Rhode Island Governor signs PFAS ban act into law

July 8, 2025  |  Industry News, News

Rhode Island Gov. Daniel McKee has signed into law an act that bans the manufacture, sale and distribution in the state of firefighting personal protective equipment (PPE) containing intentionally added PFAS beginning Jan. 1, 2027. Under the act, entitled An Act Relating to Health and Safety: Consum…
Minnesota to delay PFAS reporting deadline

July 7, 2025  |  Industry News

The Minnesota Pollution Control Agency (MPCA) has announced it will extend the upcoming reporting deadline under the state’s PFAS-in-Products law. As currently written, the law requires manufacturers of intentionally added PFAS-containing products in the state to report detailed information to the…
Lawrence Fabric & Metal Structures promotes Marshall Tucker to vice president of operations

July 3, 2025  |  Industry News

Lawrence Fabric & Metal Structures, St. Louis, Mo., has announced the promotion of Marshall Tucker to vice president of operations. Tucker joined Lawrence in 2017 as a project manager and later moved to the sales team in 2022. As vice president of operations, he will oversee areas including CAD,…
Consumer confidence decreases in June

July 1, 2025  |  Industry News, News

The Conference Board released the June 2025 Consumer Confidence Index®, reporting that consumer confidence fell by 5.4 points in June to 93.0, down from 98.4 in May. The cutoff date for preliminary results was June 18, 2025. The Present Situation Index—based on consumers’ assessment of curren…
Vermont governor approves bill restricting PFAS in more consumer products

June 25, 2025  |  Industry News, News

Vermont Gov. Phil Scott has signed into law H.238, which implements further restrictions on the use of PFAS in consumer products. Previously, legislation was adopted in the state under S.25 that restricted PFAS in personal care products, menstrual products, textiles, cookware, rugs and carpets, arti…
IPC releases new quality and reliability standard for e-textile wearables

June 12, 2025  |  Industry News, News

IPC® International Inc., a global association for electronics manufacturers, has released a new standard for e-textile wearables called IPC-8981, Quality and Reliability of E-Textile Wearables. This first-of-its-kind standard sets baselines for testing and classifying e-textile wearables, addressin…
INDA releases North American Nonwovens Supply Report

June 10, 2025  |  Industry News, News

The Association of the Nonwoven Fabrics Industry (INDA) has released its 12th annual North American Nonwovens Supply Report. The report reveals continued growth and strategic transformation within the North American nonwovens industry. For the second consecutive year, North American capacity continu…
President Trump doubles tariffs on steel, aluminum imports

June 4, 2025  |  Industry News, News

President Donald Trump has increased tariffs on most steel and aluminum imports from 25% to 50%, effective June 4. The U.S. and the U.K. previously reached a trade deal May 8, agreeing to negotiate an alternative arrangement for the 25% Section 232 tariffs on steel and aluminum. According to Preside…