From the Sector

Canadian womenswear label SMYTHE has appointed Ana Mihaljevic as chief executive officer. The company, known for its tailoring, presents the leadership change as part of its next phase of growth.

For specialist apparel brands, management transitions often coincide with decisions on distribution, product positioning and international development. The appointment is therefore relevant beyond the personnel announcement itself, although the release does not by itself establish specific future expansion targets. 

The new chief executive’s strategic priorities and their effect on sourcing, product development and wholesale relationships will become clearer through subsequent company communications.

Costikyan, a US company established in 1886, has announced the launch of Costikyan Custom Carpet. The move is presented as a return to the company’s roots in fine rugs and carpet products.

Custom floor textiles occupy a distinct position between textile manufacturing, interior design and contract furnishing. Bespoke specifications place particular demands on material selection, colour consistency, surface design and project execution. 

The company’s launch announcement confirms the new business direction, but detailed technical specifications, production capacities and project examples should be obtained directly from Costikyan before claims about performance or scale are published.

Far Eastern New Century (FENC) has presented a broad range of fibre and textile developments at TITAS in Taipei, spanning sportswear, mono-material design, recycling and industrial protective materials. The Taiwanese manufacturer used the October 6–8 event to demonstrate how its vertically integrated polyester business is being applied to both high-performance products and circular material systems.

Among the new sportswear materials is FENC TopCool Petal, a profiled fibre with a petal-shaped cross-section. The company says the geometry supports moisture transport and fast drying while providing a soft handle and increased opacity when fabrics become wet with perspiration. FENC reports that the material has been selected by a major global sportswear brand for 2026 World Cup apparel. The company also supplies textiles used in professional tennis clothing.

On circularity, FENC is extending its recycled-polyester activities beyond post-consumer PET bottles toward textile-to-textile recycling. Its strategy focuses on a polyester-based material ecosystem intended to simplify recovery and reuse. A new all-polyester synthetic leather was recognised with an iF Design Award in 2026. The company also highlighted its AirTek low-carbon polyurethane technology, although the release does not provide comparable lifecycle figures for each product.

Working with the Taiwan Textile Research Institute and other partners, FENC has developed a mono-material polyester footwear concept combining TOPGREEN rTPEE with a one-step separation and decolourisation process. This project received a 2026 R&D 100 Award. For technical markets, the company introduced Telix aramid fibre, designed for strength, puncture resistance and abrasion durability.

The technologies address different industrial challenges. Profiled yarns seek to improve wearer comfort through fibre geometry; mono-material constructions target more practical end-of-life processing; aramid materials serve demanding protection and industrial applications. For buyers, the next step is to assess the material-specific performance and verified environmental claims under actual manufacturing and use conditions.

Spiber’s Brewed Protein fibre appeared in two designer looks presented at S|STYLE 2026 – Wardrobe Edition during Milan Fashion Week. The programme, curated by Giorgia Cantarini and developed with Kering’s Material Innovation Lab, brought together ten designers to explore new approaches to clothing and accessories using innovative non-leather materials.

Srushti Patil worked with sliver made from 100% Brewed Protein staple fibres and combined it with silk fabric supplied by Taroni. Quine Li used a fabric developed by Bower Roebuck that blends Brewed Protein with wool sourced from regenerative practices aligned with Kering’s sustainable-production standards.

The two applications point to distinct material strategies. The first uses a pure-protein staple-fibre input in combination with a conventional luxury textile; the second blends the fibre with wool in a developed fabric. In both cases the technical significance lies in translating an emerging fibre platform into designer-ready forms rather than displaying the polymer only as a laboratory sample.

The designs were shown on 25 and 26 September at Kering Italy’s Milan headquarters. Spiber published its account on 14 October. The company did not disclose production volumes, prices or quantified life-cycle comparisons for the showcased looks.

A group of polyester filament manufacturers in North and Central America has launched YarnProof, a system designed to provide physical evidence of yarn origin throughout the textile supply chain. Led by Unifi and using FibreTrace technology, the initiative embeds a persistent, invisible marker in polyester filament during extrusion. A handheld scanner can subsequently detect the marker in yarn, fabric or finished goods.

The system is intended to complement rather than replace commercial documents, audits and certificates. Each verification step can link the marked material to sourcing and production records, creating an additional check on origin claims. The manufacturers are targeting the yarn-forward rules that determine eligibility for preferential treatment under the USMCA and CAFTA-DR trade agreements.

The participating manufacturers named by Unifi include Aquafil O’Mara, CS America, CS Central America, Nan Ya Plastics Corporation America, Premiere Fibers, Sans Americas, Skytex México, Tecnología Textil Avanzada, Textufil, Unifi Manufacturing and United Textiles of America. Under Armour and the National Council of Textile Organizations have publicly supported the initiative.

Physical marking could help brands distinguish verified regional production from materials whose paperwork cannot be substantiated downstream. It does not, by itself, establish that a customs authority has accepted a shipment as meeting all preferential-origin requirements. Those determinations still depend on the applicable legal rules and supporting evidence.

The project illustrates a shift from traceability systems based solely on documentation toward approaches in which material identity can be checked at multiple production stages. Its commercial impact will depend on implementation across mills, brands and independent verification processes.

From 19 to 24 October 2026, Brazil will host a mission showcasing Italian excellence in the textile and textile machinery sectors, with two workshops scheduled for 20 October in the state of Santa Catarina and 22 October in São Paulo. The initiative will bring together Italian companies specialising in textile machinery, yarns, fabrics and clothing accessories, with the aim of strengthening commercial and industrial ties between the two countries and opening up new opportunities for collaboration.

Organised by the Italian Trade Agency in collaboration with ACIMIT and Confindustria Moda, the mission will comprise two stages in key areas of Brazil’s textile industry. The programme includes seminars featuring presentations by Italian companies, B2B meetings with local industry representatives and visits to local production facilities. The first stage will take place in the state of Santa Catarina, in the areas of Blumenau, Joinville and Brusque, while the second will take place in the state of São Paulo, with activities also planned in Americana and at Denim City São Paulo, a major centre of innovation and a key hub for the textile and denim industries.

The initiative aims to showcase the expertise and innovative capabilities of the entire Italian supply chain, which is internationally recognised for the high quality of its products and technologies. In particular, the Italian textile machinery industry stands out for its ability to develop advanced, customised solutions that meet the needs of a sector increasingly focused on production efficiency, sustainability and technological innovation.

Brazil is one of the most strategic markets in Latin America for Italian textile machinery manufacturers. In 2025, Italian exports of textile machinery to Brazil reached €48 million, while in the first half of 2026 they amounted to €20 million, placing Brazil tenth among the leading destination markets for Italian textile machinery. The most sought-after technologies are those related to finishing, which accounts for 57% of Italian textile machinery exports to Brazil, followed by accessories and other machinery, each representing 11%, and knitting machinery, at 10%.

“Brazil is a market of great interest to our industry, with which we have well-established commercial relations and significant prospects for collaboration,” said Marco Salvadè, President of ACIMIT. “This mission represents a concrete opportunity to strengthen dialogue between Italian companies and Brazilian operators, fostering new synergies across the entire textile supply chain. Our companies’ ability to offer innovative, flexible and sustainable technologies can make a significant contribution to modernising the local textile industry and enhancing its competitiveness. The decision to organise two workshops in different manufacturing regions of the country also demonstrates our commitment to fostering direct dialogue with Brazil’s various industrial clusters, thereby making the most of the opportunities offered by this important market.” The initiative, organised by the Italian Trade Agency and ACIMIT with the valuable support of Confindustria Moda, will bring together 22 Italian companies in total, 18 of which operate in the textile machinery sector and are listed below: Biancalani, BTSR, Color Service, Corino Macchine, DURST, Reggiani Macchine, Erhardt + Leimer, Ferraro, I.M.A., Itema, Lawer, M.C.S. Officina Meccanica, Mesdan, Monti – Mac, MSJK (MS Printing & JK Group), Pinter Caipo Italia, Salvade’, Savio Macchine Tessili.

The Nature Conservancy has launched the Microfiber Action Alliance, bringing together Nike, Patagonia, Under Armour, lululemon, Cotopaxi, REI Co-op and other companies to accelerate practical measures against microfiber pollution.

The initiative is designed to complement existing scientific work by The Microfibre Consortium. Participating companies will apply and refine interventions within their own supply chains, generate evidence on what works and share implementation lessons with the wider industry. TNC emphasises prevention because both synthetic and treated natural fibers can contribute to microfiber pollution and released particles are difficult to remove from the environment.

Potential interventions include changes in material selection and textile construction, manufacturing-process improvements and filtration. The Alliance therefore shifts attention from measuring fiber fragmentation alone to integrating low-shedding design and manufacturing decisions into operational practice.

Circ and Huafon are partnering on a multi-phase textile-to-textile recycling site within Huafon’s industrial footprint in China. 
The plant will use Circ’s process for polycotton waste and recover both major material streams: recycled PTA and MEG for polyester production and recycled cellulosic pulp for new textiles.

Phase one is designed to process approximately 200 metric tonnes of textile waste per day, with additional capacity planned. Huafon will invest in the project and contribute engineering, procurement, logistics and commercial capabilities, while Circ brings its recycling technology and a network of brands, manufacturing partners and downstream customers.

Textination has previously covered Circ partnerships in China, including recycled polyester filament production with Shenghong. This project represents a distinct new development.
It concerns construction of recycling capacity itself rather than downstream yarn conversion. Circ is simultaneously developing its first industrial-scale facility in France.

Ravel has closed an oversubscribed $8.2 million seed round led by One Small Planet, with participation from AP Ventures, Overlay Capital, Lichen Ventures and existing investors. The funding is intended to move the Seattle-based recycling company from pilot operation towards commercial readiness.

Its Purification Recycling process is aimed at one of apparel recycling's persistent problems: stretch blends. Elastane is widely used in activewear, denim, underwear and other garments, yet even relatively small percentages can interfere with established recycling routes.

Rather than treating the whole textile as a single feedstock, Ravel is developing a separation and purification route for polyester/elastane blends. The company says recovered material can be converted into recycled plastic pellets for renewed use as a raw material.

The next phase will test more than chemistry. Commercial viability depends on throughput, feedstock variability, separation efficiency, energy and chemical inputs, and the quality of the recovered fractions. Ravel plans to validate the process at production scale with textile partners.

The financing adds capacity at a point where recyclers are increasingly trying to tackle blends that mechanical systems cannot readily return to fibre.