pickup oil absorbent and booms, but the small company lacked the capacity to capitalize on the need for its technology in the Gulf of Mexico right now. The company recently formed strategic alliances with two bigger players: Leigh Fibers, Wellford, N.C., […]
TESTEX opens new office in Melbourne
August 1st, 2010
Australia imports and exports textiles, but the country has no controls on chemical substances in textile imports and limited safety requirements on exports. TESTEX AG, Zurich, Switzerland, just established a new office in Melbourne that can test both incoming and outgoing textiles to ensure they meet international standards; if they do not, it will seriously […]
ASTM paves the way for geotextiles
August 1st, 2010
When geotextiles are used to reinforce the base layers of flexible pavement, the interaction between the fabric and aggregates is important, as is the tensile property of the geotextile. The American Society for Testing and Materials (ASTM) has developed two new standards pertaining to these important features. ASTM D7499, Test Method for Measuring Geosynthetic-Soil Resilient […]
OSHA rules on hex-chromium exposure
August 1st, 2010
In 2006, the U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) dropped the permissible exposure limit (PEL) for hexavalent chromium from 52 to 5 micrograms per cubic meter, due to its known health impacts on workers exposed to high amounts. Employers were required to inform workers only when hexavalent chromium was greater than the PEL. Ralph […]