Xennia Technology wins Queen’s Award for International Trade

May 4, 2010  |  Industry News

Rapid growth in international sales, based on Xennia Technology Ltd.’s strategy of using inkjet printing technology to galvanize industrial markets, has resulted in the Hertfordshire-based firm being presented with a 2010 Queen’s Award for International Trade. According to Xennia’s…
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IFAI Canada 2010 Honours Program winners exemplify industry excellence

May 1, 2010  |  News

The annual IFAI Canada Honours Program recognizes the latest advancements in design and manufacturing in the Canadian specialty fabrics industry. Open to members of IFAI Canada, the competition provides an opportunity for members to gain recognition for exceptional projects in several categories. En…
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Sculpted fabric screen gives Guggenheim a new feel

May 1, 2010  |  Industry News, Projects

The Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum became the spinning center of the New York cultural elite in December 2009, as the next generation of art collectors (the Young Collectors Council, or YCC) hosted its annual Artist’s Ball. The museum, designed by architectural legend Frank Lloyd Wright, feature…
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Philippines focus on ‘famine food’ fibers

May 1, 2010  |  Industry News

Saluyot, a jute-like plant called “famine food” because it is a vegetable of last resort during drought times, has been added to the Philippine Textile Research Institute’s (PTRI’s) menu of renewable native fibers suitable for fabric production. The Philippines harvest many p…
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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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