Textination Newsline

The University of Borås, Aalborg University Business School and Circular Innovation Lab have just started the 'North-South Circular Value Chains Within Textiles' project - an explorative project that aims at bridging textile brands in the Nordics with a strong focus on sustainability with innovative producers in the South.

Focus areas are Circular Value Chains (CVCs), Circular and resource-efficient textiles economy, Workwear and technical clothing, Sectors such as construction, energy, electronics and IT, plastics, textiles, retail and metals.

Made possible by a grant from the Interreg ÖKS programme, the first step is to create a specific economic, legal and technological framework allowing Scandinavian workwear companies to enter into close collaboration on circular solutions in the overall textile value chain and to prepare, and adapt their global value chains to the upcoming EU regulations on circular economy.

Recently, the consortium partners convened for an initial meeting at The Swedish School of Textiles to discuss the project framework, which is a feasibility study intended to lead to a multi-year project involving workwear companies in the Öresund-Kattegat-Skagerrak (ÖKS) region, including their supply chains in Asia.

Kim Hjerrild, Strategic Partnerships Lead at the Danish think tank Circular Innovation Lab, Copenhagen, explained: "The goal is to assist workwear producers in Denmark, Sweden, and Norway in becoming more sustainable through circular product design, production, and service concepts. We are pleased to have The Swedish School of Textiles lead the project as they have a strong tradition of collaborating with textile companies."

Complex branch
The decision to focus specifically on workwear stems from it being a complex part of the textile industry, demanding strict standards, certifications, safety aspects, and specific functions depending on the application area, such as specific high-performance environments, healthcare, and hospitality. "To future-proof their operations, companies need to become more resource efficient and circular by producing durable and long lasting workwear that can be repaired and reused. Additionally, they must reduce their carbon footprint per product, as well as minimize problematic chemical usage, and increasingly use recycled materials" explained Kim Hjerrild.

Wants to provide companies with tools and knowledge
Apoorva Arya, founder and CEO of Circular Innovation Lab, elaborates: "Our first and primary goal is to equip Scandinavian workwear companies with tools and knowledge in order to comply with the upcoming EU directives and policies. This includes regulations on product-specific design requirements to labour conditions for employees, human rights, all the way from production to third-party suppliers. Ensuring these companies, especially their suppliers, can transition to a circular supply chain, and navigate the legislative landscape, while guaranteeing competitiveness in the global market."

Focus on new structures
Rudrajeet Pal, Professor of Textile Management at The Swedish School of Textiles, is pleased that the university can be the coordinator of the project. "From the perspective of my research group, this
is incredibly interesting given the focus on the examination and development of ‘new’ supply chain and business model structures that would enable sustainable value generation in textile enterprises, industry, and for the environment and society at large. We have conducted several projects where such global north-south value chain focus is eminent, and this time particularly in workwear companies’ value chain between Scandinavia and Asia. We are delighted to contribute expertise and our experience of working internationally."

About the pre-project North-South Circular Value Chains Within Textiles, NSCirTex
The project aims to support the circular transition in the Nordics by setting up a shared governance model to enable pre-competitive collaboration and the design of circular value chains between Scandinavian workwear companies in the ÖKS-region and producers in India, Bangladesh, Vietnam, and Türkiye.

The next step is to achieve a multi-year main project where workwear companies with their suppliers in Asian countries, can test tailored models for shared governance as a way to develop practical circular solutions, such as post-consumer recycling, circular material procurement, develop safe and resource efficient circular products, enhance social sustainability and due diligence, among others. The main project will thus develop solutions to reduce material footprint, and resource usage while generating both commercial viability and prepare for new regulation, reporting, and accountability.

Partners in this feasibility study: University of Borås, Aalborg University Business School, and Circular Innovation Lab. The feasibility study is funded by the EU through the Interreg Öresund-Kattegat-Skagerrak European Regional Development Fund.

Composites Germany - Results of the 22^nd Composites Market Survey

• Critical assessment of the current business situation
• Future expectations brighten
• Investment climate remains subdued
• Different expectations of application industries
• Growth drivers with slight shifts
• Composites index points in different directions

For the 22^nd time, Composites Germany has collected current key figures on the market for fiber-reinforced plastics. All member companies of the supporting associations of Composites Germany: AVK and Composites United as well as the associated partner VDMA were surveyed.
In order to ensure that the different surveys can be compared without any problems, no fundamental changes were made to the survey. Once again, mainly qualitative data was collected in relation to current and future market developments.

Critical assessment of the current business situation
After consistently positive trends were seen in the assessment of the current business situation in 2021, this has slipped since 2022. There is still no sign of a trend reversal in the current survey. The reasons for the negative sentiment are manifold and were already evident in the last survey.

At present, politicians do not seem to be able to create a more positive environment for the industry with appropriate measures. Overall, Germany in particular, but also Europe, is currently experiencing a very difficult market environment.

However, the main drivers of the current difficult situation are likely to be the persistently high energy and commodity/raw material prices. In addition, there are still problems in individual areas of the logistics chains, for example on the main trade/container routes, as well as a cautious consumer climate. A slowdown in global trade and uncertainties in the political arena are currently fueling the negative mood in the market.

Despite rising registration figures, the automotive industry, the most important application area for composites, has not yet returned to its former volume. The construction industry, the second most important key area of application, is currently in crisis. Although the order books are still well filled, new orders are often failing to materialize. High interest rates and material costs coupled with the high cost of living are having a particularly negative impact on private construction, but public construction is also currently unable to achieve the targets it has set itself. According to the ZDB (Zentralverband Deutsches Baugewerbe), the forecasts in this important sector remain gloomy: "The decline in the construction industry is continuing. Turnover will fall by 5.3% in real terms this year and we expect a further 3% drop next year. Residential construction remains responsible for the decline, which will slump by 11% in real terms this year and continue its downward trajectory at -13% in 2024."

It is not only the assessment of the general business situation that remains pessimistic. The situation of their own companies also continues to be viewed critically. The picture is particularly negative for Germany. Almost 50% of respondents are critical of the current business situation in Germany. The view of global business and Europe is somewhat more positive. Here, "only" 40% and 35% of respondents respectively assess the situation rather negatively.

Future expectations brighten
Despite the generally rather subdued assessment of the business situation, many of those surveyed appear to be convinced that the mood is improving, at least in Europe. When asked about their assessment of future general business development, the values for Europe and the world are more optimistic than in the last survey. The survey participants do not currently expect the situation in Germany to improve.

Respondents were more optimistic about their own company's future expectations for Europe and the global market.

The participants seem to be assuming a moderate short to medium-term recovery of the global economy. The forecasts are more optimistic than the assessment of the current situation. It is striking that the view of the German region is more critical in relation to Europe and the global economy. 28% of those surveyed expect the general market situation in Germany to develop negatively. Only 13% expect the current situation to improve. The figures for Europe and the world are better.

Investment climate remains subdued
The current rather cautious assessment of the economic situation continues to have an impact on the investment climate.

While 22% of participants in the last survey still assumed an increase in personnel capacity (survey 1/2023 = 40%), this figure is currently only 18%. In contrast, 18% even expect a decrease in personnel.

The proportion of respondents planning to invest in machinery is also declining. While 56% of respondents in the last survey still expected to make such investments, this figure has now fallen to 46%.

Different expectations of application industries
The composites market is characterized by a high degree of heterogeneity in terms of both materials and applications. In the survey, the participants are asked to give their assessment of the market development of different core areas.

The expectations are extremely varied. The two most important application areas are the mobility and construction/infrastructure sectors. Both are currently undergoing major upheavals or are affected by declines, which is also clearly reflected in the survey. Growth is expected above all in the wind energy and aviation sectors.

Growth drivers with slight shifts
In terms of materials, there has been a change in the assessment of growth drivers. While the respondents in the last 9 surveys always named GRP as the material from which the main growth impetus for the composites sector is to be expected, the main impetus is now once again expected to come from CFRP or across all materials.

There is a slight regional shift. Germany is seen less strongly as a growth driver. In contrast, Europe (excluding Germany) and Asia are mentioned significantly more.

Composites index points in different directions
The numerous negative influences of recent times continue to be reflected in the overall Composites Index. This continues to fall, particularly when looking at the current business situation. On the other hand, there is a slight improvement in expectations for future market development, although this remains at a low level.

The total volume of processed composites in Europe in 2022 was already declining, and a further decline must also be expected for 2023. This is likely to be around 5% again.

It remains to be seen whether it will be possible to counteract the negative trend. Targeted intervention, including by political decision-makers, would be desirable here. However, this cannot succeed without industry/business. Only together will it be possible to maintain and strengthen Germany as a business/industry location. For composites as a material group in general, there are still very good opportunities to expand the market position in both new and existing markets due to the special portfolio of properties. However, the dependency on macroeconomic developments remains. It is now important to develop new market areas through innovation, to consistently exploit opportunities and to work together to further implement composites in existing markets. This can often be achieved better together than alone. With its excellent network, Composites Germany offers a wide range of opportunities.

The next composites market survey will be published in July 2024.

If you’ve ever gotten stitches or had surgery, you may have had a suture. They’re the threads used to close wounds or join tissues together for other purposes.

But did you know that there are different types of sutures which can have an effect on your experience at the doctor or surgeon’s office?

Barbed sutures, for example, can reduce the amount of time you spend on the operating table and lower the likelihood of surgical complications. That type of suture has its roots in the Triangle and is being advanced by students and faculty at the Wilson College of Textiles.

Dr. Gregory Ruff, a nationally-renowned plastic surgeon, first invented the innovative closure in 1991, just down the road in Chapel Hill, North Carolina.

“I was thinking about the fact that we sew wounds together with a loop and a knot and if you tie it too tight, it can constrict the circulation and kill the tissue in that loop,” Dr. Ruff remembers.

“I was thinking about animals, and a porcupine’s quill came to mind. And the aha moment was, ‘What if we put a quill on one side of the wound and another one on the other side of the wound, so there’s no loop: the barbs go in but they don’t come out?’”

As the name suggests, barbed sutures have small projections shooting out of them that can latch onto tissues: think about barbed wire or a fishing hook. Those “quills,” or barbs, allow the suture to self-anchor. Since no knot is needed to secure the suture, the closure is faster, and the lack of knots and constricting loops promotes healing. This also allows surgeons to schedule more surgeries.

Soon after his aha moment, Dr. Ruff started his own company, Quill Medical, to fabricate these barbed sutures. While he had the medical expertise and a solid business partner, Dr. Ruff was looking for someone who could advise him in terms of the material makeup of the suture. The Wilson College’s Biomedical Textile Research Group, under the direction of Professor Martin King, quickly proved to be the perfect partner.

Using the Wilson College’s labs, King’s graduate students conducted a number of tests on Ruff’s sutures across different types of tissues (such as skin, muscle, etc.). One of those students, Nilesh Ingle, found that the barbed sutures worked best when the angles of the barbs were tailored specifically to the type of tissue being sutured.

Years later, one of King’s current graduate students is building on that research insight.
 
Understanding challenges and innovating solutions
Nearly three decades after the barbed suture’s invention, the majority of surgeons still use conventional sutures despite the advantages documented by researchers and surgeons. Why?

Karuna Nambi Gowri, a fiber and polymer science doctoral student in King’s research group, says it comes down to two reasons. The first of these is resistance to change. Most practicing surgeons learned how to use a suture before barbed sutures became more broadly available.

The second obstacle to the use of barbed sutures is procuring them. Barbed sutures tend to be both expensive and low in supply. That’s because the current process for making them (mechanical and blade-based) is inefficient in terms of both time and resources.

That’s where Nambi Gowri’s research with the Wilson College’s Biomedical Textiles Research Group comes in. She’s developing a faster and cheaper method for making the same quality of barbed suture.

“If I fabricate using a laser, the fabrication time is pretty short compared to a mechanical barbing technique,” Nambi Gowri says.

Moving from a mechanical method to a laser method has another advantage.

“The manipulation of the barbed suture itself is easier using a laser,” she says.

In other words, using the lasers will allow Nambi Gowri to apply the custom barb geometries, or angles, suggested by prior researchers on a commercial scale. These custom geometries will allow the barbed suture to be optimized for the type of tissue it will be connecting.

In addition to the new process, Nambi Gowri is also developing a new suture.

“I’m the first one to actually study Catgut barbed sutures,” she explains.

Catgut was actually one of the earliest materials used to make sutures. The filament is made from tissue taken from an animal’s stomach – especially cattle stomachs – hence the name. While the industry had moved away from this material in favor of synthetic polymers, Nambi Gowri sees the potential for Catgut in barbed sutures because of their quick degradation rate.

“These are useful external wound closures,” she says. “Because our body contains so much collagen and Catgut is made up of 90% collagen, it’s a more suitable polymer that can be used in human tissue.”

Hands-on experience informs research
In the meantime, Nambi Gowri has gained hands-on experience to inform her research by fabricating all of the barbed sutures used in Dr. Ruff’s micro facelift surgeries.

The surgery itself is made possible because of the shape and the material composition of the sutures: poly 4-hydroxybutyrate (P4HB). This polymer is already present naturally within our bodies, so sutures made from P4HB are naturally and safely absorbed by the body over time. That means patients don’t have to schedule an appointment after surgery for the sutures to be removed.
 
P4HB also provides the perfect combination of strength and elasticity to hold up the facial tissue until the wound has healed. The barbs, on the other hand, allow for the suture to be placed and stay secure within the skin without the need for large incisions.

“That skin tightens up right away,” Dr. Ruff says of the procedure, which draws patients from across the country. “So I don’t have to remove hair, and I don’t have to put a scar at the hairline.”

“These sutures are not available commercially anywhere in the world. So, to be able to mechanically barb different size sutures in a reliable and consistent manner for use in clinical practice, requires skill, experience and knowledge of quality control,” Professor King says of Nambi Gowri’s work.

This has given Karuna a hands-on understanding of the sutures she’s hoping to improve upon.

She says her fiber and polymer science knowledge has played a key role in helping her approach all sides of her research.

“All the analytical characterization techniques that are used for characterization of sutures – like identifying mechanical properties and measuring tensile strength – is actually from my knowledge of textiles,” she says. “I’m applying my polymer chemistry knowledge  to make sure that the laser doesn’t cause the sutures to degrade, melt or experience thermal damage.”

What’s next?
As she works to patent her designs, Nambi Gowri feels confident that her dissertation will set her up for success in the research and development (R&D) field after graduation.

In the meantime, she’s already finding out about the ways her research can have a broader impact.

“Dr. Dan Duffy, DVM, a surgeon at the NC State College of Veterinary Medicine is also interested in using barbed sutures to repair torn and failed tendons on his animals, but he finds the cost of buying commercial barbed sutures prohibitively expensive. So we need to collaborate,” King says. “Karuna to the rescue!”

Protection for snow and ice: Cellulosic LENZING™ fibers offer solution for preservation of glacier mass

In field trials on Austrian glaciers, nonwovens made of cellulosic LENZING™ fibers are being used to cover glacier mass. They are showing promising results and offer a sustainable solution for glacier protection. Nonwovens containing fossil-based synthetic fibers might cause negative environmental consequences such as microplastics on glaciers.

Geotextiles are already widely used to protect snow and ice on glaciers from melting. The use of nonwovens made from cellulosic LENZING™ fibers is now achieving a sustainable turnaround. Geotextiles show great success in Austria in protecting glaciers, which are highly endangered by global warming. By covering glacier mass, its melting is slowed down and mitigated. So far, the nonwovens used to protect glaciers are usually made of fossil-based synthetic fibers. The problem with that might occur as microplastics left behind after the summer flow down into the valley and can enter the food chain through small organisms and animals.

Sustainability from production to reuse
An innovative and sustainable solution for the protection of snow and ice is now possible with the help of nonwovens made of cellulosic LENZING™ fibers. "LENZING™ fibers are derived from renewable, responsibly managed wood sources and are produced in an environmentally responsible process. Thanks to their botanic origin, they have the ability to break down, returning into nature after use" explains Berndt Köll, Business & Innovation Manager at Lenzing.

In a field trial on the Stubai Glacier, the covering of a small area with the new material containing cellulosic LENZING™ fibers was tested for the first time. The result was convincing: 4 meters of ice mass could be saved from melting. Due to its success, the project is now being expanded. In 2023 field tests started in all Austrian glaciers, which are used for tourism.

"We are pleased with the positive results and see the project as a sustainable solution for glacier protection - not only in Austria, but beyond national borders," Berndt Köll continues. There should also be a possibility to explore for recycling after the nonwovens are used: These geotextiles can be recycled and ultimately used to make yarn for textile products.

Awarded with the Swiss BIO TOP
The sustainable glacier protection and its results also convinced the jury of industry experts of the BIO TOP, a major award for wood and material innovations in Switzerland. With this award innovative projects in the field of bio-based woods and materials are promoted and supported. At the award ceremony on September 20, 2023, Geotextiles containing LENZING™ fibers were honored with the award for its solution.

Interview with vombaur - pioneers in special textiles
Technical narrow textiles, custom solutions, medium-sized textile producer and development partner for filtration textiles, composite textiles and industrial textiles: vombaur. Digitalisation, sustainability, energy prices, pioneering work and unbroken enthusiasm – Textination spoke to two passionate textile professionals: Carl Mrusek, Chief Sales Officer (CSO), and Johannes Kauschinger, Sales Manager for Composites and Industrial Textiles, at vombaur GmbH, which, as well as JUMBO-Textil, belongs to the Textation Group.
 
If you look back at your history and thus to the beginnings of the 19th century, you will see a ribbon manufactory and, from 1855, a production of silk and hat bands. Today you produce filtration textiles, industrial textiles and composites textiles. Although you still produce narrow textiles today, the motto "Transformation as an opportunity" seems to be a lived reality at vombaur.
 
Carl Mrusek, Chief Sales Officer: Yes, vombaur has changed a few times in its almost 220-year history.  Yet the company has always remained true to itself as a narrow textiles manufacturer. This testifies to the willingness of the people in the company to change and to their curiosity. Successful transformation is a joint development, there is an opportunity in change. vombaur has proven this many times over the past almost 220 years: We have adapted our product portfolio to new times, we have built new factory buildings and new machinery, we have introduced new materials and developed new technologies, we have entered into new partnerships – as most recently as part of the Textation Group. We are currently planning our new headquarters. We are not reinventing ourselves, but we will go through a kind of transformation process with the move into the brand new, climate-friendly high-tech space.

 

Could you describe the challenges of this transformation process?
 
Johannes Kauschinger, Sales Manager for Composites and Industrial Textiles: A transformation usually takes place technically, professionally, organisationally and not least – perhaps even first and foremost – culturally. The technical challenges are obvious. Secondly, in order to manage and use the new technologies, appropriate expertise is needed in the company. Thirdly, every transformation entails new processes, teams and procedures have to be adapted. And finally, fourthly, the corporate culture also changes. Technology can be procured, expertise acquired, the organisation adapted. Time, on the other hand, cannot be bought. I therefore consider the greatest challenge to be the supply of human resources: In order to actively shape the transformation and not be driven by development, we need sufficient skilled workers.

 

Visiting your website, the claim "pioneering tech tex" immediately catches the eye. Why do you see your company as a pioneer, and what are vombaur's groundbreaking or pioneering innovations?

Carl Mrusek: With our unique machine park, we are pioneers for seamless circular woven textiles. And as a development partner, we break new ground with every order. We are always implementing new project-specific changes: to the end products, to the product properties, to the machines. It happens regularly that we adapt a weaving machine for a special seamless woven shaped textile, sometimes even develop a completely new one.
 
With our young, first-class and growing team for Development and Innovation led by Dr. Sven Schöfer, we repeatedly live up to our promise of "pioneering tech tex" by developing special textile high-tech solutions with and for our customers. At the same time, we actively explore new potentials. Most recently with sustainable materials for lightweight construction and research into novel special filtration solutions, for example for the filtration of microplastics. A state-of-the-art textile technology laboratory is planned for this team in the new building.

 

The development of technical textiles in Germany is a success story. From a global perspective, we manage to succeed with mass-produced goods only in exceptional cases. How do you assess the importance of technical textiles made in Germany for the success of other, especially highly technological industries?

Carl Mrusek: We see the future of industry in Europe in individually developed high-tech products. vombaur stands for high-quality, reliable and durable products and made-to-order products. And it is precisely this – custom-fit products, instead of surplus and throwaway goods – that is the future for sustainable business in general.

 

What proportion of your production is generated by being project-based as opposed to a standard range, and to what extent do you still feel comfortable with the term "textile producer"?

Johannes Kauschinger: Our share of special solutions amounts to almost 90 percent. We develop technical textile solutions for our customers' current projects. For this purpose, we are in close contact with the colleagues from our customers' product development departments. Especially in the field of composite textiles, special solutions are in demand. This can be a component for space travel – after all, a spaceship is not manufactured off the peg. We also offer high-quality mass-produced articles, for example in the area of industrial textiles, where we offer round woven tubulars for conveyor belts. In this sense, we are a textile producer, but more than that: we are also a textile developer.

 

In August, Composites Germany presented the results of its 21st market survey. The current business situation is viewed very critically, the investment climate is becoming gloomier and future expectations are turning negative. vombaur also has high-strength textile composites made of carbon, aramid, glass and hybrids in its portfolio. Do you share the assessment of the economic situation as reflected in the survey?

Carl Mrusek: We foresee a very positive development for vombaur because we develop in a very solution-oriented way and offer our customers genuine added value. This is because future technologies in particular require individual, reliable and lightweight components. This ranges from developments for the air taxi to wind turbines. Textiles are a predestined material for the future. The challenge here is also to offer sustainable and recyclable solutions with natural raw materials such as flax and recycled and recyclable plastics and effective separation technologies.

 

There is almost no company nowadays that does not use the current buzzwords such as climate neutrality, circular economy, energy efficiency and renewable energies. What is your company doing in these areas and how do you define the importance of these approaches for commercial success?

Carl Mrusek: vombaur pursues a comprehensive sustainability strategy. Based on the development of our mission statement, we are currently working on a sustainability declaration. Our responsibility for nature will be realised in a very concrete and measurable way through our new building with a green roof and solar system. In our product development, the high sustainability standards – our own and those of our customers – are already flowing into environmentally friendly and resource-saving products and into product developments for sustainable projects such as wind farms or filtration plants.

 

Keyword digitalisation: medium-sized businesses, to which vombaur belongs with its 85 employees, are often scolded for being too reluctant in this area. How would you respond to this accusation?

Johannes Kauschinger:

We often hear about the stack crisis at the present time. Based on this, we could speak of the stack transformation. We, the small and medium-sized enterprises, are transforming ourselves in a number of different dimensions at the same time: Digital transformation, climate neutrality, skilled labour market and population development, independence from the prevailing supply chains. We are capable of change and willing to change. Politics and administration could make it a bit easier for us in some aspects. Key words: transport infrastructure, approval times, energy prices. We do everything we can on our side of the field to ensure that small and medium-sized enterprises remain the driving economic force that they are.

 

 

How do you feel about the term shortage of skilled workers? Do you also take unconventional paths to find and retain talent and skilled workers in such a specialised industry? Or does the problem not arise?

Carl Mrusek: Of course, we are also experiencing a shortage of skilled workers, especially in the industrial sector. But the development was foreseeable. The topic played a major role in the decision to move together with our sister company JUMBO-Textil under the umbrella of the Textation Group. Recruiting and promoting young talent can be better mastered together – for example with cross-group campaigns and cooperations.

 

If you had to describe a central personal experience that has shaped your attitude towards the textile industry and its future, what would it be?

Johannes Kauschinger: A very good friend of my family pointed out to me that we live in an area with a very active textile industry, which at the same time has problems finding young talents. I visited two companies for an interview and already on the tour of each company, the interaction of people, machines and textiles up to the wearable end product was truly impressive. In addition, I was able to learn a profession with a very strong connection to everyday life. To this day, I am fascinated by the wide range of possible uses for textiles, especially in technical applications, and I have no regrets whatsoever about the decision I made back then.

Carl Mrusek: I came into contact with the world of textiles and fashion at a young age. I still remember the first time I went through the fully integrated textile production of a company in Nordhorn with my father Rolf Mrusek. Since then, the subject has never left me. Even before I started my studies, I had made a conscious decision to pursue a career in this industry and to this day I have never regretted it, on the contrary. The diversity of the special solutions developed in the Textation Group fascinates me again and again.

 

vombaur is a specialist for seamless round and shaped woven narrow textiles and is known throughout the industry as a development partner for filtration textiles, composite textiles and industrial textiles made of high-performance fibres. Technical narrow textiles from vombaur are used for filtration – in the food and chemical industries, among others. As high-performance composite materials, they are used, for example, in aircraft construction or medical technology. For technical applications, vombaur develops specially coated industrial textiles for insulation, reinforcement or transport in a wide range of industrial processes – from precision mechanics to the construction industry. The Wuppertal-based company was founded in 1805. The company currently employs 85 people.

Sectors

• Aviation & Automotive
• Sports & Outdoor   
• Construction & Water Management
• Safety & Protection   
• Chemistry & Food
• Plant construction & electronics   
• Medicine & Orthopaedics

 

The search for better, planet-friendly footwear material reveals a solution in one unlikely ingredient: pineapple leaves. This unique textile ingredient is the recent focus of the latest footwear design collaboration between Ananas Anam, TENCEL™ and Calvin Klein, launching Calvin Klein’s first-ever trainer featuring a knitted upper made of PIÑAYARN® blended with TENCEL™ Lyocell fibers.

Known as “The Sustainable Knit Trainer”, the trainers are a timeless closet staple, available in classic colors such as black and off-white and etched with the signature Calvin Klein logo. The PIÑAYARN® knit upper, made of 70% TENCEL™ Lyocell and 30% Anam PALF™ pineapple leaf fiber, is both from botanic origin and bio-based.

As the fashion sector has begun to realize the negative environmental effects of synthetic materials, a lot of brands have turned towards plant-based materials such as PIÑAYARN®. Using a low-impact manufacturing process, PIÑAYARN® is derived from pineapple leaf waste and involves a water-free spinning process. The addition of TENCEL™ Lyocell, a fiber made from wood pulp obtained from responsibly managed forests and produced using a solvent spinning process that recycles both the solvent and water at a recovery rate of more than 99%, offers full traceability of the TENCEL™ fiber in the final blended yarn.

Melissa Braithwaite, PIÑAYARN® Product Development Manager at Ananas Anam said “The inspiration for PIÑAYARN® came from the need to provide the textile industry with an alternative to overused, often polluting, conventional fibers, such as cotton or polyester. We have an abundance of available raw material within our business, and broadening our product offering means we can valorize more waste, increasing our positive impact on the environment and society.”

Indeed, as the consumer demand for more eco-responsible textile products and footwear grows, so too has the popularity of wood-based fibers as a material alternative. Ananas Anam and TENCEL™’s collaboration with Calvin Klein has been a success in that the physical characteristics and planet-conscious benefits of both PIÑAYARN® and TENCEL™ fibers complement each other perfectly, creating a blended material that is soft and usable for various woven and knitted applications.

For material developers like Ananas Anam seeking the ideal fiber blend partner to create PIÑAYARN®, TENCEL™ Lyocellfibers are celebrated for their versatility and ability to be blended with a wide range of textiles such as hemp, linen and of course Anam PALF™ pineapple leaf fiber, to enhance the aesthetics, performance and functionality of fabrics. Additionally, beyond being used in shoe uppers, TENCEL™ Lyocell fibers can be used in every part of the shoe including the upper fabric, lining, insoles, padding, laces, zipper and sewing thread. TENCEL™ Lyocell can also be used in powder form for use in the outsoles of shoes.

“We are extremely excited about this collaboration with Ananas Anam for the launch of The Sustainable Knit Trainer by Calvin Klein, an eco-responsible and planet-friendly shoe for conscious consumers. This partnership is the perfect example of our commitment to provide education and expertise to support anyone who chooses to improve the environmental and social credentials of their products by using more responsible materials,” said Nicole Schram, Global Business Development Manager at Lenzing.

Focusing on short-term profit isn’t sustainable. So what can we do to move in the right direction: favour resilience over efficiency in all industries.

We buy cheap products knowing we’ll need to replace them soon. We throw out used items rather than repairing or re-using them. Our employers plan in terms of financial quarters despite hoping to remain relevant and resilient longer-term. Even countries prioritise short-term economic output, focusing on gross domestic product (GDP) above any other indicator.

But does this way of living, working and weighing decisions make sense in the 21st century?

Our global obsession with economic short-term efficiency – and how to transform it – is a conundrum that Professor of Sustainability Management Minna Halme has been thinking about for most of her career. Even as a business school student, she felt flummoxed by how focused her classes were on short-term goals.

'It was about selling more, about maximising shareholder profits, about economic growth – but not really asking, Why? What's the purpose of all this?'

Halme says. 'Even 20-year-old me somehow just felt that this was strange.

'What are we trying to do here? Are we trying to create a better economy for all, or most, people? Whose lives are we trying to improve when we are selling more differently-packaged types of yoghurt or clothes that quickly become obsolete?'

Halme has devoted her career to studying these questions. Today, she is a thought leader in innovative business practices, with recognitions including serving on Finland's National Expert Panel for Sustainable Development and on the United Nation's Panel on Global Sustainability.

Her ultimate goal? Pioneering, researching and advocating for alternative ways of thinking that prioritise values like long-term economic sustainability and resilience – alternatives that she and other experts believe would provide more lasting, widespread benefit to all.

How traditional indicators have failed
One way in which our preference for economic efficiency shapes how we measure a country's overall well-being or status is GDP. This isn't the fault of the originator of the modern concept of GDP, who specifically warned against using it in this way in the 1930s.

'GDP was never meant to tell us about the wellbeing of the citizens of a country,' Halme says. Seventy-five years ago, however, it was easy to conflate the two. Many countries were more committed to redistributing their wealth among their citizens, and population surveys show that until the 1970s, GDP often correlated with general wellbeing.

But with the rise of increasingly heedless free-market capitalism, this became less the case – and GDP's shortcomings became all the more apparent. 'We are in a situation where the wealth distribution is more and more trickling up to those who already have capital. Those who don't have it are in declining economic positions,' Halme says. In fact, the richest 1% of the global population now own nearly half of the world's wealth.

Some governments, such as Finland's, do take indicators of environmental and social progress into account. 'But none is considered as important for decision-making as GDP,' Halme says – and GDP is also considered the arbiter of a government's success. It is that attitude that, through her work advising the Finnish government on sustainability practises as well as in her own research, Halme is trying to shift.

Where industries have failed
Our often-exclusive focus on the economy – and, in particular, on making profits as quickly and efficiently as possible – doesn’t provide a clear picture of how everyone in a society is faring. Worse yet, it has encouraged industries to act with a short-term view that makes for longer-term problems.

Fast fashion is one example. At the moment, supply chains for clothing – as for most other goods – are linear. Raw materials come from one place and are transformed step by step, usually at different factories around the world, using materials, energy and transport that are “cheap” because their high environmental costs aren’t included. They are ultimately purchased by a consumer, who wears the product temporarily before discarding it. To expand profit margins, the industry pushes fast-changing trends. A shocking amount of this clothing ends up in landfill – some of it before it's even been worn.

As the COVID lockdowns showed, this kind of linear supply system isn't resilient. Nor is it sustainable.

Currently, fashion is estimated to be the world's second most polluting industry, accounting for up to 10% of all greenhouse gas emissions. Aalto University researchers have reported that the industry produces more than 92 million tonnes of landfill waste per year. By 2030, that is expected to rise to 134 million tonnes.

Cutting fashion's carbon footprint isn't just good for the environment; it will help the longer-term prospects of the industry itself. 'With this kind of wrong thinking about efficiency, you're eroding the basis of our long-term resilience both for ecology and for society,' Halme says.

Getting out of this trap, she and other researchers say, requires a complete paradigm shift. 'It's really difficult to just tweak around the edges,' she says.

Towards resilience
For several years, Halme researched and studied ecological efficiency, looking at ways that businesses could make more products with a smaller environmental impact. But gradually she realised this wasn't the answer. Although businesses could innovate to have more efficient products and technologies, their absolute use of natural resource use kept growing.

'I began to think, "If not efficiency, then what?"' Halme says. She realised the answer was resilience: fostering ways for systems, including the environment, to continue and even regenerate in the future, rather than continuing to degrade them in the present.

The solution isn’t more of anything, even ‘sustainable’ materials. It’s less.

'The only way to fix fast fashion is to end it,' Halme and her co-authors write. This means designing clothes to last, business models that make reuse and repair more accessible, and prioritising upcycling. Recycling systems also need to be overhauled for when an item really is at the end of its life – particularly regarding blended synthetic fibres, which are difficult to separate and break down.

This would upend the current focus on short-term revenue above all else. And, says Halme, it is one more example of how we need better ways to measure the success of these industries, taking into account factors like resilience and sustainability – rather than just short-term profits.

And while individuals can make an impact, these changes ultimately have to be industry-led.

'Textiles are a good example, because if they break quickly, and if you don't have repair services nearby, or if the fabrics are of such lousy quality that it doesn't make any sense to repair them, then it's too much trouble for most people,' Halme says. 'So most solutions should come from the business side. And the attempt should be to make it both fashionable and easy for consumers to make ecologically and socially sustainable choices.'

What will it take?
The ultimate challenge, says Lauri Saarinen, Assistant Professor at the Aalto University Department of Industrial Engineering and Management, is how to shift towards a more sustainable model while keeping companies competitive. But he believes there are ways.

One option is to keep production local. 'If we compete with low-cost, offshore manufacturing by doing things more locally, and in a closed loop, then we get the double benefit of actually providing some local work and moving towards a more sustainable supply chain,' Saarinen says. For example, if clothing were produced closer to consumers, it would be easier to send garments back for repair or for brands to take back used items and resell them.

Local production is yet another example of the need to rethink how we measure societal success. After all, outsourcing and offshoring in favour of cheaper production may appear to cut costs in short term, but this is done at the expense of what Halme and other experts argue really matters – longer-term economic viability, resilience and sustainability.

Shifting towards this kind of thinking isn't easy. Still, Saarinen and Halme have seen promising signs.

In Finland, for example, Halme points to the start-up Menddie, which makes it easy and convenient to send items away for repairs or alterations. She also highlights the clothing and lifestyle brand Marimekko, which re-sells its used items in an online secondhand shop, and the Anna Ruohonen label, a made-to-measurecollection and customer on-demand concept which creates no excess garments.

It's these kinds of projects that Halme finds interesting – and that, through her work, she hopes to both advocate for and pioneer.

At the moment, she says, these changes haven't yet added up to a true transformation. On a global scale, we remain far from a genuine shift towards longer-term resilience. But as she points out, that can change quickly. After all, it has in the past. Just look at what got us here.

'The pursuit of economic growth became such a dominant focus in a relatively short time – only about seven decades,' she says. 'The shift toward longer-term resilience is certainly possible. Scientists and decision-makers just need to change their main goal to long-term resilience. The key question is, are our most powerful economic players wise enough to do so?'

As part of her research, Halme has led projects pioneering the kinds of changes that the fashion industry could adapt. For example, along with her Aalto colleague Linda Turunen, she recently developed a measurement that the fashion industry could use to classify how sustainable a product really is – measuring things like its durability, how easily it can be recycled, and whether its production uses hazardous chemicals – which could help consumers to decide whether to buy. Her colleagues curated a recent exhibition that showcased what we might be wearing in a sustainable future, such as a leather alternative made from discarded flower cuttings, or modular designs to get multiple uses from the same garment – turning a skirt into a shirt, for example.
 
Because all of this requires longer-term thinking, innovation and investment, industry is reticent to make these shifts, Halme says. One way to encourage industries to change more quickly is with regulation. In the European Union, for example, an updated set of directives now requires companies with more than 500 employees to report on a number of corporate responsibility factors, ranging from environmental impact to the treatment of employees. These rules won't just help inform consumers, investors and other stakeholders about a company's role in global challenges. They’ll also help assess investment risks – weighing whether a company is taking the actions necessary to be financially resilient in the long-term.

• With fast fashion, the quantity of clothes produced and thrown away has boomed.

Fast fashion is the constant provision of new styles at very low prices. To tackle the impact on the environment, the EU wants to reduce textile waste and increase the life cycle and recycling of textiles. This is part of the plan to achieve a circular economy by 2050.

Overconsumption of natural resources
It takes a lot of water to produce textile, plus land to grow cotton and other fibres. It is estimated that the global textile and clothing industry used 79 billion cubic metres of water in 2015, while the needs of the EU's whole economy amounted to 266 billion cubic metres in 2017.

To make a single cotton t-shirt, 2,700 litres of fresh water are required according to estimates, enough to meet one person’s drinking needs for 2.5 years.

The textile sector was the third largest source of water degradation and land use in 2020. In that year, it took on average nine cubic metres of water, 400 square metres of land and 391 kilogrammes (kg) of raw materials to provide clothes and shoes for each EU citizen.

Water pollution
Textile production is estimated to be responsible for about 20% of global clean water pollution from dyeing and finishing products.

Laundering synthetic clothes accounts for 35% of primary microplastics released into the environment. A single laundry load of polyester clothes can discharge 700,000 microplastic fibres that can end up in the food chain.

The majority of microplastics from textiles are released during the first few washes. Fast fashion is based on mass production, low prices and high sales volumes that promotes many first washes.

Washing synthetic products has caused more than 14 million tonnes of microplastics to accumulate on the bottom of the oceans. In addition to this global problem, the pollution generated by garment production has a devastating impact on the health of local people, animals and ecosystems where the factories are located.

Greenhouse gas emissions
The fashion industry is estimated to be responsible for 10% of global carbon emissions – more than international flights and maritime shipping combined.

According to the European Environment Agency, textile purchases in the EU in 2020 generated about 270 kg of CO2 emissions per person. That means textile products consumed in the EU generated greenhouse gas emissions of 121 million tonnes.

Textile waste in landfills and low recycling rates
The way people get rid of unwanted clothes has also changed, with items being thrown away rather than donated. Less than half of used clothes are collected for reuse or recycling, and only 1% of used clothes are recycled into new clothes, since technologies that would enable clothes to be recycled into virgin fibres are only now starting to emerge.

Between 2000 and 2015, clothing production doubled, while the average use of an item of clothing has decreased.

Europeans use nearly 26 kilos of textiles and discard about 11 kilos of them every year. Used clothes can be exported outside the EU, but are mostly (87%) incinerated or landfilled.

The rise of fast fashion has been crucial in the increase in consumption, driven partly by social media and the industry bringing fashion trends to more consumers at a faster pace than in the past.

The new strategies to tackle this issue include developing new business models for clothing rental, designing products in a way that would make re-use and recycling easier (circular fashion), convincing consumers to buy fewer clothes of better quality (slow fashion) and generally steering consumer behaviour towards more sustainable options.

Work in progress: the EU strategy for sustainable and circular textiles
As part of the circular economy action plan, the European Commission presented in March 2022 a new strategy to make textiles more durable, repairable, reusable and recyclable, tackle fast fashion and stimulate innovation within the sector.

The new strategy includes new ecodesign requirements for textiles, clearer information, a Digital Product Passport and calls companies to take responsibility and act to minimise their carbon and environmental footprints

On 1 June 2023, MEPs set out proposals for tougher EU measures to halt the excessive production and consumption of textiles. Parliament’s report calls for textiles to be produced respecting human, social and labour rights, as well as the environment and animal welfare.

Existing EU measures to tackle textile waste
Under the waste directive approved by the Parliament in 2018, EU countries are obliged to collect textiles separately by 2025. The new Commission strategy also includes measures to, tackle the presence of hazardous chemicals, calls producers have to take responsibility for their products along the value chain, including when they become wasteand help consumers to choose sustainable textiles.

The EU has an EU Ecolabel that producers respecting ecological criteria can apply to items, ensuring a limited use of harmful substances and reduced water and air pollution.

The EU has also introduced some measures to mitigate the impact of textile waste on the environment. Horizon 2020 funds Resyntex, a project using chemical recycling, which could provide a circular economy business model for the textile industry.

A more sustainable model of textile production also has the potential to boost the economy. "Europe finds itself in an unprecedented health and economic crisis, revealing the fragility of our global supply chains," said lead MEP Huitema. "Stimulating new innovative business models will in turn create new economic growth and the job opportunities Europe will need to recover."

• General economic developments are dampening mood in composites industry
• Future expectations are optimistic
• Investment climate has remained stable
• Varying expectations for application industries
• Growth drivers have remained unchanged
• Composites Index is pointing in different directions

This is the 20th time that Composites Germany has identified the latest performance indicators for the fibre-reinforced plastics market. The survey covered all the member companies of the umbrella organisations of Composites Germany: AVK and Composites United, as well as the associated partner VDMA.  

General economic developments are dampening mood in composite industry
Like all industries, the composite industry has been affected by strong negative forces in recent years. The main challenges over the last few years have been the Covid pandemic, a shortage of semiconductors, supply chain problems and a sharp rise in the price of raw materials. Furthermore, there have been numerous isolated effects that added to the pressure on the industry.

The main challenges during the past year were primarily a steep increase in energy and fuel prices and the cost of logistics. In addition, the war in Ukraine put a further strain on supply chains that had already been weakened.

Overall, the stock market prices for both electricity and petroleum products are currently showing a clear downward trend. However, the significantly lower prices have not yet percolated from manufacturers and buyers to the end customer.

The aforementioned effects have further dampened the mood in the composites industry. The index assessing the current general business situation in Germany and Europe has dropped even further than before. However, the assessment of the global situation is somewhat more positive.

Despite this generally negative assessment of the current situation, companies are moving in a somewhat more positive direction in the assessment of their own business situations. The companies that were surveyed rated their own positions more positively than in the last survey.

Future expectations are optimistic
The expectations on future market developments are showing a very positive picture. After a significant drop in the last survey, the indicators for the general business situation are now displaying a clear upward trend again. Moreover, respondents were far more optimistic about their own companies’ future prospects.

Investment climate remaining stable
The investment climate has remained at a stable level. Nearly half of the companies surveyed are planning to employ new staff over the next six months. As before, about 70% of respondents are either considering or planning machine investments. Unlike in the previous survey, this value has remained almost unchanged.

Varying expectations for application industries
The composites market is highly heterogeneous in terms of both materials and applications. In the survey, respondents were asked to assess the market developments of different core areas. Expectations turned out to be extremely diverse.

The most important application segment for composites is the transport sector. The number of new registrations of passenger cars has been declining in recent years. This is where we can see OEMs moving away from volume models and opting for more profitable mid-range and premium segments. In this year’s survey, this shows itself in relatively cautious expectations for this segment.

The currently rather pessimistic outlook for the construction industry is leading companies to expect major slumps in this sector, in particular. The building sector, in particular, often reacts rather slowly to short-term economic fluctuations and has long been relatively robust towards the aforementioned crises. Now, however, it seems that this area, too, is being affected by negative influences.

The pessimistic outlook on the sports and leisure sector can be explained by a rather pessimistic view of consumer behaviour.

Expectations about future market developments, on the other hand, are significantly more positive than the figures presented here might suggest.

Growth drivers still stable
As before, the current survey shows Germany, Europe and Asia as the global regions expected to deliver the most important growth stimuli for the composites segment, with Europe playing a key role for many of the respondents.

Where materials are concerned, we are seeing a continuation of the ongoing paradigm shift. Whereas, in the first 13 surveys, respondents always believed that the composites segment would receive its prevailing growth stimuli from CRP, there is now an almost universal expectation that the most important stimuli will be coming from GRP or from all the materials.

Composites Index points in different directions
Despite the many negative influences that have occurred recently, composites appear to be in good shape for the future. Thanks to excellent market developments in 2021, they have almost reached their pre-pandemic level. The outlook for market developments in 2022 have not been finalised but are showing a less positive trend for last year.

Nevertheless, there are many indications to suggest that the generally positive development of the composite industry over the last few years is set to continue. In the medium term, structural changes in the transport sector will open up opportunities for composites to gain a new foothold in new applications. Major opportunities can be seen in areas of construction and infrastructure. Despite the rather weak market situation, these areas offer enormous opportunities for composites, due to their unique properties which predestine them for long-term use. The main assets of these materials are their durability, their almost maintenance-free use, their potential for use in lightweight construction and their positive impact on sustainability. Furthermore, one major growth driver is likely to be the wind industry, provided that it meets the politically self-imposed targets for the share of renewable energies in power consumption.

Overall, the Composites Index shows a restrained assessment of the current situation, whereas the assessment of the future situation is clearly positive. Respondents are apparently optimistic about the future, reflecting the assessment mentioned above: Composites have been used in industry and in serial production for several decades and, despite numerous challenges, they are set to provide immense potential for exploring new areas of application.

The next Composites Market Survey will be published in July 2023.

ESG aspects are most important to consumers when it comes to food and clothing. Young people in particular demand information and transparency: sustainability labels, certifications and reports ensure trust. For retailers and manufacturers, sustainability is becoming a must.

Under what conditions are the cows kept whose milk I drink? Does the manufacturer of my new T-shirt tolerate child labor? Does the retailer I trust deal fairly with employees and business partners? The majority of Germans ask themselves questions like these before making a purchasing decision. When shopping, 59 percent of consumers always or at least frequently pay attention to the ecological, economic or social sustainability of retailers and manufacturers. Among those under 35, the figure is even hugher with two-thirds, and among those over 55, one in two. These are the findings of a representative survey of 1,000 people in Germany commissioned by the auditing and consulting firm PwC Germany.

Sustainability is no longer a question of "if", but "how".
"Sustainability has become mainstream in recent years. For companies, paying attention to sustainability in their supply chains has already become a must," comments Dr. Christian Wulff. The Head of Retail and Consumer Goods at PwC Germany is convinced that companies will already have to give good reasons in the near future if they do not pay attention to the environment, social aspects and good corporate governance when producing a product. "The issue of sustainability is therefore no longer a question of whether, but of how," the retail expert continues.

Sustainability includes various aspects in the three areas of environment, social and sustainable governance (ESG). In the case of environmental sustainability, the focus is on issues relating to animal welfare - such as the conditions in which animals are kept or animal testing - and the use of recyclable materials. 40 percent of Germans would like to be informed about this before making a purchase. In the social sphere, the majority of respondents would like to know whether retailers and manufacturers comply with human rights (58 percent) - for example, whether they tolerate forced or child labor in their value chains. In terms of governance, one in two respondents would like to know about supply chains and be able to trace products before making a purchase.

Sustainability is particularly important for food
How closely consumers look at sustainability also depends on the product: For example, sustainability is particularly important to them when it comes to food. 81 percent of Germans pay attention to at least one of the three ESG criteria when buying food, i.e. environment, social issues or good corporate governance. But these criteria are also relevant when buying textiles: As many as 63 percent say they look at how sustainably the item was produced when buying clothing or shoes. While environmental aspects play the biggest role for food (62 percent), consumers are paying more attention to social aspects for clothing, shoes and accessories (52 percent).

Almost every second person has recently switched to sustainable products
The growing importance of ESG aspects in the purchasing behavior of German consumers is also evidenced by the shifts toward buying sustainable products. The trend toward sustainable products is clearest in the case of food: 45 percent of respondents state that they have consciously switched to more sustainable products within the past two years. By contrast, only 17 percent admit to switching (back) to less sustainable products, with one in three stating a lack of financial resources as the reason.

For just under half of those surveyed, a possible switch to more sustainable products would be supported by better availability in stationary retail. Legal regulations are also seen as helpful, both in terms of product labeling (38 percent) and for the production process (37 percent). More eye-catching product placement in stores would also help (37 percent).

Young people in particular demand transparency and education
Consumers' need for transparency in ESG matters is significant: According to the survey, almost three quarters of Germans obtain information about environmental sustainability issues at least occasionally. Two-thirds research aspects of social sustainability. A good half regularly find out about sustainable corporate governance.

Age has a major influence on how intensively people deal with the issue: While 80 percent of 16- to 24-year-olds find out about the environmental aspects of a product before buying it, only 59 percent of those over 65 do. "Younger people in particular are actively informing themselves and demanding transparency around ESG criteria," sums up Christian Wulff.

Consumers want information on packaging and online
To meet this need for information, the PwC expert advises manufacturers and retailers to provide detailed information about ESG aspects of products, especially online. "Keeping the associated, significantly increasing flood of data up to date at all times is increasingly becoming a challenge for companies that can only be solved by significant investments in new technologies."

Consumers agree on what companies can do to lend more credibility to their sustainability activities: A solid two-thirds consider recognized sustainability labels, certifications or independently audited sustainability reports to be suitable for credibly communicating activities in terms of ESG. "The results of our survey show that labels and independent certifications are very important in gaining the trust of customers. It is therefore worthwhile to have ESG measures confirmed by external organizations," says Christian Wulff.

Retailers and manufacturers should focus on transparency
"Manufacturers and retailers are faced with the task of ensuring a high level of transparency with regard to the sustainability of their products. This calls for honesty, but also creativity: In the case of fashion, for example, it is conceivable to trace the individual stages of the supply chain in detail and to show the costs incurred in the process. In this way, consumers can understand exactly how a price comes about," concludes Christian Wulff.