From the Sector

SHIMA SEIKI MFG., LTD. of Wakayama, Japan, through its Italian subsidiary SHIMA SEIKI ITALIA S.p.A., will participate in the A+A 2021 International Trade Fair for Safety, Security and Health at Work in Düsseldorf, Germany.

Having achieved recognition as an innovation leader in the flat knitting industry through pioneering inventions such as the world’s first DSCS® Digital Stitch Control System and seam-free WHoLEGARMEnT® knitting, SHIMA SEIKI has entered the field of technical textiles by proposing knitting as an alternative to other manufacturing methods. Through breakthroughs in original hardware and software technology as well as research in new materials, what was impossible to knit in the past can now not only be knit; it can be made to perform even better.

On display will be the company’s SVR123SP computerized flat knitting machine featuring a dedicated loop presser bed that permits full use of inlay technique for the production of hybrid fabrics that feature both knit and weave characteristics, suited to the production of safety-oriented functional fabrics. SVR123SP furthermore features i-Plating inverse-plating capability for increased patterning capability, including the production of jacquard-like patterns in light-weight plain jersey stitch. A variety of knit samples produced on SVR123SP will be presented at A+A featuring anti-bacterial, fireproof and cut-resistant fabrics, including a light-weight cut-resistant apron as an alternative proposal to current heavy vinyl aprons used in the meat packing industry. Safety glove samples knitted on SHIMA SEIKI’s glove knitting  Machine will be presented as well.

Also demonstrated will be SHIMA SEIKI’s SDS-onE APEX4 3D design system. APEX4’s capability for virtual sampling is especially effective in streamlining the production process. Ultra-realistic simulation capability allows the use of virtual samples for evaluating design variations without producing actual samples for each variation. Smart, speedy and sustainable production is possible by minimizing the time, cost and resources normally required with sample-making.

• From C.L.A.S.S. ICON 2021 to Special Project at WHITE Milan, the streetstyle Portuguese brand shows urban outfits for everyday heroes fighting for the environment, with a holistic approach to sustainability

After being rewarded with the 2021 C.L.A.S.S. Icon Award, the Portuguese brand Duarte is ready to present its Spring/Summer 2022 collection developed with C.L.A.S.S. ecohub support. The streetwear designer Ana Duarte has worked in close contact with the Milanese hub in order to create a 40 pieces collection where the approach to materials, suppliers, new business models and communication could include and support a holistic view of the sustainable values aligned with style, performances, look and touch and Duarte identity.

The inspiration behind the collection is the superhero Tadao - Ana Duarte’s dog, an English Cocker Spaniel - which is the World Keeper fighting against the environmental issues mankind has generated. Like a protector of sustainability, it battles modern monsters as Smog Man, Fire Man, Deforestation Man and Wave man, who respectively represent the issues of air pollution, climate change, forest destruction and water overconsumption. A very simple, direct and engaging way of talking about hot topics and simple, direct solutions.

The collection is made of 20 outfits, mainly unisex apart from some of them typically feminine as the crop tops. Hints of bright red and mustard yellow are alternated with denim, grey and pale azure tones, blending in with the colorful prints. Accents of black - used in inserts or as piping - seem to emphasize the outline of the garments. The different textures of the materials create a sense of movement, further enhanced by the unique patterns. All the garments’ prints are exclusively designed by the designer, following each collection inspiration: this time, they recall urban landscapes and the appeal of big metropolis, with Tadao as protagonist in prints, patches and ankle socks.

Among the most representative Duarte outfits we find:

• A matching sweater with trousers made of Newlife™, a yarn 100% made In Italy coming only from post- consumer, traceable plastic bottles.
• A unisex oversized bomber is crafted from Newlife™, lined with precious 100% Bemberg™ by Asahi Kasei fabric by Gianni Crespi Foderami and matched with printed neoprene hoodie and shorts.
• Long-panelled unisex coat and trousers made with ReLAST® denim by Candiani, a responsible textile featuring a premium recycled stretch yarn, ROICA™ by Asahi Kasei. The coat is lined with a fabric by Gianni Crespi Foderami in 100% Bemberg™ by Asahi Kasei, a new generation material made from the smart-tech transformation of cotton linter.
• The same sustainable stretch yarn is implied in the responsible tulle by Iluna Group, and featured in a shorts and top women’s ensemble, paired with a neoprene printed bomber. The tulle is skillfully matched with 100% Tencel™ back in the loop fabric by Maeba International underneath it.

Ana Duarte is part of a new generation of designers with a new approach to sourcing and production: her research goes into different kind of business models to fit her responsible innovation and style needs at the same time. That’s why in her collection we can find amazing and unique combination of organic, recycled, Back in The Loop, innovative materials that are the right choice for the look&touch and the performance she’s looking for. The result is cool yet respecting people and the environment in full traceability thanks to certified and sometimes even circular solutions. Working with components from various sources and business models requires a certain expertise and a particular sensibility we find in Ana Duarte’s design solutions and in her responsible interpretation of streetwear.

Kornit Digital announced that United Kingdom-based GoCustom Clothing has installed the Kornit Avalanche HD6 system for on-demand, direct-to-garment (DTG) digtal production. This installment coincides with GoCustom Clothing’s implementation of the KornitX platform, which provides a streamlined end-to-end workflow between the brand’s online customer stores and their production floor.

GoCustom Clothing offers print and embroidery services, and began by providing workwear for local businesses before branching out to school hoodies and uniforms. As their e-commerce business grew and orders became more diverse, GoCustom Clothing determined it was best to add digital DTG production capabilities, which could accommodate both orders of 1,000-plus pieces and single pieces. GoCustom originally invested in a Kornit Storm system for on-demand production, before upgrading to a Kornit Avalanche HD6 for increased capacity.

Kornit Avalanche HD6 can digitally produce numerous apparel types without considerable setup time.  Pallets can be changed quickly to handle different sizes and applications, versus the costly and time-consuming processes associated with screen printing operations. Furthermore, digitizing operations with KornitX,  Kornit’s operating system for on-demand sustainable fashion, means increased control and management of the end-to-end fulfillment process, from front-end steps including design, order management, and virtual catalog to smart routing of orders, production, packaging, and shipping.

Archroma celebrates 8 years of leading the way to a sustainable world, with innovations and solutions aimed at creating added value sustainable for its partners, consumers and the planet.

Archroma came to life on 1st October 2013 from textile, paper and emulsions businesses acquired from Clariant by SK Capital Partners.
Building on decades of commitment to developing safer eco-friendlier chemistry, Archroma has become in the past 8 years a prominent name for more sustainable colors and performance, collaborating with leading brands such as Primark, G-Star, Patagonia, Esprit and more.

Archroma has introduced innovations, such as the EarthColors® made from non-edible plant waste from the food and herbal industry, Denisol® Pure, an indigo for aniline-free* denim, aniline being a category 2 carcinogen substance, and Smartrepel®, a PFC-free* water repellent solution. The company is also about to launch a new plant-based softener.

The company started to develop holistic solutions designed to bring innovation and performance, whilst reducing the impacts on water, energy and other natural resources. The savings generated by these 70+ system solutions are demonstrated by Archroma's proprietary ONE WAY Impact Calculator, a tool launched in 2012 and continuously upgraded to simulate and optimize the footprint of application processes.

Archroma also recently launched CASUAL X SMART, a sulfur dyeing system for trendy wash-down effects to make clothes that look smart at home and at work. The colors won't fade in the washing cycle, and the application process allows resource savings of up to 33% water, 21% energy and 35% chemical usage compared to a benchmark reactive & pigment garment dyeing.

With ONE WAY, a brand can calculate how much impact their current production and the Archroma Way collection will have on water, energy, chemical, raw material or CO2 footprint.

• FILO, 29th-30th September 2021, booth C5

Bemberg™ by Asahi Kasei has been invited to showcase at Filo fair, the international exhibition of orthogonal weaving yarns for clothing and furnishings, circular knitwear and technical textiles, in a new special area, a dedicated open space reserved to sustainable fibers that will allow visitors to discover all their production cycle and performances, in full relax and transparency.

Bemberg™, an exceptional fiber made from the smart-tech transformation of cotton linters pre-consumer materials and converted through a traceable and transparent closed loop process, will brings to Filo its history, experience, know-how and market partnerships to prove its versatility and design-driven look and touch Last but not least we are talking about a true circular economy-oriented ingredient, with certified sustainable performance: Bemberg™ is biodegradable and compostable material as verified by the INNOVHUB 3rd party test and it has GRS (Global Reycled Standard) certification from Textile Exchange proving recycling authenticity.

Bemberg™ application history starts with high-quality suit lining, but today we can find it in many other applications such as fashion couture, outerwear, innerwear, bedding, and sportswear where its amazing unique touch and quality is offering a distinctive performance.

And to prove all of this, Bemberg™ will be at Filo showing some selected fabric innovation, and three responsible-driven designers representing different and complementary part of contemporary consumer wardrobe: ZEROBARRACENTO, Maurizio Miri and WAXEWUL - who have all chosen Bemberg™ fiber to create special collections. Three different ways to see and represent how sustainability and style – even if completely different ones – together can be highly successful, performing and interesting to the new consumer.

ZEROBARRACENTO, a gender-neutral emerging outerwear brand focusing on zero-waste product development, selects Bemberg™ for two fundamental reasons: firstly, from a stylistic point of view for its extreme versatility: in the various collections we have adopted it to create Kimonos, padded jackets, wrap dresses as well as for the interiors of our garments, which are intended to be soft embraces for total physical and mental comfort. The second but no less important reason is that this fibre has circular values in line with their zero-waste commitment.

The concept of the brand "Maurizio Miri" has a strong personality and a clear intent: to create a product that stimulates the wearer towards beauty. A garment should not simply be worn, but it has also to create a perfect symbiosis with the person wearing it and generate an exchange of positive energies. The purpose is to make the individual feel in perfect harmony with their own image. With this aim in mind, the designer selects extremely precious Bemberg™ linings for their sophisticated tailor jackets. 

Finally, WAXEWUL, a brand of sartorial clothing and artisan accessories with an urban-afro soul that has environmental and social sustainability as its basic ethics. WAXEWUL will bring to Filo its brand-new product, the J_Hood Bag: a doubleface jacket with a comfortably removable hood that can be transformed into a finely hidden doubleface bag. An exclusive, innovative and sustainable garment with minimal impact on the environment made of BemBAZIN™ - a new generation of bazin created, patented and produced by Brunello which is composed by the high-tech and responsible fibers of Bemberg™ - on one side and of wax on the other, traceable and certified, guaranteeing a reduction in waste (two jackets in one) and a long-life cycle.

• Innovations in Protection, Efficiency and Engineered Fabrics

INDA, the Association of the Nonwoven Fabrics Industry, announced the three finalists for the prestigious RISE® Innovation Award during the 11th edition of the Research, Innovation & Science for Engineered Fabrics Conference, (RISE®) to be held virtually September 28-30, 2021.  The award recognizes novel innovations in the nonwovens industry that creatively use next-level science and engineering principles to solve material challenges and expand the usage of nonwovens and engineered fabrics. These three finalists will present their innovative material science solutions as they compete for the RISE® Innovation Award.

Canopy Respirator
Canopy is an innovative respirator that is fully mechanical, non-electrostatic, with a filter designed for superior breathability while offering the wearer facial transparency. The breakthrough respirator features 5.5mm water column resistance at 85 liters (3 cubic feet) per minute, 2-way filtration, and a pleated filter that contains over 500 square centimeters of surface area. The patented Canopy respirator resists fluids, and eliminates fogging of eyeglasses.  

Evalith® 1000 Series
Johns Manville’s innovative Alpha Binder is a formaldehyde-free, high bio-carbon content, toxic-free binder formulation ideal for carpet mat applications. Alpha Binder eliminates monomer and polymer synthesis, uses a bio-degradable catalyst, and requires 70% less water in manufacturing. The resulting glass mats made of Alpha Binder are named “Evalith 1000” and reduces energy consumption during manufacturing by over 70% compared to alternative petroleum-based binders. Evalith 1000 was commercialized in North America in 2020.

Fiber Coated, Heat Sealable, Breathable, Hybrid Membrane, Fabric Protection
TiGUARD protective fabric is a construction of monolithic or hybrid imperious/moisture eliminating membranes with a surface covered with micro-fiber. This nonwoven product is a multi-layer all polyester fabric specifically for chemical and microbial protective fabrics, products, and garments. It is constructed of compatible heat seal-able materials which lend themselves to high-speed heat seal-able production and ultimately automated manufacture of garments without sewing. It is a combination of a densely flocked polyester fiber surface on polyester membrane supported by polyester scrim.
Virtual RISE™ conference attendees include technology scouts and product developers in the nonwoven/engineered fabrics industry seeking new developments to advance their businesses. These attendees will electronically vote for the recipient of the 2021 RISE® Innovation Award, on Wed. Sept. 29th. The winner will be announced Thurs., Sept. 30th.

The conference program will cover timely and relevant industry topics including: Material Science Developments for Sustainable Nonwovens; Increasing Circularity in Nonwovens; Market Intelligence & Economic Insights; Promising Innovations in Nonwovens; Process Innovations in Nonwovens; Material Innovations in Nonwovens;  the full program can be viewed on the link: https://www.riseconf.net/conference.php

A sector alliance that was formed to tackle issues relating to microplastics has completed the next phase of its project to develop a harmonised industry standard for the supply chain. The Cross Industry Agreement (CIA) has revealed the results of a fibre fragmentation trial that has been carried out in advance of establishing a CEN Standard (from the European Committee for Standardization). Once confirmed, the standard will also become an ISO standard under the Vienna Agreement, providing apparel manufacturers and policy makers with a vital tool as part of wider work to reduce microfibre shedding into the environment.

In 2018, five industry organisations agreed to join forces to proactively tackle the issue of microplastics, and signed the Cross Industry Agreement. The initial signatories were European industry associations that represent the European and global value chains of garments and their associated maintenance – the International Association for Soaps, Detergents and Maintenance Products (A.I.S.E.), European Man-Made Fibres Association (CIRFS), European Outdoor Group (EOG), EURATEX the European apparel and textile industry confederation, and the Federation of the European Sporting goods Industry (FESI). Together, the five organisations understood that the very first step to enable global action around the topic, was to agree a harmonised test method which would allow the collection and comparison of globally generated data, to aid the identification of solutions.

The microfibre shedding test method was developed thanks to the joint efforts and cooperation of experts from 28 European, American and Asian organisations; the result was handed over to CEN in 2020. Since then, representatives from the CIA have been working with CEN to fine tune details in order to meet the requirements for a CEN Standard. To verify the reproducibility of the method, the partners have carried out a round robin trial (RRT) to determine if the method could be replicated in different laboratories and produce similar results. 10 organisations participated in the RRT, which was co-ordinated by the CIA, sending fabric samples to all of the laboratories involved and then collecting and analysing the data.

The results from the RRT show statistically significant consistency, both within and between participating laboratories, which demonstrates that the method is both repeatable in the same setting and reproducible in other laboratories.

The CIA has submitted the results of the RRT to CEN, with the intention that the CEN Standard is confirmed in the near future. Once that has happened, it will be promoted throughout the apparel industry and will become a key tool for researchers, businesses and governments as they accelerate efforts to reduce microfibre shedding associated with garment production.

Kornit Digital (Nasdaq: KRNT), a worldwide market leader in digital textile printing technology, announced UK textile printing company Rialto Designs has invested in a Kornit Presto S with Softener Solution to drive printed textile fashion innovation.

Founded 25 years ago by textile technologist brothers Riyaz and Mohsin Omarji, Rialto Designs has established a client base that includes many of the UK’s leading fashion brands.
In recent years, the company has downsized its analog screen production and adopted digital direct-to-garment capabilities. Two Kornit Avalanche HD6 systems for on-demand DTG production have streamlined operations and increased output to gain new market opportunities.

The latest single-step, eco-friendly Kornit Presto S helps align Rialto’s roll-to-roll workflow with commercial growth and delivers high-quality natural and synthetic pieces, in any quantity and in short order.

Kornit’s DTG technology supports Rialto to deliver a service that sets it apart on speed, sustainability, and high quality. Clients can now order printed samples across hundreds of fabric bases—polyester and natural—and receive their orders within 24 hours.

100% sustainability lives in the smallest detail, starting with the label, the element that can tell the story of responsibility. This is why Nastrificio di Cassano has created NDC Green, Made in Italy and fully traceable range that guarantees high quality standards while respecting the planet.
 
NDC Green comprises 4 categories:

• LABìO ECO-SOFT®: made using TENCEL™ lyocell  yarn which is compostable and biodegradable (as attested by TUV Austria), this product boasts performances and is resistant up to 10 domestic washings at 30°. The reference is produced with fifteen times less water consumption than cotton production and the resins used are GOTS certified.
• LABìO HANGreen is the smart solution for the creation of hard tags, hangtags, shopping bags and garment covers and, as LABIO ECO-SOFT® range, it’s made with  compostable and biodegradable TENCEL™ lyocell yarn and the resin is compostable, too. These peculiarities make this product unique.
• ACETATE NAIA™, the 'smart satin' that respects forests and oceans, is the NAIA™ single-ingredient solution produced by Eastman: the 100% traceable, compostable and biodegradable cellulose yarn in both soil and sea respects the natural growth rate of forests.
• RECYCLED POLYESTER: is made from post-consumer yarn recycled from GRS-certified PET bottles. Available in both satin and resinated taffeta versions, it guarantees excellent printability for an elegant and sophisticated look

100% sustainability lives in the smallest detail, starting with the label, the only element that can tell the story of responsibility. This is exactly why, to be a truly credible 'ambassador', the label or tag must itself be responsible. This is why Nastrificio di Cassano has created NDC Green, the premium, Made in Italy and fully traceable range that guarantees the highest quality standards while respecting the planet.

NDC Green comprises 4 categories, all with influential international certifications that attest to Nastrificio di Cassano's responsible imprinting. Many new sustainability values are woven into the collection. Particular attention is given to end-of-life, but also to the choice of natural and high-tech materials with a low environmental impact.

A wide choice that speaks of responsible innovation, beauty and functionality: characteristics that have led C.L.A.S.S. (www.classecohub.org) to integrate NDC Green into its Material Hub which "contains a selection of fibres, materials and fabrics that share a DNA linked to research that since 2007 has been raising the bar of standards in order to offer innovations in step with the demands of the contemporary consumer" says Giusy Bettoni CEO of C.L.A.S.S.
NDC Green includes:

• LABìO ECO-SOFT®: made using compostable and biodegradable ingredients (as attested by TUV Austria), this product boasts performances and is resistant up to 10 domestic washings at 30°. The reference is produced with fifteen times less water consumption than cotton production and the resins used are GOTS certified.
• LABìO HANGreen is the smart solution for the creation of hard tags, hangtags, shopping bags and garment covers and, as LABIO ECO-SOFT® range, it made with  compostable and biodegradable ingredients as certified by TUV Austria and the resin is compostable, too. These peculiarities make this product unique.
• ACETATE NAIA™, the 'smart satin' that respects forests and oceans, is the NAIA™ single-ingredient solution produced by Eastman: the 100% traceable, compostable and biodegradable cellulose yarn in both soil and sea respects the natural growth rate of forests.
• RECYCLED POLYESTER: is made from post-consumer yarn recycled from GRS-certified PET bottles. Available in both satin and resinated taffeta versions, it guarantees excellent printability for an elegant and sophisticated look.