From the Sector

• Auraloop is a brand-new range of cushioning solutions made from an innovative structure of Polyester-based fibers, 100% recyclable, aimed at the mobility markets
• One of the objectives of Auraloop is a twofold reduction in the carbon footprint of car seat pads, currently made from polyurethane foam
• Auraloop offers an increased level of performance in terms of thermal comfort and durability

R&D teams within the Faurecia seating activity have recently penned an exclusive development agreement with Indorama Ventures. This partnership between Indorama Ventures and Faurecia, a company of FORVIA Group which is one of the largest automotive industry suppliers, has the aim of developing Auraloop, a new range of cushioning solutions for the mobility markets and intended to replace polyurethane foam currently used in car seats.

“By setting out these initial milestones in our close-knit collaboration with Faurecia, this partnership is an integral part of Indorama Ventures’ commitment to expand its existing Polyester (PET)-based portfolio and related activities into wider areas. By bringing together two leading players in the automotive industry, we aim to open up further growth opportunities for both partners”, stated Arnaud Closson, Chief Executive Officer at Indorama Ventures’ Mobility Group / Fibers Segment.

“Auraloop will replace those materials currently used in car seating with innovative and sustainable materials, based on polyester fibers that offer a total recyclability of 100%. This new material will allow for a twofold reduction in the carbon footprint of car seat pad solutions compared to current materials”, explains Nicolas Michot, Director of Technology at Faurecia Seating. Development of this product, which paves the way towards wider commercial release in two or three years, falls within the FORVIA Group strategy of going carbon neutral by 2045. For this, the group is seeking to root its commercial offer fully in the circular economy, with the development and production of sustainable cutting-edge materials under the banner of MATERI’ACT.

Auraloop offers a range of new perspectives in terms of seating comfort thanks to a more open fiber structure and permeability for air than current seating pad solutions, the breathability of seating is improved, enabling a better passive thermal regulation of occupants. The durability of seating is also increased by limited subsidence of the seat over its lifetime. The market for comfort aboard vehicles is constantly growing. The development of Auraloop falls within this dynamic, with a product offering significantly improved performances in terms of static, dynamic and welcoming comfort.

From February 8th to 11th, 2023, the third edition of IFCO, Istanbul Fashion Connection will take place in the Istanbul Exhibition Center.

The fair with over 600 exhibitors in 9 halls gives an overview of the new collections in the areas of womenswear, menswear, kidswear, denim, shoes, leather & furs. Separate platforms at IFCO are LinExpo for lingerie and hosiery and FashionIST with a wide range of wedding dresses, evening wear and suits. IFCO Sourcing, a new area at IFCO, offers the opportunity to find numerous companies for sourcing capacities.

Also new is the partnership with Igedo Exhibitions, Düsseldorf, which is responsible for the EUROPEAN SELECTION area at IFCO. International fashion labels present themselves at the fair as part of this participation.

More than 25,000 visitors from over 100 nations from all sales channels, from department stores and boutiques to online platforms from Eastern Europe, the Central Asian markets and the Arabian Gulf region, alongside buyers from Türkiye are expected at the show.

The declared goal of the organizers is to offer a "one-stop shopping solution" with IFCO that shows the creativity of the Turkish fashion scene, enables access to new sales markets and at the same time establishes the connection to potential production partners for supply chain optimization. The competitive advantages of production in Türkiye are evident:
short delivery times, high production quality, young and well-trained employees, the possibility of small minimum order quantities, a vertical textile and clothing industry that allows "one-stop shopping".

The manufacturing sector is an important sector for the industry, with over 80% of companies in Türkiye engaged in this sector. Türkiye has the fastest economic growth among the G20 after Saudi Arabia at 7.6% year-on-year in the second quarter of 2022, according to the Turkish Statistics Authority. Export is one of the most important pillars of growth.

The trade fair concept is being supported by the government with several programs. These include the cooperation with IMA, Istanbul ModaAkademisi, which regularly produces design talents becoming an integral part of the international fashion scene. IMA was founded in 2007 by ITKIB / IHKIB with the help of the IPA I program ((IPA: Instrument for Pre Accession Funds, provided by the EU for the EU candidate countries). Young design talents are brought to the stage at IFCO in cooperation with the ‘’Koza Young Fashion Designers Contest’’.

Hologenix®, creators of CELLIANT®, began 20 years ago with the idea of improving the quality of people's lives and health with an emphasis on non-invasive, natural, holistic healing. Co-founder and CEO Seth Casden became fascinated with the effect infrared has on the body and worked with a dedicated team to develop and market CELLIANT® infrared technology and thus materials science innovator Hologenix came to be.

CELLIANT, a proprietary blend of IR-generating bioceramics that are ethically sourced, is a unique combination of nature and performance. CELLIANT captures and converts body heat into infrared energy for increased local circulation and cellular oxygenation, resulting in stronger performance, faster recovery and better sleep. It is a key ingredient in textiles, spanning both performance and fashion apparel, sleep and lounge wear, bedding, upholstery, uniforms and medical supplies.

The first partnership Hologenix secured was with the Ireland-based fiber company Wellman International Limited, a fully owned subsidiary of Indorama Ventures and a pioneer in recycling technologies. Hologenix still works with them today, a tribute to the company’s ability to form long-term partnerships with like-minded organizations, and their joint project of pure white CELLIANT rPET fiber was shortlisted for a prestigious Drapers Sustainable Fashion Award earlier in the year.

On the brand side, many of the first brands to incorporate CELLIANT were in the sportwear industry, including Adidas, Reebok, Saucony, Eastern Mountain Sports, Sierra Designs sleeping bags and Superfeet insoles.

In 20 years, Hologenix has achieved many scientific milestones, and CELLIANT has been and continues to be rigorously tested by a Science Advisory Board composed of experts in photobiology, nanotechnology, sleep medicine, and diabetes and wound care. The Science Advisory Board has overseen nine peer-reviewed published studies that demonstrate CELLIANT’s effectiveness and the benefits of infrared energy.

Looking ahead, Hologenix is continuing to research applications for CELLIANT in the agriculture industry and wound healing and diabetes. Expansion into the FemTech market with both product applications and scientific research about the benefits of infrared for women’s health issues is also on the horizon.

Hosted outside of Copenhagen for the first time in its 13-year history, on 3 November, Global Fashion Summit assembled over 250 stakeholders representing manufacturers, garment workers, retailers, brands, suppliers, NGOs, policy, and innovators in Singapore and online to spur industry action. The Summit was presented by Global Fashion Agenda (GFA), the non-profit organisation that is accelerating the transition to a net positive fashion industry.
 
The latest edition of the Summit was centred around the theme ‘Alliances for a New Era’, building on dialogues from the June edition in Copenhagen and gathering leaders from across the entire value chain to elevate diverse voices and foster alliances within the fashion industry and beyond, to drive sustainable impact.
 
The Summit’s first international edition facilitated more conversations with manufacturer and supply chain voices to discuss crucial challenges and opportunities around working collaboratively with brands on equal terms. The programme featured bold panels, case studies, masterclasses and leadership roundtables reflecting on topics including ‘Data Scarcity: A Crisis of Measurement?’, ‘Disruption for Better Wage Systems’, ’Community and Circularity’, ‘Connecting the EU Textiles Strategy with the Value Chain’ and ‘Our Energy Transformation Moment’.
 
Attendees heard from over 50 speakers including H.E. Sandra Jensen Landi, Ambassador of Denmark to Singapore & Ambassador-Designate of Denmark to Brunei; H.E. Iwona Piórko, Ambassador of the European Union to Singapore; Anne-Laure Descours, Chief Sourcing Officer, PUMA; Baptiste Le Gal, Chief Revenue Officer APAC, Vestiaire Collective; Christian James Smith, Head of Sustainability Stakeholder Engagement, Zalando; Ninh Trinh, Director of Responsible Sourcing & Sustainability, Target; Roger Lee, CEO, TAL Apparel; Wilson Teo, President, Singapore Fashion Council; Edwin Keh, Chief Executive Officer, The Hong Kong Research Institute of Textiles and Apparel, Ashila Dandeniya, Founder, StandUp Lanka; and more.

Key takeaways and highlights from the event include:

• Global Fashion Agenda announced a new alliance with BBC Storyworks Commercial Productions to launch a film series on BBC.com, which is currently in the early stages of development. The new series will present human-centric stories focusing on both social and environmental sustainability in the fashion industry. It will be released to a wide audience in 2023.
• Federica Marchionni outlined the crucial need for accurate and robust data to substantiate sustainability claims and credentials but acknowledged that the focus on finding ‘perfect’ data cannot be allowed to stifle progress. Global Fashion Agenda will build upon Summit discussions to reflect on how the industry can accurately measure and communicate sustainability performance and illuminate the data credibility challenges.
• The session ‘Establishing circular fashion systems in Cambodia & Vietnam’ outlined the first steps taken by the Global Circular Fashion Forum to establish circular fashion systems in Vietnam and Cambodia with regional stakeholders, government, brand and manufacturer representation.
• Throughout the Summit, the Innovation Forum connected fashion companies with sustainable solution providers. Exhibitors included Better Work , Circular Fashion Partnership, Compreli, Kno Global, Planatones by Noyon Lanka, Redress Design Award and The ID Factory.
• Through conversations such as ‘Disruption for Better Wage Systems’ and ‘Empowering the Worker Majority’, there was a resounding message for people to consider the real people in the value chain. Ensuring dignified livelihoods for these workers should have the same sense of urgency as emissions reductions. 

After a thorough review, the company has taken the decision to terminate the partnership with Ye immediately, end production of Yeezy branded products and stop all payments to Ye and his companies. adidas will stop the adidas Yeezy business with immediate effect.

adidas will not tolerate antisemitism and any other sort of hate speech. Ye’s recent comments and actions have been "unacceptable, hateful and dangerous", and they violate the company’s values of diversity and inclusion, mutual respect and fairness, as adidas declares.

This is expected to have a short-term negative impact of up to €250 million on the company’s net income in 2022 given the high seasonality of the fourth quarter.

adidas is the sole owner of all design rights to existing products as well as previous and new colorways under the partnership. More information will be given as part of the company’s upcoming Q3 earnings announcement on November 9, 2022.

On 13-14 October, EURATEX in partnership with ATP is organising the 10th European Textile & Apparel Convention in Porto, Portugal; the convention marks also the 24th Textile Industry Forum for Portugal.

The Porto Convention – titled Sustainability meets Competitiveness: How to Square the Circle? – will look at how companies can anticipate the new European regulatory framework, embrace innovation, and develop a business model where sustainability becomes a source of competitiveness and growth. In the current economic, social and political environment, Europe is facing many challenges: increased energy prices, unforeseen inflation and climate change, which add to the day-to-day challenges of running a business. Embracing the European Union’s commitment to a green and digital transformation, the textile industry needs to also move towards a new circular economy where recycling is at the core of the design process supported by digitalisation, innovation and new skills, and creativity. The conference will address explore solutions to turn quality and sustainability into a source of competitiveness.

The Porto Convention will see representatives of national and European institutions, experts from the industry and like-minded entrepreneurs come together to discuss ideas, share experiences and find solutions to face common challenges.

Baldwin Technology Co. Inc. and Fi-Tech Inc. join partnership to ensure service amid growing demand for sustainable solutions. Fi-Tech Inc. will represent Baldwin Technology Co. Inc.’s complete textile and nonwoven product lines as its sales agent in the U.S. and Canada.

Founded in 1972 and headquartered in Richmond, Virginia, Fi-Tech is an agency and distribution firm for textile and non-woven machinery. Its initial focus was on synthetic fibers and nonwovens and it has since expanded its portfolio to represent manufacturers of complete machines or technical components used in the production of nonwovens, synthetic fibers, polymer, textiles, converting, perforated products and tobacco processing. Fi-Tech also maintains a spare parts inventory for many of the companies it represents.

“With the increasing demand of Baldwin’s finishing technology, we needed to find the right partner for sales promotion in the U.S. and Canadian markets for knits, wovens and non-wovens,” said Rick Stanford, Baldwin Technology’s VP Global Business Development, Textiles. “Fi-Tech of Richmond, Virginia is the perfect partner. They are well established in the textile and non-wovens industry and their portfolio of principals provides excellent synergy with Baldwin’s precision spray and plasma treater systems.”

Baldwin’s solutions are used in a wide variety of fabrics from basic jersey and fleece with softening and anti-microbial finishes to technical fabrics such as outdoor gear, military, upholstery, automotive and industrial fabrics utilizing the latest in technical finishes such as DWR, soil release, flame retardants and insect repellent among others.

• Lenzing has been awarded the highest CSR rating from EcoVadis for the second consecutive time
• Global rating standard evaluates 90,000 companies: Lenzing among top 1 percent of its industry
• enzing joins the UN Global Compact sustainability initiative

Lenzing Group has been awarded platinum status in the CSR rating from EcoVadis. This comprehensive assessment covers the four key practices of corporate social responsibility: the environment, fair working conditions and human rights, ethics and sustainable procurement.

This is the second time that EcoVadis, a leading international provider of sustainability ratings for businesses, has awarded platinum status to Lenzing for its sustainability performance. As a result, Lenzing ranks among the world’s top 1 percent of companies in its sector that are rated by EcoVadis.

In line with its “Naturally positive” sustainability strategy, the Lenzing Group has set ambitious targets in each of its core strategic areas, aimed at bolstering its capacity to move from a linear to a circular model. Lenzing reports the corresponding implementation measures and the progress it has made in its annual sustainability report. This high level of accountability and transparency was particularly praised in the assessment by EcoVadis. The rating provider also highlighted Lenzing’s comprehensive measures to reduce air pollution, wastewater and greenhouse gases, in addition to its provision of skills development training and health care programs for staff members.

Partnerships for systemic change
Lenzing forges strategic partnerships with various stakeholders to meet its ambitious climate and sustainability targets and drive forward systemic change in the textile and nonwoven industries. This is why Lenzing, as one of 15,000 companies worldwide, joined the United Nations Global Compact. As a member, Lenzing is committed to upholding human rights, respecting the rights of employees and their representatives, protecting the environment, enabling fair competition and combating corruption.

North Carolina educational institutions are joining forces with an Honduran university to educate and train thousands of students for the next generation textile workforce to meet a rising tide of nearshoring and onshoring in Honduras, Central America and the United States.

The U.S. Department of State issued a statement of public support for the MOU and the unique collaboration between the U.S. and Honduran institutions.

The initiative will launch a series of educational workforce development programs, ranging from training and certificate programs to undergraduate and graduate degrees, in textile-related areas of study.
 
The partnership comes at a defining moment for the U.S., Honduras and Central America, which are seeing historical levels of investment in textile and apparel production stemming from a global supply chain crisis that has driven a significant shift in sourcing out of Asia to the U.S. and the region. Nearly $1 billion of historic textile and apparel investment is anticipated in the U.S. and Central America this year alone. And this partnership also creates an educational pathway to economic opportunity in Honduras and the region that not only creates a skilled and resilient workforce but can also help to address the root causes of irregular migration.

Current growth projections indicate a need for more than 10,000 new skilled workers in the textile industry in Honduras alone over the next five years.

The U.S. and this region are inextricably linked through a textile and apparel co-production chain under the U.S.-Central America-Dominican Republic Free Trade Agreement (CAFTA-DR) that has generated $12.6 billion in annual two-way trade in the sector and supports 1 million workers in the U.S. and the region.
 
North Carolina plays a central role in this co-production chain. It is the second largest state for textile employment nationally with over 36,000 workers, and the state’s $2.7 billion in textile-related exports leads the nation. The Northern Triangle, including Honduras, is a major export destination for U.S. yarns and fabrics that come back as finished items under the U.S.-CAFTA-DR trade agreement.

• Collaboration with Red Points addresses consumers’ increasing expectations on transparency and highlights Lenzing’s commitment to trademark protection
• Protects interest of Lenzing customer and partners who are making real efforts to enhance the transparency of their value chains
• Builds upon Lenzing’s overall brand protection efforts that verify the authenticity of fibers up to the end products

Lenzing Group, a global producer of wood-based specialty fibers, has announced a partnership with Red Points, a company in online IP infringement detection and removal, to strengthen Lenzing’s existing brand protection efforts globally and enable round-the-clock brand monitoring services. As Lenzing’s textile brands TENCEL™, LENZING™, ECOVERO™, as well as nonwovens brand VEOCEL™ continue to generate widespread demand from industry partners and customers worldwide, it is becoming increasingly important to protect the company’s trademarks and provide full visibility into the brands’ presence online.

Protecting the interest of Lenzing’s partners and consumers
Red Points provides the ideal technology solution to help Lenzing monitor and remove unauthorized use of its trademarks and counterfeits online. The technology works by using Artificial Intelligence (AI) to automatically detect intellectual property infringements of Lenzing’ trademarks with high accuracy and efficiency.

Brand protection is just one of Lenzing’s ongoing proactive measures aimed at enhancing transparency in the supply chain and protecting the interest of Lenzing’s partners by ensuring they are purchasing genuine Lenzing fibers which meet their high standards.

In 2018, Lenzing launched the Lenzing E-Branding Service which allows Lenzing’s customers, retailers and brand partners to effectively use trademarks in their marketing materials. The platform has been welcomed by partners globally as it continues to deliver value to the fashion, textile and nonwoven sectors by facilitating the traceability of Lenzing’s fibers and enabling customers to promote them effectively.