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2020-10-01

Bide, Martin

Sustainability and its associated jargon (eco-friendly, ethical, green, and so on) has been a central focus in textiles and fashion for more than 20 years. Despite the attention, but not surprisingly, the world of fashion has continued on an unsustainable path. Business succeeds by “selling more...

2019-12-01

Forrest, Fi

Can a circular economy based on better design, production, and recycling of garments, slow “fast fashion” down long enough for us to save the planet? Green sourcing, sustainable production methods, and greater re-use and recycling is so fashionable right now that some of the world’s top designers...

2015-02-01

Musante, Glenna B.

It still may not have a leading role, but if there is any doubt that sustainability has moved from bit player to supporting actor in the performance wear industry, consider these numbers. In 2010, Unifi—a global manufacturer of fibers, including a line made from recycled plastic bottles—opened...

2020-04-01

Anderson, Kim

There are many good reasons for reducing the amount of time your clothes spend in the washing machine. According to The Ellen MacArthur Foundation, synthetic fabrics shed plastic particles equivalent to 50 billion plastic bottles every year. But synthetic fibers are not the only culprit. Washing...

2018-06-01

Wojciechowska, Iza

It’s a dangerous world out there—but there are also new technologies being used to create increasingly strong and resistant textiles that protect users from those hazards. Firefighters, soldiers, law enforcement officials, manual laborers, and power-tool users are finding garments more and more...

2015-02-01

Musante, Glenna B.

There was a time when shopping for a pair of hiking socks was a simple matter. For warm weather hiking, you would probably pick a thin athletic sock made from cotton or synthetic fibers. If it was winter, you would buy a thick pair of socks, probably wool, and hope they wouldn’t be...

2019-04-01

Davies, Nicola

The US National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) is preparing for long-duration, deep space exploration on the Orion spacecraft—and the textile industry is aiding the agency in the research and development of innovative materials to make this mission possible. These new fabrics may...

2018-02-01

Davies, Nicola

What if your shirt could keep you warm when it is cold outside, and cool you down as soon as you enter a heated building? What if your trousers could look like a regular pair on an average day, but automatically transform into puffy outdoor gear when you go to a colder climate? What if all you...

2014-06-01

Aspland, John Richard

Born in Leeds, England, to parents in the elementary school teaching profession, it seemed quite natural that Aspland would follow teaching as his primary profession of choice, albeit at the university level. Fate decreed rather differently.

2020-12-01

Sherburne, Cary

As an industry, we’ve barely gotten our feet wet with Textile Industry 4.0, and now Textile Industry 5.0 is on the horizon! According to experts at Advanced Functional Fabrics of America (AFFOA), the development of functional fiber computing solutions will likely be the basis for moving us into...