From the Sector

Smart Closet is an innovative event dedicated to new generation fashion where C.L.A.S.S and Equipe International, through the InsideOut approach by C.L.A.S.S., come together to represent a smart wardrobe - beautiful, innovative, responsible - together with a new language of values with the aim to share the fully transparent journey behind each product and company, to show their outer and inner values. All values and concepts that are part of Bemberg™ identity.

Bemberg™ is the brand name of the regenerated cellulose fiber cupro, produced only by Asahi Kasei in Japan. It is a special fiber with a circular economy footprint thanks to the fact that it is made from a regenerated cellulose obtained from the manufacturing process of cottonseed oil with a closed-loop process. It guarantees certified sustainability credentials through its transparent and traceable approach. It delivers high quality and versatile applications, comfortable whatever the season: its blissful sensation glides on linings, outerwear, underwear, sportswear and even couture pieces. All perfect characteristics that fit in Smart Closet initiative.

The project chosen to participate with is the incredible capsule collection A Dress For Venice designed by eco-designer Tiziano Guardini, illustrated by artist Jacopo Ascari, and produced by Martina Vidal Venezia, a Venetian brand that has enriched the garments with some elements in Burano lace, an ancient art candidate to enter the UNESCO list of Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity!
 
Inspired by the city of water, it’s made with Bemberg™ fabrics created by Infinity Srl with the textile printing done by Creazioni Digitali, which with the CreŌ | project  printed on Bemberg™ fabrics with low-water pigment inks technology . This collection truly represents and includes all the values of beauty, innovation and supply chain partnerships, all elements.

Utilizing renewable materials* and formaldehyde-free chemistries, the industry-first Archroma NTR Printing System combines newly created pigment black and customized auxiliaries for enhanced sustainability, comfort and durability
 
Archroma, a company in specialty chemicals towards sustainable solutions, introduced the NTR Printing System to make bio-based pigment printing commercially possible for the first time. Based on renewable raw materials and designed for safer chemistry, it helps apparel and textile brands reduce their environmental footprint while producing brilliant black shades on garments that deliver both comfort and durability.

Bio-based pigment printing is an emerging technology that is attracting major interest from brands that want to use pigments derived from natural sources, such as plants, in the production of environmentally conscious textiles. Until now, however, bio-based pigments have not delivered color fastness that is comparable to synthetic pigments, and color quality and production performance have not been sufficient to support commercial-scale production.

Archroma’s NTR Printing System is the first to utilize renewable feedstock across pigment dispersion, binder and fixing agent. Crucially, it ensures good wet-rubbing and dry-rubbing fastness, with outstanding softness on all kinds of fabrics. Furthermore, it is suitable for most popular application technologies, including printing, coating and continuous pigment dyeing, with outstanding runnability for production efficiency.

“These properties make the new NTR Printing System ideal for the highly competitive denim market, where sustainability, comfort and durability are important; for knits, where very soft handfeel is essential; and on babywear, where both exceptional softness and safety are required,” Joaquin Femat, Market Segment Director for Printing, Archroma, said.

The result of more than two years of research and development, the innovative new NTR Printing System required Archroma to create customized binding and fixing agents to ensure fastness for the pigment black dispersion comparable to current petroleum-based printing systems. All three printing elements are partially based on renewable feedstock to reduce reliance on non-renewable petrochemicals. Archroma also developed the new system to avoid toxic input streams and impurities, including formaldehyde. Two successful bulk trials were conducted with Textprint S. A. and Jeanologia.

The NTR printing system comprises the following highly efficient and robust printing elements:

• PRINTOFIX® BLACK NTR-TF: A non-gelling pigment black with 79% renewable carbon content*, designed for use in textile applications with no impact on fastness levels.
• HELIZARIN® NTR-SS: A formaldehyde-free super-soft binder with 40% renewable carbon content, designed to ensure very good overall fastness levels.
• LUPRINTOL® FIXING AGENT NTR-HF: A formaldehyde-free fixing agent with 40% renewable carbon content**, designed for high wet fastness in rubbing and laundry.

All three elements are currently being evaluated for compliance with globally accepted standards like bluesign®, the Global Organic Textile Standard (GOTS) and Zero Discharge of Hazardous Chemicals (ZDHC). The system also supports major industry restricted substances list (RSL) requirements.

The ZEBRA (Zero wastE Blade ReseArch) project marks a significant leap forward in the recycling and circular economy for wind turbine blades. This collaborative effort demonstrates a breakthrough in the complete recycling of thermoplastic blades achieving significant environmental and economic benefits.

The ZEBRA project is a unique partnership led by the French Institute for Technological Research, IRT Jules Verne. Joining forces are industry leaders Arkema (resin supplier), Owens Corning (glass fiber supplier), LM Wind Power (blade manufacturer), SUEZ (dismantling and waste processing), CANOE R&D center (recycling technology), and ENGIE (life cycle analysis).

Each company played a crucial role in the development of the closed-loop recycling process:

• Arkema developed and validated the generation of recycled Elium® monomer through thermolysis, and, together with its subsidiary Bostik, an innovative adhesive for the blade assembly that is recycled together with Elium® paving the way for industrial-scale implementation.
• Owens Corning successfully recovered glass fiber at pilot scale, enabling its reintroduction into the production process for their Sustaina® product line.
• LM Wind Power manufactured two wind turbine blades with Arkema’s Elium® resin and Owens Corning’s Ultrablade® fabrics; one blade including a large structural element made with recycled Elium® resin.
• SUEZ provided cutting and grinding expertise for processing the blades.
• CANOE R&D center optimized recycling for production and carbon blade waste, additionally developing methods for repurposing waste streams through mechanical recycling.
• ENGIE conducted a comprehensive life cycle analysis demonstrating the environmental benefits of closed-loop ZEBRA blades and validated their economic viability.

A Sustainable Future for Wind Energy
The ZEBRA project successfully recycled Elium® resin and Ultrablade® fabrics from wind turbine blades and manufacturing waste, reformulating them back into usable materials. This closed-loop process addresses the growing challenge of end-of-life blade management within the wind energy industry.

• Recycled Elium® Monomer: Arkema achieved a yield of over 75% in the thermolysis process, paving the way for industrial-scale production of recycled resin.
• Recovered Glass Fiber: Owens Corning successfully retrieved glass fiber for remelting and reintegration into their Sustaina® product line.
• Life Cycle and Cost Analysis: ENGIE's study confirmed the significant environmental benefits and economic viability of ZEBRA blades when assuming a closed-loop recycling system from production to end-of-life.

ZEBRA blade using Elium® thermoplastic resin, Bostik’s highly compatible adhesive and Ultrablade® fabrics is bringing the best closed-loop recycling solution compared to traditional thermoset system. The operating cost and investments for recycling facility are significantly lowered. The CO2 emission linked to the recycling operations is reduced as well. All those results are making the closed-loop recycling solution of ZEBRA blades a viable option both on economic and environmental standpoints.

By demonstrating the feasibility of full wind turbine blade recycling, the ZEBRA project paves the way for a more sustainable future in the wind energy sector.

Specialty chemicals innovator Perstorp, a wholly owned subsidiary of PETRONAS Chemicals Group Berhad (PCG), received a platinum medal for being among the top 1 percent of companies assessed for sustainability by EcoVadis.

Perstorp progressed in all four assessed areas compared to the previous year; Environment, Labor & Human rights, Ethics and Sustainable Procurement.

Since its founding in 2007, EcoVadis has grown to become one of the world's largest and most trusted provider of business sustainability ratings, creating a global network of more than 130,000 rated companies. The EcoVadis sustainability assessment methodology is an evaluation of how well a company has integrated the principles of Sustainability/CSR into their business and management system. The methodology is built on international sustainability standards, including the Global Reporting Initiative, the United Nations Global Compact, and the ISO 26000, covering 220+ spend categories and 180+ countries.

Over the course of one month, from the beginning of January until mid-February 2025, SEEK will play at a new 5-floor location in Berlin (Oranienstrasse), becoming a home to brands, showrooms, agencies, the Conscious Club, marketing-driven events and showcases as well as the return of the infamous Designer Sale.

New space
Five floors of the historic building from 1900, offer the ideal setting of SEEK's new modular system and return to its simple, clean and reduced set up. Every floor is about 600 sqm big, and offers high ceilings, large window facades and therefore lots of daylight as well as wide, open spaces to present the latest products and smaller rooms as a retreat or ideal for private order appointments.
 
The new location, especially with its various floors, offers brands and agencies the opportunity to curate and target specific audiences: whether it's by appointment only, engaging with press and content creators, attracting potential new customers, like-minded individuals, or end-consumers.

New concept
SEEK and the team behind the Berlin fashion event puts its 15 years of experience in use and presents a completely new, independent, innovative, agile, solution-focused and adaptable, month-long concept. According to the motto "the customer is always right", SEEK replies and reacts to the markets' and the exhibitors' needs: concentrated and coherent brand scenarios, individually bookable time periods and customised conditions for various needs and objectives.
 
"It's not the right time for a one-size-fits-all approach. The needs, strategies, objectives and timelines of our exhibitors and visitors are more diverse than ever been before. Two set-in-stone days and one big location hosting them all are just not the Zeitgeist anymore. Brands and agencies get together and create smaller, more intimate showroom concepts. The Conscious Club is a close-knit community that thrives from exchange, collaboration and togetherness. Classic calendars as well as designs of mens- and womenswear become blurred. Outdoor and function wear is part of not just streetwear culture any more. We need to react to these trends and offer modular options and dates" says Elli Moreno, SEEK
 
New timescale
The new concept is consciously taking a step back from the traditional trade show calendar and fashion week schedule. This upcoming Autumn/Winter 2025/26 season is the tightest and busiest yet - the perfect starting point to launch SEEK's new concept. The Berlin based fashion and lifestyle event organisers open the doors beginning of January 2025, before the first European trade show takes place, as well as over the course of Berlin Fashion Week, which will take place at the beginning of February.
 
In close conversations with those responsible, SEEK will develop and present coherent concepts, brand scenarios and agencies' showrooms at various appropriate and reasonable times. SEEK, as well as its traditional role as an organiser, will now - more than ever - act as a landlord, communicator, consultant and most importantly: host.
 
"With the new concept we're acting on and expressing what everyone's thinking! The timelines, fashion weeks as well as trade shows and events in Europe are more and more overlapping. We have to stop thinking in black and white, outdated calendars and segments, and dictating when brands and agencies have to write orders and close the books. Flexibility, independence, the very honest, loyal relationships with our exhibitors and visitors and down-to-earthness are our absolute USPs, which we will now benefit from!" Marie-Luise Ahlers, SEEK

Fabtex Georgia 2024 International Textile Industry Fair has concluded with remarkable success, bringing together over 1,050 professional visitors from 11 countries, including Georgia, Russia, Armenia, India, China, Ukraine, Germany, Iran, Turkey, Poland, and Pakistan.

This year’s exhibition featured 52 exhibitors from Georgia, Turkey, Azerbaijan, the UAE, Uzbekistan, and China, underscoring the event's international significance.

The exhibition's exhibitor profile primarily focuses on knitted fabrics, woven fabrics, fabrics for workwear and uniforms, various accessories, garment and sewing machinery, and ready-to-wear items.

Georgia has a long-standing tradition in the textile sector, dating back to Soviet times, and is currently home to production for international brands such as Tommy Hilfiger, Zara, Moncler, and Puma.

Georgia’s strategic location at the crossroads of Western Asia and Eastern Europe, coupled with its rich textile history, makes it an ideal hub for textile manufacturing and investment. The country boasts several Free Trade Agreements (FTAs) with Turkey and CIS nations, as well as a Deep and Comprehensive Free Trade Agreement (DCFTA) with the EU, providing access to a market of approximately 900 million people without customs duties.

Polyester has been the cornerstone of the textile printing industry for decades. Its compatibility with the digital sublimation process—a cost-effective, simple technology—has driven exponential growth in polyester printing. However, the very characteristics that make polyester well suited for sublimation printing render this printing technique unsuitable for other materials, such as cotton and some blended fibres, leaving a significant gap in the market.

This gap was, until recently, partially filled by direct-to-textile printing. However, this method requires substantial initial investments in equipment and heavily relies on the time- and resource-consuming pre- and post-processing of fabrics to ensure colourfastness, colour accuracy, and compatibility with different substrates. Consequently, a need arose for a more sustainable and cost-effective solution that could cater to a wider range of textiles.

In response to this demand, Mimaki spent six years developing a breakthrough technology, TRAPIS, a simple two-step textile transfer printing solution, consisting of only an inkjet printer and a high-pressure calender. The design of choice is printed by the inkjet printer onto the company’s groundbreaking Texcol® pigment ink transfer paper. This is then transferred to the application via the calender.

Entirely removing the treatment stages means that printing on non-polyester materials has gone from an expensive and time-consuming task to one that is simple, cost-efficient and more sustainable.

Ideal for home textiles and soft signage which often require vibrant colours but varied materials, this technology gives printers the ability to print on a wide variety of materials, including natural fibres like cotton and silk without losing stretchability or colourfastness. All this can be done with just one type of ink, making the process flexible and adaptable to customer demands.  

The pre-treatment and washing of the fabric is often needed in digital dye printing, producing a significant amount of wastewater in the process. TRAPIS eliminates those stages altogether and is almost entirely waterless, saving around 14.5 litres per square metre of water, an almost 90% decrease in comparison to digital dye printing .

Additionally, this eliminates the need for wastewater treatment facilities, which can be both expensive and constrictive when it comes to where the solution is installed.

EDANA welcomes the European Commission’s proposed one-year delay in the implementation of the Deforestation Regulation (EUDR), as outlined in their recent press release. This amendment, while still needing approval from both the Council and the European Parliament, marks a significant step toward ensuring that our industry has the necessary time to effectively comply with the terms of this important regulation, while also continuing to meet their sustainability goals.

While the long-awaited guidelines for implementing the EUDR have now been released alongside the announcement, the EU's information system, designed to track materials and commodities, is still under development. As a key representative of the nonwovens sector, EDANA supports the regulation’s objectives and remains a constructive partner, actively contributing to discussions with policymakers and industry stakeholders.

This additional phase-in time will enable further collaboration with the authorities and our coalition partners, ensuring a smooth transition for all affected industries. EDANA remains committed to promoting sustainable supply chains and responsible practices, while helping ensure compliance across the sector. Our ongoing work aims to foster long-term, sustainable growth for the industry.

As a leading company in workwear, flame retardant and defence and security fabrics, Carrington Textiles announced their commitment to sustainability by pledging exclusive support for the Better Cotton initiative with all our products containing cotton.

The announcement was made on the occasion of World Cotton Day on 7th October 2024, an ideal opportunity to highlight the commitment to developing workwear fabrics that not only offer high levels of quality and performance, but also support the production of responsibly sourced cotton globally.

Better Cotton is an initiative that promotes sustainable cotton farming practices to improve the environment and the livelihoods of farmers while ensuring high-quality cotton for consumers.
In 2019-2020, Better Cotton licensed over 2.4 million farmers from 23 countries across five continents. Together, these farmers produced 23% of the world’s cotton.

Better Cotton is sourced via a chain of custody model called mass balance. This means that Better Cotton is not physically traceable to end products, however, Better Cotton Farmers benefit from the demand for Better Cotton in equivalent volumes to those sourced.

When customers buy any of Carrington Textiles fabrics containing cotton, Better Cotton Credits or BCCUs are generated. These BCCUs can be claimed by a registered company directly on the Better Cotton Platform and used to communicate the responsibly source nature of the fabric’s cotton by using hang tags, labels and other marketing materials.

Neil Davey, Carrington Textiles' Managing Director, announced this commitment to sustainability reflecting the company's dedication to reducing its environmental footprint and providing customers with responsibly sourced materials.

Neil stated, "With 99% of fabrics from our FR, workwear and defence ranges containing cotton, this is a huge step towards our sustainability efforts, all of which we are proud to cover in our latest Sustainability Report. This initiative is expected to have a lasting positive impact on our products and the planet."

About 50 Italian companies will exhibit at ITMA ASIA + CITME 2024, taking place from October 14 to 18 in Shanghai. With an area of around 1,400 square meters, Italy ranks among the top exhibiting countries, as in previous editions. 29 Italian exhibitors will show their innovations within the National Sector Groups, organized by ACIMIT (Association of Italian Textile Machinery Manufacturers) and Italian Trade Agency.

ITMA ASIA + CITME show has always been the main showcase for textile machinery manufacturers in Asia, that absorbs over 50% of global exports. Moreover China is the world’s largest market in the sector (the value of imported textile machinery in 2023 was around 2.6 billion euro).

For Italian manufacturers as well, the Chinese market is the top foreign destination. In 2023, Italian sales to China amounted to 222 million euro. In the first six months of this year, exports to China increased by 38%, while the performance of total Italian exports declined slightly in the same period.

“We hope that the recovery of the Chinese market, observed in this first half of the year, may be an early indication of a more general upturn in global demand for machinery,” says ACIMIT President Marco Salvadè. Over the past few years, demand from Chinese companies has turned to technologies that combine savings in production costs and environmental friendliness, as also demanded by brands and end consumers. “Today, Italian manufacturers can offer highly customized solutions that are particularly suited to making textile production more sustainable,” confirms Salvadè. “The Chinese textile machinery market is rapidly evolving, and the level of innovation in the technology requested has risen due to the growing international competition that even Chinese companies face. In Shanghai, Italian manufacturers will display their latest innovations, essential for making textile production more efficient and sustainable.”