From the Sector

The Hygiene Fibers Group of Indorama Ventures (IVL) came together at the Index Show to present an all-inclusive range of recycled and biodegradable solutions for Hygiene Fiber and Nonwoven applications.

The combination of polymers, technologies, processes and global reach supported by the Hygiene Fibers Group – one of three business segments that make up Indorama Ventures – positions it within the Hygiene industry to meet increasingly challenging market demand for innovative sustainable solutions within the hygiene sector. Across the six brands and companies that make up Hygiene Fibers Group – Auriga, Avgol, FiberVisions, Indorama Asia, Trevira and Wellman International – sustainability and supporting customers to achieve circular objectives is integral to all efforts and fundamental to the ethos of the Hygiene business segment.

At the Index Show, the Hygiene Fibers Group launched CiCLO®, a textile technology which allows polyester and other synthetic materials to biodegrade like natural materials do in wastewater treatment plant sludge, sea water and landfill conditions, reducing synthetic microfiber pollution generated during washing, and minimizing plastic accumulation in landfills caused by discarded textiles.

In line with the company’s commitment to support customers with high performance products, while also reducing the impact on the environment, several of the  Hygiene Fibers brands, including Wellman International, Trevira GMBH and Auriga, have been working closely over the last 12 months with the IAM team and the CiCLO® technology. Developments have focused on PET and rPET staple fiber and filament sustainable solutions for applications where recycling is particularly challenging, such as Hygiene, Home Textiles and Automotive applications.

Strengthening the profile of biodegradable offerings within the Hygiene Fibers Group’s sustainability portfolio, Trevira introduced a new range of bicomponent fibres based on PLA and PBS (polybutylene succinate) at the Index show. Both biopolymers offer an exceptional technological opportunity in terms of environmental care and sustainability, while delivering optimum performance. Equally to PLA, PBS is recyclable and up to 100% biodegradable under industrial conditions.

Efforts towards supporting customers to achieve circular objectives are a priority within the Hygiene Fibers Group. This is reflected in the recycled fibers expertise deployed across the segment. Four Hygiene Fibers Group brands, IVL Asia, Auriga, Trevira and Wellman International offer an extensive range of 100% recycled, accredited PET fibers, across a multitude of fiber and nonwovens applications.

The development and evolution of sustainable technologies is central to activity across IVL’s Hygiene Fibers Group, with particular focus on sustainable polyolefin solutions. FiberVisions and ES-FIBERVISIONS, leading Polyolefin mono and bico fiber brands and sister company Avgol, have partnered with UK-based Polymateria to commercially harness the innovative ‘biotransformation’ technology pioneered by Polymateria. The patented technology alters the properties of polyolefins to make them biodegradable in a natural process.  Other polyolefin sustainable innovations within the Hygiene Fibers Group were featured at Index include biosurfactant and biocolourant developments being undertaken by the Avgol team with FiberVisons progressing sustainable design solutions, including lightweight, high performance, reduced carbon solutions.

Beaulieu Fibres International is attending INDEX™20 in Geneva and is excited to accelerate its work helping customers to exceed in product performance and sustainability.

For nonwoven converters serving the hygiene segment, a feature at INDEX™20 will be the company’s optimized Meralux specialty fibre, with fit for use performance and sustainability properties. It offers opacity improvements (reduction of TiO2 for the same opacity levels), higher coverage, higher bulkiness, and improved liquid management.

In addition, Meralux fibres deliver substantial sustainability benefits including about 55% savings in raw materials, with equivalent carbon emission savings, thanks to weight reduction in nonwovens for the same coverage, and higher recyclability of PP/PE.

The latest additions to the hygiene fibres portfolio are Meraspring BICO PET fibres. Meraspring enables nonwovens to combine a softness and loftiness that provides a cushioned, even “well-being”, experience for end-users of applications such as diapers and fem-pads. The fibres are available in a range from 1.7-8.9 dtex with hydrophilic, hydrophobic and wellbeing finishes depending on the properties required in the final product.

In the industrial fibres segment, UltraBond thermal bonding fibre will finally be presented with its INDEX™20 Nonwovens Award in the category "sustainable raw material".

In addition, Beaulieu Fibres International’s new range of MONO low count and BICO fibres are setting new performance standards for the fast-growing air and liquid filtration markets.

At INDEX™20, Beaulieu Fibres International also presenets its Pilot Line to test the waters of co-development opportunities without risk. The Pilot Line offers the utmost flexibility to produce samples, without the typical constraints imposed by industrial production lines, replicating any type of staple fibre spinning technology using different types of polymers and additives and different types of cross sections.

• EFI Reggiani TERRA Silver Makes Debut at Fespa Global Print Expo 2021 for a Short, Smart and Green Process
• The new, industrial, entry-level EFI™ Reggiani TERRA Silver textile printer from Electronics For Imaging, Inc. is making its debut at the Fespa Global Print Expo 2021 tradeshow, 12-15 October at RAI Amsterdam.
• The EFI Reggiani TERRA Silver uses unique TERRA pigment ink for high-quality, highly sustainable direct-to-textile printing without steaming or washing.       

“This is one of the first trade shows to return after the pandemic, and we are very excited to again meet customers in person and showcase an innovative offering that delivers superior printing results while using less time, water and energy,” said EFI Reggiani Vice President and General Manager Adele Genoni. “We are introducing this advanced EFI Reggiani TERRA Silver solution to the many print service providers at Fespa, presenting them with an ideal path to enter the industrial textile segment with a short, smart and green production process.”

The new-version TERRA Silver printer is part of EFI’s complete TERRA line-up of pigment ink printer solutions. It is a 180-cm wide printer that can print up to 190 sqm per hour with eight dual-channel printheads. The printer also features:

•    A new recirculating ink system for superior reliability and minimum maintenance
•    Several printing modes to ensure maximum flexibility in terms of design capability
•    New, real-time image processing that eliminates time spent in image pre-calculations
•    A user friendly, intuitive interface
•    A more-efficient polymerisation process that takes place as printed textile goes through the printer’s on-board dryer.

In Fespa stand 1-G71, attendees can see the EFI Reggiani TERRA Silver print smoothly and precisely on knitted and woven fabrics. The printer’s quality is evident in its high-uniformity printing modes, and it delivers numerous features that enhance the production process, including an accurate WYSIWYG interface and flexible queue management.
 
EFI Reggiani is also a leading developer of textile inks. The EFI Reggiani TERRA pigment inks used on the Silver model deliver excellent wet and dry fastness properties and remarkable sharpness in detail. Designed to leverage EFI Reggiani digital printers’ market-proven industrial performance capabilities, these eco-friendly, water-based inks provide an extraordinary level of print durability and yield longer print head life with reduced maintenance costs. The high-performance digital pigment inks also use an innovative binder technology for fast, sustainable, and cost-competitive industrial textile printing on the widest range of fabrics. Users also gain superior print definition and colour intensity.
 
This year, EFI Reggiani celebrates 75 years of heritage and innovation in the textile world. Always committed to deliver to the market new cutting-edge technologies, EFI Reggiani has world-class products offering boosted uptime and reliability, high performance throughput, and remarkable printing uniformity and accuracy – all while helping customers increase the sustainability of their textile manufacturing activities. Green EFI Reggiani processes give users fast, complete and sustainable solutions across a broad range of textile applications.
 
In this 75th anniversary year, EFI Reggiani has also launched several other ground-breaking solutions, such as EFI Reggiani HYPER, the fastest scanning digital printer on the market, and the EFI Reggiani BLAZE, an industrial entry-level, easy-to-use printer designed to give new textile companies the opportunity to adopt digital inkjet production with a compact solution to blaze a successful path into the industry.

Lenzing will be at the 56th edition of FILO, taking place on September 29 and 30, in Milan, with its TENCEL™ fiber. Sustainability and ethical values will be the main focus of the event.

Furthermore, to delve deeper in the sustainable approach that drives Lenzing's production processes, on September 30, at 3.00 PM, a presentation with the title "Lenzing's biorefinery concept" will be held by Carlo Covini, Lenzing – Business Development Manager Italy & Switzerland. This will be part of the Dialoghi di Confronto segment set near the Networking Area.

ROICA™ by Asahi Kasei, specialized in sustainable premium stretch fibers, and Bemberg™, a fiber made from the smart-tech transformation of cotton linters pre-consumer materials and converted through a traceable and transparent closed loop process, have been invited to showcase at Filo, the international fair of orthogonal weaving yarns for clothing and furnishings, circular knitwear and technical textiles from the 29-30th of September.

ROICA™ will show its main innovations and four key pieces of the modern and sustainable contemporary wardrobe able to enhance the versatility of the fibers, applied to fashion, sportswear, legwear and underwear.
The brand will also be the protagonist of “The contemporary consumer: Stretch your imagination with ROICA™ by Asahi Kasei smart innovation” speech on September 30th, 11am, organized by the fair to tell its sustainable story.

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.
Bemberg™ will be also involved in two speeches – entitled “Il viaggio di Bemberg™ by Asahi Kasei verso una moda contemporanea, premium e responsabile” - organized by the fair (Sept. 29th and 30th at 4pm), where it will share its story made of creation, production and process, as well as product performance, aspects related to sustainability and circular economy approach.

• 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.

• Introducing TexCoat G4 to US textile industry
• Non-contact precision spray fabric-finishing system enhances sustainability and process control

Baldwin Technology Company Inc. will be showcasing its TexCoat G4 non-contact precision spray fabric-finishing system at the Techtextil North America trade show, held Aug. 23 to 25, in Raleigh, North Carolina.

With extensive sustainability benefits, unprecedented tracking and process control, and Industry 4.0 integration, the TexCoat G4 provides consistently high-quality fabric finishing, with no chemistry waste, and significantly reduced water and energy consumption.

Baldwin’s innovative non-contact spray technology eliminates chemistry dilution in wet-on-wet processes. The TexCoat G4 consistently and uniformly sprays chemistry across the fabric surface and applies it only where needed, on one or both sides.

Customers can expect no bath contamination during the finishing process, as well as minimal downtime during changeovers, which are made easy with recipe management that includes automated chemistry and coverage selection. The TexCoat G4 also enhances sustainability by wasting no chemistry during color, fabric or chemistry changeovers, and because only the required chemistry volume is applied to the fabric, wet pick-up levels can be reduced by up to 50 percent—leading to 50 percent less water and energy consumption.

Furthermore, in single-side applications, drying steps can be eliminated for various textiles, including those that are back-coated and laminated, thereby streamlining and simplifying the production process.

SHIMA SEIKI ITALIA S.p.A., Italian subsidiary of a leading Japanese computerized knitting solutions provider SHIMA SEIKI MFG., LTD., will exhibit at the 89th edition of the Pitti Immagine Filati exhibition in Florence, Italy from the 28th till the 30th of June. Because this edition of Pitti Filati will be a fusion of physical venue and online exhibit via Pitti Connect, increased importance is sure to be placed upon digitalization in the presentation of yarn.

In order to further support efforts in DX in the fashion industry, SHIMA SEIKI is presenting new online services at Pitti Filati. APEXFiz™ is SHIMA SEIKI’s first subscription-based design software and yarnbank™ a digital yarn sourcing web service for the knitting industry.

APEXFiz™ is the latest addition to SHIMA SEIKI’s proven SDS®-onE APEX series design system lineup, but with a big departure from the past. Whereas previous APEX-series design systems were offered as an all-in-one hardware/software package, for the first time in its nearly 40 years of design system development, SHIMA SEIKI has released its new APEXFiz™ as subscription-based design software that can be installed on customers’ individual computers. Maintaining proven functions that have made the APEX series so popular with fashion designers, with APEXFiz™ those strengths are now enhanced with the added versatility to adapt to different work styles and business environments including teleworking and telecommuting. APEXFiz™ software supports the creative side of fashion from planning and design to colorway evaluation, realistic fabric simulation and 3D virtual sampling. Virtual samples are a digitized version of sample making that are accurate enough to be used effectively as prototypes, replacing physical sampling and consequently reducing time, cost and material that otherwise go to waste. APEXFiz™ thereby helps to realize sustainability and digitally transform the fashion supply chain. APEXFiz™ is furthermore available in 5 different product variations that can be selected according to the customer’s needs, from APEXFiz™ Design Jr. to APEXFiz™ Design Pro.

APEXFiz™ is supported by another web service to enhance its user experience even more. yarnbank™ is one of the world's first online platforms for searching and downloading digitized yarns, developed in cooperation with yarn companies from around the world. Registered users can download yarn data for free, for use in fabric simulation and virtual sampling on APEXFiz™, avoiding the need to scan yarn on their own.

Baldwin Technology Company Inc. will showcase its key innovative technologies for optimized corrugated high-graphics package printing at the ConneXion virtual expo, taking place from June 1 to 8. In Baldwin’s virtual exhibit, visitors will experience fully automated flexo plate-cleaning systems, an energy-efficient IR (infrared) drying solution and LED-UV curing systems, all of which increase print quality and productivity, with operator safety and sustainability in mind.

Key innovative technologies:

• The FlexoCleanerBrush™, a solution to enhance print quality and improve worker safety in corrugated printing.
• The FlexoCleanPick™, a system designed to automatically remove hickeys—typically caused by paper fibers, dust and ink contamination, and other causes of printing defects—from the plate during the print run without stopping the press or requiring operator skin contact with wash agents.
• The FlexoDry2™, a fully integrated IR drying system, specifically developed for corrugated flexo printing presses, that reduces energy consumption by up to 30 percent over standard IR dryers via the use of patented Diamond IR™ lamps.
• A new generation of LED-UV technology—designed by AMS Spectral UV, a Baldwin Technology company, for wide-format flexo corrugated box printing—represents the latest in solid-state LED curing innovations and offers more than a 50 percent reduction in power consumption, compared to traditional UV systems, in an ultra-compact lamphead that fits at the end of the press or between printing units.

You can register here.

“The consequences of the ongoing pandemic spread of the coronavirus continue to govern our personal and professional lives. It is with a heavy heart that we must cancel the physical events in July, since these are not allowed to take place given the current legal constraints. Due to the lack of certainty for planning and new monthly evaluation we need to fulfil our obligations as event organiser and avoid unforeseeable risks for partners and clients.” Anita Tillmann, Managing Partner of the PREMIUM GROUP

A lack of permissions, adjustments to official measures at short notice, travel restrictions within Europe and overseas, potential quarantine obligations, short-term work in many companies – overall, a volatile situation makes it impossible to press ahead with the necessary planning in a responsible, risk-free way, especially for the exhibitors and partners.

Because of this, the organizers are now forced to cancel SEEK, PREMIUM and FASHIONTECH events in July 2021 and move them to January 2022 instead. Safeguarding the health and safety of exhibitors, guests, partners and employees always takes top priority.

SEEK and PREMIUM are live events and therefore spaces for engaging with others face-to-face. They are a vital meeting point for the whole industry that can only be augmented by our digital offerings. Under the current unpredictable conditions the usual levels of service cannot be guaranteed for clients and visitors.

July will see the start of Frankfurt Fashion Week (FFW) digital. Frankfurt Fashion Week Studio is the core element of the FFW opening season and encompasses the whole FFW ecosystem – with its key themes of Fashion Business, sustainability and digitisation – in the form of a digital portal.

FFW Studio is a progressively curated and staged platform that brings together all German fashion trade shows, conferences, fashion experiences and events under one roof for the first time. First as a digital venue, then as a hybrid one. For pioneers, brands, experiences, entertainment and networking.

“Over the past year we have felt a great sense of solidarity. The industry has given us enormous encouragement and the assurance that we are not only missed but needed. So we want to say thank you from the bottom of our hearts! We can't wait to get together in a few short months’ time to present concepts and projects, meet up face-to-face, and shape the future together. Now more than ever!” Anita Tillmann, Managing Partner of the PREMIUM GROUP