TEXTILES.ORG
Benefit sharing
June 29th, 2016
Every year at this time, we start pulling together our editorial calendars, compiling a list of important products, key markets and vital industry issues. This year’s “issues” roster for the Review includes (but is not limited to): multifunctionality in high-performance fabrics; sustainability, inside and out; smart marketing and managing social media; adding value; the next […]
Special delivery
June 1st, 2016
Mass customization is defined online as a marketing and manufacturing technique that combines the flexibility and personalization of “custom-made” with the low unit costs associated with mass production—sometimes with the qualification added that the customization is intended to take place at the last possible production stage before the product meets the customer. The concept started […]
An intelligent ecosystem
May 1st, 2016
Last Friday (April 22), I’d meant to wear my original “Earth Day” button, purchased in 1970 as a callow youth in Morris, Minn.; but as a jaded professional in Minneapolis, Minn., I remembered to grab earrings but left the button sitting next to one that says “CTHULHU FOR PRESIDENT: If you’re tired of voting for […]
Warp speed
April 1st, 2016
One of my friends emailed me this morning to ask about some research she was doing into the history of women’s participation in “technological” careers, wondering what was considered “high tech” 30, 40 and 50 years ago, and reminiscing about professional life before cell phones and computers and a global communications network. When I started […]
Forethought: The next job
March 1st, 2016
Back in September 1999, I wrote my first editorial for the Industrial Fabric Products Review. At the time, I described myself this way: “I’m a rabid science fiction fan and a relentless afficionado of robust red wines, and I have no children, no pets, six slowly petrifying house plants, and only a fading hope that […]
Forethought: Waging wars
February 1st, 2016
Last week’s blizzard was officially the fourth most powerful snowstorm to hit the Northeast in more than 60 years, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). On Jan. 20, NASA and NOAA reported their analyses that Earth’s 2015 surface temperatures were the warmest since recordkeeping began in 1880, with 15 of the 16 […]
Reaching for the stars
January 1st, 2016
Durham’s Infinite Air extreme trampoline park gets a jump on the competition. Rubb Buildings Ltd., Gateshead, Tyne and Wear, U.K., helped bring Infinite Air extreme trampoline park and freerunning facility to life at Durham’s Soccarena, New Ferens Park. The £600,000, 35,000 sq. ft. centre officially opened its doors in July 2015 and welcomed visitors to […]
Forethought: The once and future industry
November 1st, 2015
As a life-long science fiction fan, I tend to think of the past in terms of the future (and vice-versa). So as I have spent the last ten months researching the history of an industry in the archives of this magazine, I kept compiling important events and themes in my head and letting them bubble […]
Funding and financing
October 9th, 2015
How to acquire capital for your business. Where do funds come from? There are four main sources, according to Lynda Andrian of Southern California Leasing: FDIC-insured banks, Wall Street, private equity firms and marketplace lending (also known as “crowdfunding” for businesses). Types of financing include debt financing, equity financing, equipment financing, SBA loans, accounts receivable […]
Should you be exporting?
October 9th, 2015
There is a great deal of free help available if the answer is yes. “The manufacturing landscape in America is changing,” said Mary Lynn Landgraf, Senior International Trade Specialist with the Office of Textiles and Apparel (OTEXA). “Otexa offers programs and strategies to help businesses in this industry stay competitive. We compile data, design strategies, […]