TEXTILES.ORG
Making the rounds
October 1st, 2015
Textile waste is gaining new life through closed-loop processes, creating more products (and some profits) in more industries. Forty-five years ago, Kermit (the frog) lamented, “It’s not easy bein’ green.” Environmentally speaking, it still may not be easy, but it’s becoming less difficult every day—and more profitable. “We introduced a recycled fabric prototype 15 years […]
Loopy thinking
September 17th, 2015
From yarn to fabric, and back to yarn: recycling and repurposing materials. For companies with vision, strategic moves often require a leap of faith. In 2012, Designtex began using yarn produced from recycled fabric waste it had accumulated. “At the time, we were not sure if we would be successful in making a first-quality yarn,” […]
Work smarter
August 1st, 2015
Tools and strategies to help tent rental companies get maximum efficiency from their crews. “Our philosophy is that installing tents is hard. How can we make it easier for the installer?” posits Kenny Puff, armed with an answer. “Every tent installer should have his own toolkit with the basics so they’re not continually borrowing or […]
Narrow fabrics industrial evolution
July 1st, 2015
Narrow fabrics are matching the high-performance needs of safety, medical and military markets with their own technological advances. Say “narrow fabric” and the average consumer may think of ribbon and zippers. The markets for narrow fabric manufacturers go far beyond those products, and with ongoing technological advances are broadening even further. Carolina Narrow Fabric proves […]
Shape shifters
May 18th, 2015
Today’s tent manufacturers and renters are thinking outside the rectangle. The Pythagoreans dissected a sphere as early as 600 B.C. Plato and Buckminster Fuller took the ball and ran with it, so to speak. But in 2015, Platonic polyhedral/geodesic domes still are fresh on the scene when it comes to tented events. After all, rental […]
Open ended
May 18th, 2015
Stretch-tent companies tout their limitless options “With consumers being bombarded by the latest and greatest marketing techniques, companies are always interested in ways to capture their audience’s attention,” says Stuart Johnstone, owner of Stretch Marquees & Fabric Structures in Sydney, Australia. “New designs are always a hit. “The exciting thing about working with stretch tents […]
Outer limits
October 1st, 2014
High-performance fabrics and finishes stretch the capabilities of athletes and recreational sports enthusiasts. Once upon a time, recreational sports were pretty tame: croquet, badminton, golf, rowing. But as humans eyed what new technology afforded them in the way of action, they began pushing the physical limits. When ESPN launched the X Games in 1995, it […]
Potable and portable
April 1st, 2014
Manufacturers tackle the world’s growing need for safe drinking water–after disasters, and before. When a chemical storage tank in West Virginia leaked this past January, 300,000 people were unable to drink water from their taps. The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) sent more than 367,000 gallons of water to the nine-county area; the local water […]
Load bearing
December 1st, 2013
Manufacturers of fabric-based products find great potential in handling and transporting cargo, as fibers and fabrics become lighter and stronger. The vast majority of products sold must make their way from the place where they are manufactured to the place where they will be used. That simple truth equates to an ocean of opportunities for […]
Bringing outdoor fabrics indoors for interior design
August 1st, 2008
Gina Wicker scoffs at the notion that her mother called the place in their house with the sofa the “living” room. “We were never allowed to go in there,” she says. “It was off-limits to the kids.” Today’s living rooms justify the name, thanks to the transition of outdoor fabrics to interior aesthetics. “I think […]