Nanotechnology used to create fabric battery

May 1, 2010  |  Industry News, Projects

Nanotechnology continues to revolutionize the textile—and energy—industries. Stanford University researchers have developed batteries and simple capacitors from fabric dipped in nanoparticle-infused ink. “The whole thing can be stretchable … and extend to more than twice its…
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Researchers make waves with crustacean-shell auto interiors

May 1, 2010  |  Industry News, Projects, Upholstery

A natural biopolymer that strengthens the shells of crustaceans can be combined with fragrant oils to produce odor-repellent, stain-resistant and antimicrobial automotive interiors, according to researchers at the Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology (RMIT) in Melbourne, Australia. Chitosan, foun…
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Fashion meets function with conductive threads

May 1, 2010  |  Industry News, Projects

Fashion design took a technological turn at the 26th Annual Cornell Design League Fashion Show in March at Cornell University, Ithaca, N.Y. Student Abbey Liebman combined coated cotton threads with proprietary nanotube technology to created an e-jacket that charges cell phones, iPods and other hand-…
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Nonwovens help North Carolina economy

May 1, 2010  |  Advanced Textiles, Industry News

Since 2003, 226 companies making synthetic fabrics have moved to or expanded in North Carolina, in part because of research technologies that are creating nonwoven fabrics for the filtration and healthcare markets. The College of Textiles at North Carolina State University, Raleigh, N.C., is one of …
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Philips leads EU luminous textiles project

May 1, 2010  |  Industry News, Projects

The goal is to create light sources that are “flexible, supple and also soft, just like textiles,” says Christian Dalsgaard, director of the Danish firm Ohmatex, and the European Union is backing 12 partners in five countries to develop intelligent light textiles. The project, led by Roy…
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Bananas provide new textile opportunities

May 1, 2010  |  Industry News

Between 50 and 70 percent of farmers in Uganda grow bananas, and the fibers of banana trees end up as waste material. Now the DKTE Textile and Engineering Institute of India will partner with Busitema University in Uganda to develop extraction technologies for banana fibers, which may have propertie…
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Silk crepe producers adopting bioplastic

May 1, 2010  |  Industry News

Several silk production facilities in Kyotango, Japan, are working in partnership with Teijin Co., Tokyo, Japan, in developing innovative applications for BIOFRONT™ bioplastic, a plant-based fiber with a silk-like sheen. Most bioplastics melt under high heat and humidity, but BIOFRONT has a me…
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Strategic alliance promotes architectural fabrics

May 1, 2010  |  Fabric Structures, Industry News

Two big names in architectural fabrics have joined forces to produce and market Tenara®, expanded PTFE fibers patented by W. L. Gore & Associates, Newark, Del., and licensed exclusively to Sefar AG, Heiden, Switzerland, for production and sales. Tenara, used in such projects as the retractab…
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South Carolina nonwovens machinery group expands

May 1, 2010  |  Industry News

The city of Greer, S.C., recently welcomed a new American Truetzschler Inc. plant to the community, along with the spinning and nonwoven machinery company’s $3.5 million investment and 30 new jobs. American Truetzschler, based in Charlotte, N.C., purchased production machinery from John D. Hol…
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Report shows rising demand for geosynthetics

May 1, 2010  |  Geosynthetics, Industry News

Infrastructure development and construction in Russia, China and India will drive global demand for 6.9 billion square yards of geosynthetic fabric by 2015, according to a report by Global Industry Analysts Inc., San Jose, Calif. The research report, “Geosynthetics: A Global Strategic Business…
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