TEXTILES.ORG
Sustainable synthetics
April 1st, 2020
Sustainability issues leap to the forefront in creating new synthetic fibers. by Ericka Ford, Ph.D. Philosopher scientist Robert Hooke’s 17th-century belief that plants eaten by the silkworm could spin into a silk alternative was an oversimplification of the biological processes that ultimately allowed the food-satiated silkworm to spin silk. Nevertheless, the timely invention of the […]
A faster path to market through industry dialogue and profitable partnerships
November 1st, 2018
If innovation is a key to growth and profitability because of the differentiation it can offer in our broadly commoditized industrial fabrics industry—one that for decades has been under strong pricing pressure from low-cost imports—then R&D is an essential component of a company’s toolbox for financial success. My experience, however, coincides with the observation of […]
Sustainable recycling: from textile waste to chindi rugs
October 1st, 2018
In India, the most common meaning for chindi is ‘torn cloth’; encountered either as a waste byproduct in the textile industry (post-industrial) or, more commonly, as the end-of-life residue of fabrics in use in households (post-consumer). For generations, this form of textile waste, torn strips of cloth, has been repurposed as colorful twine for tapestry […]
Textile-based bio materials mend bodies
July 30th, 2018
Textile-based biomaterials, or biotextiles, have the longest history in the field of biomaterials. In ancient China and Egypt as far back as 2000 B.C., natural fibers such as linen, silk, bark, horsehair and dried guts were used as suture materials for wound closure. The introduction of steel wire and synthetic fibers such as polypropylene, nylon […]