INDA announces finalists for 2026 Hygienix Innovation Award™

INDA, the Association of the Nonwoven Fabrics Industry, today announced the finalists for the 2026 Hygienix Innovation Award™: Anabio Technologies, Confitex Technology, The LYCRA Company and Youth Crews.

The finalists will present their innovations at Hygienix, an annual event for absorbent hygiene professionals, Nov. 16-19 at the Hyatt Regency Houston. The winner will be announced Thursday, Nov. 19, at 11:30 a.m.

Anabio Technologies: Flushable Sanitary Pad
Every sanitary pad used today can outlive us by an estimated 500 years. Anabio’s patented flushable pad changes that. Its multilayer architecture protects for 12 hours, then disperses when flushed. Independently tested to meet IWSFG flushability requirements, it is designed for flush toilets, septic systems and pit latrines and runs on standard converting lines, offering a practical route to scalable, sustainable, convenient and affordable menstrual care.

SMYTHE names new chief executive

Canadian womenswear label SMYTHE has appointed Ana Mihaljevic as chief executive officer. The company, known for its tailoring, presents the leadership change as part of its next phase of growth.

For specialist apparel brands, management transitions often coincide with decisions on distribution, product positioning and international development. The appointment is therefore relevant beyond the personnel announcement itself, although the release does not by itself establish specific future expansion targets. 

The new chief executive’s strategic priorities and their effect on sourcing, product development and wholesale relationships will become clearer through subsequent company communications.

Duluth Trading launches WD-40 workwear collaboration

Duluth Trading has introduced a limited-edition apparel and gear collaboration with the WD-40 brand.
The partnership brings together a workwear and outdoor-apparel retailer with a well-known industrial maintenance brand.

For the apparel market, the launch is an example of merchandising that draws on a brand’s associations with practical work and repair rather than on conventional fashion licensing. The combination can address both existing workwear customers and consumers attracted by industrial-inspired clothing and accessories. 

Product-level textile composition, performance certifications and sales expectations were not independently established in the material reviewed and should not be assumed.

Costikyan revives custom carpet business

Costikyan, a US company established in 1886, has announced the launch of Costikyan Custom Carpet. The move is presented as a return to the company’s roots in fine rugs and carpet products.

Custom floor textiles occupy a distinct position between textile manufacturing, interior design and contract furnishing. Bespoke specifications place particular demands on material selection, colour consistency, surface design and project execution. 

The company’s launch announcement confirms the new business direction, but detailed technical specifications, production capacities and project examples should be obtained directly from Costikyan before claims about performance or scale are published.

Bonobos upgrades omnichannel menswear retail

Menswear brand Bonobos has announced a redesigned e-commerce experience powered by Shopify. The launch is positioned as a step toward a more integrated shopping journey across the brand’s digital and physical retail channels.

The change illustrates how apparel companies are revisiting the technology architecture behind customer-facing retail. Product discovery, online purchasing and store interaction increasingly need to operate as connected elements of a single brand experience rather than separate sales channels.

The company’s announcement identifies the platform transition and omnichannel strategy as the central development. Any assessment of commercial success will depend on subsequent evidence such as conversion rates, customer retention, order economics and the integration of inventory and fulfilment. No such outcome should be inferred from the launch announcement alone.

adidas and Arte Antwerp design modular winterwear

adidas and Belgian label Arte Antwerp have completed their FW26 collaboration with a winter outerwear release built around layering and football supporter culture. The collection launches globally on 15 October in stores and online, with apparel priced between US$70 and US$400.

The central garment is a two-in-one puffer jacket with a detachable translucent shell and contrasting insulated inner layer. Both components can be worn together or separately. A second convertible piece reinterprets a long-sleeve football jersey with a removable outer layer, drawing on the South Africa 2002 national-team shirt.

The range also includes winter accessories made from 100% merino wool, among them a beanie, balaclava and scarf referencing Belgian football fanwear. A muted colour palette and adaptable silhouettes aim to connect streetwear styling with cold-weather functionality.

Although the collaboration is primarily a fashion and branding launch, its detachable garment constructions are relevant to designers examining modularity, product versatility and multi-season use. The release does not make a quantified environmental-performance claim for the collection.

YarnProof embeds origin checks in polyester yarn

A group of polyester filament manufacturers in North and Central America has launched YarnProof, a system designed to provide physical evidence of yarn origin throughout the textile supply chain. Led by Unifi and using FibreTrace technology, the initiative embeds a persistent, invisible marker in polyester filament during extrusion. A handheld scanner can subsequently detect the marker in yarn, fabric or finished goods.

The system is intended to complement rather than replace commercial documents, audits and certificates. Each verification step can link the marked material to sourcing and production records, creating an additional check on origin claims. The manufacturers are targeting the yarn-forward rules that determine eligibility for preferential treatment under the USMCA and CAFTA-DR trade agreements.

New Specialist in Artificial Turf and Technical Monofilaments

With the foundation of STC Extrusion GmbH, headquartered in Chemnitz, Germany, a technical competence and know-how hub for the production of artificial turf and technical monofilaments has been established within the Starlinger Group.

The newly founded machine manufacturing company is part of Austria-based Starlinger Group and has taken over selected assets from the insolvent STC Spinnzwirn GmbH. STC Extrusion GmbH is a legally independent entity and does not act as the legal successor to STC Spinnzwirn GmbH. The company plans to focus on the core areas monofilament production for artificial turf and technical monofilaments made from a wide variety of polymers.

 “With the founding of STC Extrusion GmbH, we are opening a new chapter in STC’s history—with the experience, passion, and dedication to our customers that have always distinguished STC,” said Managing Director Nico Dürrschmidt. “We are convinced that with this solution, we have laid a solid foundation that will enable us to continue delivering value for our customers and partners worldwide in the future.”

Brazil: The Italian Textile and Textile-Machinery Sector Takes Centre Stage at Two Workshops

From 19 to 24 October 2026, Brazil will host a mission showcasing Italian excellence in the textile and textile machinery sectors, with two workshops scheduled for 20 October in the state of Santa Catarina and 22 October in São Paulo. The initiative will bring together Italian companies specialising in textile machinery, yarns, fabrics and clothing accessories, with the aim of strengthening commercial and industrial ties between the two countries and opening up new opportunities for collaboration.

Organised by the Italian Trade Agency in collaboration with ACIMIT and Confindustria Moda, the mission will comprise two stages in key areas of Brazil’s textile industry. The programme includes seminars featuring presentations by Italian companies, B2B meetings with local industry representatives and visits to local production facilities. The first stage will take place in the state of Santa Catarina, in the areas of Blumenau, Joinville and Brusque, while the second will take place in the state of São Paulo, with activities also planned in Americana and at Denim City São Paulo, a major centre of innovation and a key hub for the textile and denim industries.

Pallas brings high-performance, lower-impact textiles into healthcare interiors

Pallas Textiles will present its Giverny collection and broader healthcare portfolio at the Healthcare Design Conference + Expo in New Orleans. The collection translates nature-inspired colour and pattern into upholstery, panel and privacy-curtain applications intended for patient, waiting and care environments.

The company highlights performance and material choices alongside design. The Toile pattern is specified for very high abrasion exposure, while Nymphea incorporates SEAQUAL YARN and post-consumer recycled polyester and is designed for bleach cleanability. Pallas also points to material platforms including biodegradable vinyl and bio-attributed or biobased options across its portfolio.

The relevance for contract interiors lies in the combined specification challenge: healthcare fabrics have to support visual and tactile comfort while meeting demanding durability, cleaning and disclosure requirements. Pallas will show the collection from 17 to 20 October.