AI enables customization of enzymes to recycle plastic waste
March 1st, 2024
Protein Evolution uses artificial intelligence to determine the correct enzymes to recycle textile and plastic waste into fresh materials. The first garment made with the biologically recycled polyester process by Protein Evolution Inc., a “parachute” parka, was on display at the 28th meeting of the Conference of the Parties (COP28) in December in Dubai, United […]
Fun-filled felt furniture made from factory remnants
March 1st, 2024
Stackabl’s Baer Collection for the Mindy Solomon Gallery was inspired by color schemes in Miami hotels built during the late 1930s. Image: Mindy Solomon/James Harris for Design Miami In an effort to repurpose industrial textile waste before it hits a landfill, the Toronto, Ont., Canada-based furniture design company Stackabl, in partnership with select New York […]
SHEIN empowers new designers
February 1st, 2024
Each of the six U.S.-based SHEIN X designers launching new evoluSHEIN collections were handpicked based on their passion for sustainable fashion. They include: Anke Wonder (left front), Jacqueline City (left center), Alexandria Carroll (left back), Farah Naz (not pictured), Lauren Flagg (right center) and Lillian Butterworth (right back). Also pictured is SHEIN’s director of sustainability, […]
Biodegradable pads from sisal to combat period poverty
February 1st, 2024
From left: Anton Molina, Anesta Kothari and Manu Prakash show the sisal fiber and the cotton-like material they’ve produced from the sisal. They hope this material could be used to make more accessible and sustainable menstrual pads. Image: Stanford University/Andrew Brodhead Of all the things that keep girls out of school in developing nations, biological […]
Small sustainability actions can make a big difference
February 1st, 2024
Glen Raven’s Sunbrella® fabrics are designed to withstand all manner of environmental impacts while remaining attractive and functional. The durable fabrics offer a high degree of sun protection and are fade resistant and easy to care for, keeping them on the job longer. Image: Glen Raven Inc. With sustainability uppermost in nearly everyone’s mind, textile […]
unspun tackles sustainability via on-demand apparel
January 1st, 2024
unspun founders Beth Esponnette, Walden Lam and Kevin Martin. Image: unspun/Ashley Batz Producing less by design means less wasted or discarded product on the back end, saving resources and time on the front. Denim in particular is also a significant player when it comes to water pollution. Technology company unspun tackles those environmental issues with […]
Global staple fiber market may reach $281 billion by 2031
December 8th, 2023
Photo: Gaston College Textile Technology Center. Staple fibers are short fibers made of either natural or synthetic materials. Any fiber that is usable, constrained, or has a finite length is referred to as a staple fiber. Even though the source is the same, the length of the fiber varies both within and across types obtained […]
Alpine Group to host panel on fashion industry transformation at COP28
December 5th, 2023
Alpine Group — the end-to-end textile innovation and apparel manufacturing group whose brand partners include Lululemon, The North Face, Under Armour and Columbia — announced that it will join forces with fashion industry titans including TrusTrace, The Apparel Institute, Keel Labs, Samata Pattinson, Founder and CEO of Black Pearl and Julia Gulatee, One Young World […]
ANDRITZ automated textile waste sorting, recycling line in France
December 4th, 2023
An ambitious partnership between textile recycling company Nouvelles Fibres Textiles, waste sorting specialist Pellenc ST and international technology group ANDRITZ, a specialist in textile recycling machinery and processes has culminated in France’s first industrial plant for automated sorting and recycling of textile waste being officially inaugurated at Nouvelles Fibres Textiles, Amplepuis, on November 30, 2023. […]
Honda workers give the shirts off their backs
December 1st, 2023
Shredded worker uniforms find a new use in vehicles as insulation. Image: Honda Honda is working toward becoming 100% carbon neutral and using only sustainable materials and clean energy by 2050—goals that require creative recycling solutions. One initiative already in practice repurposes old worker uniforms, transforming the textiles into sound-absorbing insulation used in vehicles, keeping […]