AMER ASSOC TEXTILE CHEMISTS COLORISTS-AATCC
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 Textile Industry 5.0.
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 stuff.” At all levels, a fundamental misapprehension is revealed when a company cla…
This was the sound advice given by British designer Vivienne Westwood, when she was asked in 2018 about ethical and environmental issues in the fashion industry. It remains equally valid in 2020 and will continue to be the ethical code by which we should shop in the future. People in the textile and apparel industry are well aware of their responsibility to create a more sustai…
he international apparel business is owning up to its role as one of the planet's most polluting industries. We recognize that engaging in more sustainable practices will help curb climate change and will also have a positive effect on corporate image in the mind of today's consumers.Figuring out where to start on the sustainability spectrum, however, can be a daunting task. Ma…
Military combat uniforms are primarily designed with the goal of increasing the combat effectiveness of the soldiers who wear them. Incorporating features such as camouflage patterns to make them less likely to be spotted in certain terrains, and flame-resistance to reduce their vulnerability to fire, military uniforms can literally be a matter of life and death. Today, technol…
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 clothes— regardless of the fiber type, is a water and energy guzzling affair. Unfor…
Companies operating in the performance apparel sector tend to react quickly and innovatively to the challenges which they face. Innovation is the industry's response to a range of current challenges. Some of the current challenges include creating a more sustainable supply chain; reducing water pollution; applying the principles of a circular economy; traceability in the appare…
One thing the coronavirus pandemic highlighted is shortcomings in our global supply chains. Post-pandemic, how much effort will be applied to rethinking how we source, manufacture, and distribute? For some time now, there have been relatively limited efforts at near-shoring work in the textiles and apparel industries. In most cases, this involves using digital technologies to p…
Brands are built on the concept of recognition and differentiation in the marketplace. Today's branding is made to evoke a 'je ne sais quoi," sometimes aspirational, sometimes comforting, sometimes outright outlandish, but nonetheless recognizable and relatable. Product categories and trends come and go just like brands. However, some endure for decades with very simple common …
Emergency room workers, sanitation workers, road construction crews, and plumbers—all these “dirty” jobs now have improved protective clothing to keep workers safe from hazards such as blood, oil, gas, and petrochemicals, among others. The fabrics used for protective clothing and personal protective equipment (PPE) have evolved and become more efficient over time. The technolog…
The textile industry contributes significantly to the growth of the global economy, but it is also one of the most polluting industries.1 Bleaching of cotton is an integral part of the textile wet processing industry. It is carried out to remove naturally occurring coloring matters from cotton to prepare the fabric for further processing. The fabric achieves the required whiten…
Interestingly, the French word for sustainability is durabilité. And, of course, durability is at the heart of sustainability—isn't it? If a product is durable, it will last for a long time and this means that it won't be discarded quickly, which keeps it out of the land-fill longer. If it doesn't need to be replaced often, the product's total environmental impact is reduced ac…
The word “sustainability” implies simply that something can be continued. From the textile industry perspective, sustainability refers to environmental and social responsibility. In other words, the textile industry must not harm the natural environment or the people who produce, or use, its products. If the industry doesn’t take responsibility for its impact on these areas, it…
The evolution of digital printing is being driven by innovations in machine and ink technologies that enable various functionalities. In particular, developments are being made in the areas of textiles, wearable sensor technology, and 3D and 4D printing, with applications across many areas, including healthcare and fitness.
Not since the 1970s introduction of the barcode-the universal language of retail-has the apparel industry undergone such a radical transformation. In the past 12 months, an important development-the upgrade of the world's barcode standard to give every product a web address in a standardized format-has shifted this language to digital, giving every physical product a universal …
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 also help future explorers to build “the Gateway,” go back to the moon, and eventually…
Humans have been creating textiles for over five thousand years, and these textiles are becoming increasingly technical. 1 However, we shouldn't forget the inspiration that comes from nature rather than modern day advances. The materials we see in nature have been developed naturally over billions of years, and often have highly specialized functions. Animals, plants, and insec…
How effective is your color management strategy? For many in the textiles and apparel industry using conventional manufacturing processes, consistent color management is a given. In fact, in textiles, color accuracy is quite stringent. In the graphic arts, a Delta E of “one”—the point at which the human eye can start to detect color differences—is quite acceptable. Not so in te…
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 are getting in on the act.
Lean Six Sigma is a data driven methodology with the end goal of reducing defects and improving quality. Although originally designed specifically for manufacturing, Six Sigma has been successfully applied to a variety of non-manufacturing industries such as healthcare, logistics, banking, and retail.1 Given the success and widespread popularity of Lean Six Sigma, it is quite s…