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Tensioned fabric Tubaloon celebrates winter
March 1st, 2010
Scandinavia House: The Nordic Center in America opened its winter exhibit in February with the innovative architecture and landscape work of Snøhetta, an international design group located in Oslo, Norway, and New York, N.Y. The members of Snøhetta, named after a Norwegian mountain peak, wanted to integrate architecture and landscape in a new way, and […]
NHTSA rules on side curtain airbags
March 1st, 2010
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) has proposed new rules that would require automakers to improve side curtain airbags by making them cover more of the window, stay inflated longer and possibly be tethered to keep occupants inside the vehicle during a rollover. Approximately 6,200 die annually from side window ejections, and NHTSA wants […]
Polyfab USA pilots recycling program
March 1st, 2010
Customers purchasing shade products of Polyfab USA Polytex® and Comtex® extra-heavy-duty knitted shadecloth asked the company to establish a recycling process to take pre- and post-consumer material out of the waste stream. Polyfab USA, Manhattan Beach, Calif., has partnered with Recycle Solutions of Memphis, Tenn., to launch a recycling program for HDPE knitted shadecloth. “We […]
No national textile academy in the U.K.
March 1st, 2010
Malcolm Campbell, managing director of Joseph H. Clissold cloth design and export firm in Bradford, West Yorkshire, England, criticized Prime Minister Gordon Brown for rejecting plans for a national academy for fashion and textile skills. Campbell says that the failure to establish a national academy and “dumbing down” existing training programs would set back skills […]
New spins on natural fibers
March 1st, 2010
The Philippine Textile Research Institute (PTRI) has discovered how to convert the hard, coarse and stiff fibers of indigenous plants into soft spun yarns, a potential boost to use of renewable resources in textile manufacture. The PTRI process involves fiber pretreatment with alkaline chemicals and mechanical processing with fluted rollers to make fibers spinnable into […]
PGI Center for Excellence to focus on nonwovens
March 1st, 2010
The Polymer Group Inc. (PGI) facility in Suzhou, China, becomes the newest regional Center for Excellence (COE) in PGI’s research and development efforts to develop new technologies to improve nonwoven materials used for health care, hygiene and industrial markets. The focus of research efforts will be aspects of spun-melt polymer fabric performance that could be […]
African textile industries overwhelmed by imports
March 1st, 2010
The textile industry in Ghana is sinking under loads of imported Chinese fabrics that mimic the designs of Ghanaian cloth and sell for substantially less. Two well-known Ghanaian companies, Ghana Textile Print and Printex, have shut down spinning and weaving operations that can’t compete with Chinese imports. Instead, according to The Stitch Times, retailers “have […]
Indonesian banks tightening credit
March 1st, 2010
The Asia-China Free Trade Agreement (ACFTA) will tighten competition within Indonesia’s already struggling textile industry and, according to a survey conducted by Bank Indonesia, will make securing bank loans difficult for domestic textile operations. The Indonesian government has called upon banks to lower lending rates to the textile sector for updating equipment and adapting to […]
Haitian earthquake collapses apparel industry
March 1st, 2010
The Haitian Hemispheric Opportunity through Partnership Encouragement (HOPE) Act, passed in 2006 and extended in 2008, boosted the Haitian apparel industry by allowing duty-free exports to the United States. Haiti has been the 17th largest supplier by volume of apparel products to the U.S., with exports up 22 percent between 2008 and 2009. In addition, […]
Birdair Inc. shares international award
March 1st, 2010
The Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium, Port Elizabeth, South Africa, will host the 2010 Federation Internationale de Football Association World Cup in June 2010, and sports fans will enjoy the action under a tensioned membrane roofing system with a skeleton made of 2,400 metric tons of steel girders. Birdair Inc., Buffalo, N.Y., designed, engineered and constructed […]