From the Sector

UNIFI has introduced Cofira™, a yarn platform designed to combine the visual and tactile character of spun yarns with filament-yarn functionality. The construction can incorporate other UNIFI technologies and is offered in virgin and REPREVE polyester, including REPREVE Takeback. 

Recycled options can be traced through FiberPrint and are linked to U-TRUST, GRS and SCS certification claims. The company is also expanding its water-resistant portfolio with Resist2O™ Pro. Rather than relying on a conventional topical durable-water-repellent finish, the technology is engineered for different forms of fabric construction and is described as fluorine-free and PFOA-free below 5 ppb.

UNIFI positions the two developments for apparel, furnishings, gear, accessories and industrial applications. Both will be presented in October at Performance Days in Munich and Functional Fabric Fair in Portland, giving the technologies immediate exposure to performance-material developers.

Mood Fabrics has launched a 15-fabric collection with ten-year-old designer Max Alexander. The Mood × Max Alexander line debuted in New York on 14 September and is being sold online and through Mood's U.S. retail locations.

The company lists BCI cotton, EcoVero viscose, European flax linen and recycled-polyester faux fur among the materials. The range combines prints and textured fashion fabrics with several fibre choices already associated with established sourcing or recycling programmes.

Alexander selected and annotated the fabrics. The collaboration therefore starts at material choice, leaving the collection open to further garment design and making rather than presenting a fixed apparel capsule.

FedEx has allocated 4,230 kilograms of retired uniforms to the 11th edition of its Brazilian uniform-recycling programme. The material has been converted into about 5,000 blankets for people and 1,250 smaller blankets for animals cared for by NGOs.

Since 2015, the programme has redirected 93,000 uniform items, equivalent to around 30 tonnes of textile material, into more than 37,000 blankets.

The long operating history is the notable part of the project. Corporate-wear take-back only becomes a credible circular model when collection, sorting and processing remain organised over multiple replacement cycles. Here, a controlled internal textile stream is converted into a defined second product rather than sent into an unspecified disposal route.

Heidi O’Neill has taken over as chief executive of lululemon. In her first employee message, published in the company newsroom, she places product, brand clarity and operational execution at the centre of the next phase.

O’Neill says her initial weeks will focus on listening to teams, partners, guests and communities before translating ideas into changes. She identifies a need to re-establish the brand’s core and to create more innovative and distinctive product that gives consumers a stronger reason to choose lululemon. She also points to improving operations and how the company connects with its communities.

The appointment matters beyond corporate governance. O’Neill spent more than 25 years at Nike, including leadership across product, design, merchandising, brand and global marketplace operations. At lululemon, that experience meets a business whose differentiation depends heavily on fabric development, fit, functional apparel and a tightly integrated direct-retail model.