From the Sector

The market for the production of carpet yarn is increasingly evolving towards more demanding processes. However, beyond commodity products, standard plants can no longer fully exploit their advantages. From 20th to 22nd March 2018, Oerlikon Neumag will be presenting an economical alternative in Shanghai in hall W3, booth F03 at the Domotex asia/Chinafloor, the leading floor covering trade fair in the Asia-Pacific region: the BCF plant Sytec One with single-end technology.

If the requirements for the production of BCF yarns increase, for example, from recycled polyester or fine filaments, then this can also lead to higher breakage rates. Highly standardised production plants must then often strike compromises with regard to throughput, quality or cost-efficiency. In such cases, the Sytec One offers a good solution instead of the mostly three-end technology plants for standard processes.

Single-end technology with 98% productivity

This BCF plant works with only one yarn (end) per position, making it ideal for demanding production processes. The reason: when a yarn break occurs only one yarn tears, all other yarns continue to run. This not only simplifies troubleshooting, it also reduces the re-threading time. In addition, less waste is produced. As a result, the productivity of the Sytec One is still over 98% for ten breakages a day, while a plant with three-end technology only reaches around 92%.

Faster processes due to a straight yarn path

In addition, the absolutely straight yarn path of the Sytec One enables significantly higher process speeds of up to 15% in spinning and texturing processes compared to multi-end technologies. Higher total titers of up to 6,000 dtex can also be produced without any problems. The gentle yarn guidance also ensures minimum friction on the individual filaments. This means less yarn breaks and a more stable process.

Optimised key component: spinning pack

Last but not least, the engineers at Oerlikon Neumag have developed a new design for the spinning pack. This central component of every BCF machine significantly influences the yarn quality. The corresponding solution for the Sytec One optimises the polymer flow in the spin pack, thus reducing the polymer dwell time. This leads to shorter product and colour change times and increases the plant efficiency. In addition, the spinning packs were widened so that yarns with up to 500 filaments can now be produced.

The product mix is decisive

In view of these advantages, the single-end Sytec One is recommended for processes with high breakage rates, fine filaments, frequent colour changes or in general when demanding processes take up an increasing share in the business. "The product mix is decisive for the choice of technology," sums up Alfred Czaplinski, Sales Manager BCF at Oerlikon Neumag. "We are happy to advise on the optimal solution and offer both single-end and three-end plant technologies." 

Good business at the Domotex Hanover, Germany

In the run-up to the trade fair, the Domotex Hanover in mid-January was already proving to be a promising harbinger. With four lively trade fair days and contract conclusions in the lower double-digit million euro range, mainly from the European and Asian markets, the order intake for Oerlikon Neumag was very good.

At Milano Unica, as key inspiring article, ILUNA presented an exclusive and elegant lace long dress, created in collaboration with Valery, starting from an all over textronic ultralight lace with a complex organic design completely made of recycled materials, using ROICA™ Eco-Smart family, a world-first range of responsible made premium stretch yarns, demonstrating, once more, how the two leading innovators continue their close partnership to present the most “advanced” and responsible solutions to the market today.

Nevertheless, for ILUNA smart innovation is not just a project even, at its space at Milano Unica visitors will had the opportunity to discover the new collection and also to experience and touch the latest boundaries of lace smart innovations. This season novelties include:

1. Green Label collection, the Iluna dedicated range featuring a new responsible approach in respect of the planet and people, able to deliver innovation, beauty and quality, at 360°. This season, in addition to the all over, jacquard, double jacquard and mesh offer, the line is also featuring  new stretch Galloon laces fully made with GRS certified recycled  materials, including the stretch thanks to the introduction of the unique ROICA™ sustainable yarn part of the ROICA™ Eco-Smart family. 
2. ILUNA is also proud to introduce a worldwide première: Eco- Smart family made of sustainable yarns allover laces made with NAIA cellulosic fiber by Eastmann combined with ROICA™ premium stretch sustainable yarn   realized on warp knitting jacquard looms. A unique innovation, with an interesting look & feel combined with a special softness!  
3. ILUNA has strategically included in all their stretch laces only ROICA™ Eco-Smart family of sustainable yarns since some time. The company is pleased to introduce the latest version of this yarns that are able to deliver 3 functions in one:  premium stretch, sustainability combined with the ROICA™ Colour Perfect family function offering excellent flawless and world unique colour dimensions, homogeneity.
4. For the salon, another première:  in cooperation with ROICA™ and Cupro by Asahi Kasei, Iluna is pleased to introduce ‘Smart Bucket Bag’ as a  special  limited edition gift. In origin, this was a roomy bag shaped like a bucket taller than it is wide with a rounded bottom. It first came to fashion in the 1900's, from a pouch with a string and a hardened bottom. Federica Annovazzi idea started from the traditional shape, but it went way beyond and imade it contemporary by smart materials and manufacturing. A beautifully crafted ‘double face recipe’ made  combining a luxurious Cupro fabric by Infinity with an Iluna stretch Double face Smart Bucket bag lace designed and produced with ROICA™ Eco-Smart family of sustainable yarns. The bag is manufactured exclusively by Made in Carcere a cooperative of women in rehabilitation, so creating a useful social exchange as well as a responsible and smart one. The Made in Carcere brand was founded in 2007, thanks to Luciana Delle Donne, founder of Officina Creativa, a non-profit social cooperative.
5. ILUNA can also boast its new STeP (Sustainable Textile Production) certification by Oeko-Tex, a certification that clarifies and communicates the company’s sustainable production commitment. In addition to this, all products are Oeko-Tex 100 certified.

ILUNA’s newest digital programs:

• ILUNA has created the new e-shop offering its exclusive materials to smaller companies looking for added values as: creativity, innovation, made in Italy and responsibility. 
• The whole collection is also visible online at its web site, previous registration, and orders can be done directly online always aiming to customers care.

Today ILUNA represents the largest European lace producer, and thanks to its journey toward the most contemporary way to innovate that includes responsibility, has also become a reference point in the international market for a lace offer that is beautiful, innovative and responsible at the same time. An alchemy of design and sustainable innovation, the only eco-fashion line that includes lace and stockings, capable of combining ethics and high quality standards with a fashion image of bright and deep colors. 

METALBOTTONI has drawn up its new strategy for the year 2018, based on a targeted trade fair
schedule and on many product innovations. These innovations are part of a marketing approach
which is more and more branding ingredient-oriented, in order to highlight the added value
of the accessory as a component characterising and enhancing product recognition, as well as
strengthening its consulting activities for customers, thus offering true excellence in service.
There are three main elements pointing to a positive moment for METALBOTTONI: its recent
outstanding performance in double-digit on foreign markets (most notably in the northern
European region), the consolidation of consulting and support services aimed at redesigning the
perspective on the world of accessories, and its product range extension. The fourth pillar, actually
a fixture at METALBOTTONI, is sustainable innovation with the protocol called NO IMPACT which has
made a huge step forward thanks to new technologies which halved water consumption compared
to previous performances of the system, obtaining also better results in a shorter processing time,
saving electricity as well.

An ongoing pathway
There are many novelties to be displayed by METALBOTTONI at three of the most important events
in the industry early in the new year. The company from Bergamo will be present at Munich Fabric
Start (30 January – 1 February), then at Milano Unica (6-8 February), and finally in Paris for the new
edition of Première Vision Accessories (13-15 February).

By combining the Lectra and Kubix Lab offers, Lectra will equip fashion customers with a revolutionary platform for managing product information.

Lectra, the technological partner for companies using fabrics and leather, announces the signing of a share purchase agreement to acquire the entire capital and voting rights of the Italian company Kubix Lab.

Founded at the end of 2015, Kubix Lab has developed a cutting-edge technological offer called Link. This offer enables fashion brands to manage, from end-to-end, all product information deriving notably from multiple IT systems (ERP, PDM, PLM…), within one single application. Users can modify, enrich or add new data, while maintaining data synchronization with all IT systems. In just a few months, Link has convinced over ten high-end Italian brands of its value.

“We were particularly impressed by the relevance of the solution created by Kubix Lab,” underlines Daniel Harari, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Lectra. “By capitalizing on their knowledge of best practice, the founders of Kubix Lab knew how to develop an offer perfectly adapted to the expectations of fashion companies. Link enables all players involved in product development, manufacturing and sales to collaborate in real time, in a simple and efficient way, around exactly the same data.”

“We are delighted to join Lectra. We are convinced its leadership, global presence, strong expertise in the fashion industry and the richness of its product portfolio will enable us to develop an integrated offer with high value for all Lectra customers,” states Giampaolo Urbani, Chief Executive Officer and co-founder of Kubix Lab.

The founders of Kubix Lab will be in charge of developing an integrated Lectra – Link offer, which will complement - and reinforce - Lectra’s entire offer.

“Product data is at the heart of Link. We took an approach diametrically opposed to existing solutions on the market and designed an offer which is highly innovative, flexible, evolutionary and easy to use,” explains Pierluigi Beato, R&D director and co-founder of Kubix Lab. “With Lectra, we will take Link to the next level.”

The transaction involves the entire acquisition of Kubix Lab for the maximum amount of €7 million: €3 million paid when the acquisition agreement is signed; €1.3 million and €2.7 million paid respectively in 18 and 36 months’ time, providing objectives are met.

Final completion of the acquisition should take place by January 31, 2018.

These amounts will come from Lectra’s available cash, with no financing from the bank. Kubix Lab will be consolidated into Lectra’s accounts, effective from the signature of the final agreement.

• Metallic sheen and concealed safety

Net-like structures, metallic sheen, concealed safety, naturally-warming fabrics with Nilit® Heat yarn made of coffee charcoal and PFC-free bio technologies based on renewable raw materials are just some of the highlights of the Schoeller 2019/20 Winter Collection, developed and produced amidst the mountains of Switzerland. Color effects create metallic surfaces on functional textiles and exciting multi-colored looks with richly contrasting reverses.

METALLIC SHINE

The new schoeller®-spirit qualities provide grand style in winter 2019/20. The softly-flowing warp-knitted goods play with transparency and metallic looks. In forest green, silver or copper and aluminized reverse, this season’s  showpieces are also reflective. This play with light continues in the crosswise elastic lightweight with a reflecting dot design. This cool print with concealed safety in two-tone silver grey or khaki green ensures outstanding visibility at twilight. Additional water repellence is provided by the fluorocarbon-free ecorepel® Bio technology, based on renewable raw materials.

WARM FABRICS

The new schoeller®-dryskin qualities ensure a pleasantly warm body climate in winter 2019/20. Thanks to the insulating Nilit® Heat yarn on the interior, which captures and stores the body’s own heat, these fabrics warm the wearer naturally. This unique yarn produced using coffee charcoal posseses antibacterial properties and offers maximum clothing comfort at winter temperatures. The focused pants and jacket qualities in a variety of weights in fresh mandarin, deep aubergine, petrol or light stone also impress with their high abrasion resistance, ideal moisture management and reliable water repellence thanks to PFC-free ecorepel® Bio technology. The same natural heat retention is offered by the cozy schoeller®-naturetec in washable, mulesing-free wool and ecorepel® Bio in dark petrol, navy or rust.

MULTI COLOR

In addition to sustainable fabrics and technologies, winter 2019/20 is dominated by multi-coloration. The highly-elastic multi-colored schoeller®-prestige and schoeller®-dryskinqualities lead to completely new color effects and nuances. Ever-changing, exciting effects result from beautiful mossy greens and dark blue and grey variations to burnt henna and chocolate color combinations. Always with a contrasting color on the reverse, they are real eye-catchers which of course also impress in functional terms. In addition, the schoeller®-dryskin qualities are finished with the PFC-free ecorepel® Bio technology.

Nilit® Heat is a registered trademark of NILIT Ltd.

Geleen, NL - Royal DSM, a global science-based company active in health, nutrition and materials, today announces that DSM-Niaga and ECOR are to start a research collaboration. The collaboration will focus on developing fully recyclable and healthier alternatives for particleboard, MDF and other panel materials which can be used in industries such as building & construction, furniture, interior decoration and displays. ECOR offers technology for circular materials and has an R&D facility in Venlo, the Netherlands.

Looking at the piles of waste generated by the interior and construction industries, design for recycling is inevitable. Both ECOR and DSM-Niaga have been redesigning products to be fully recyclable back into the same product. The irreversible combination of materials and ingredients used in most products made with MDF and particleboard is the biggest challenge for technically and economically feasible recycling. Both ECOR and DSM-Niaga want to outsmart complexity for healthier and recyclable products.

Eric Logtens, CEO ECOR-NOBLE Environmental Benelux commented: “The concept that traditional materials like tabletops are up for incineration or disposal after their life cycle will be eliminated. Combining ECOR and Niaga® technologies, the core materials of products can be made from recycled content, and can be fully recycled after use.”

Chris Reutelingsperger, Chief Technology Officer DSM-Niaga commented: “By combining ECOR and Niaga, waste becomes a treasure. I can’t stop thinking of all the possibilities, and I hope that designers will approach us for ideas to make beautiful products and challenge us to broaden the possibilities of these technologies.”

In recent months ECOR and DSM-Niaga explored a collaboration by combining each other’s technologies. The technology of ECOR can make materials from natural fibers, with water, pressure and heat alone. DSM-Niaga manufactures products by using a reversible adhesive. This adhesive enables easy decoupling of different material layers, for full recovery and high value recycling. Both technologies were combined and tested in diverse product applications, like furniture and displays. The preliminary results led to further investigating of applications and will lead to new fully recyclable products.

Both technologies combined offer a fully recyclable alternative to all products made from MDF and particleboard, without compromising on material safety, quality, and recyclability. The joint objective of both companies is to offer manufacturing processes to local companies, solving local waste problems and boosting local economies on a global scale.

• Unique ROICA™ Premium Stretch Innovations for the Active Wardrobe Debuts @ ISPO Brandnew Village
• Hall B4, Booth No. B4.430 BN 02 Munich 28th-31th January 2018

Come and enjoy a real dedication to Responsible Innovation and Wellbeing in our new ROICA™  booth experience for Fabric Innovation inspiring the ROICA™ Active Wardrobe and the international ROICA™ Closet. Together, they will guide you to new hi-tech performance solutions in our partners unique stretch ideas, designed to meet both contemporary business and astute consumer desires. These latest ROICA™ innovations will be presented within the special ISPO BrandNew arena, a new high visibility concept of creativity revealed inside ISPO that truly matches the core DNA and values of the ROICA™ premium stretch brand.

ROICA™ will present The Modern Wardrobe concept in 3 distinct dimensions.

Together they bring to life our new stretch solutions that fit the supply chain for our target consumer confirming a clear brand identity that redefines performance creativity.

1 ROICA™ ACTIVE WARDROBE: Come and see leading commercial fashion ranges ready for the Summer 2018, that include the ROICA™ Eco Smart family and the ROICA™ Feel Good family of unique premium stretch yarn solutions.

2 ROICA™ INNOVATION: Here you can find the latest textile performance innovations from our partner mills to inspire even more brand creativity.

The ROICA™ Fabric Gallery is a rich and varied fabric offer that focuses on:
•    The revolutionary ROICA™ Eco Smart family of sustainably designed stretch yarns. These yarns are either GRS certified, or have the Cradle-to-Cradle Innovation Institute GOLD LEVEL certificate for material health, plus the Hohenstein Environment Certificate, where at its end-of-life, it smartly breaks down releasing less harmful materials. These unique commercialized solutions suites for intimates, athleisure, sportswear, and more.
•    The unique ROICA™ Feel Good family promises a new level of performance with ‘feel-good comfort’ and freshness. The ROICA™ CF yarn delivers an odor-neutralizing durable function in wash and wear because its active ingredient is locked inside the yarn and only requires a modest % to perform in most fabric structures.
•    A new ROICA™ Stretch Energy™ is a truly verified heat-generating system that combines a customised ROICA™ polymer with special fabric structures where a stretch and recovery action produces real warmth, maintaining support during exercise.

3 ROICA™ CLOSET: In this zone you can explore new ROICA™ garment designs from our experimental laboratory, using innovative Japanese fabric creativity.

Also at our ROICA™ booth, you will be able to explore sister brand Cupro innovations, designed responsibly for a new, luxe view of athleisure sportswear.

Today, the ROICA™ premium stretch brand sets the highest quality standards that are uniquely specialized and certificated perfectly focused on responsible performance for the active sportswear, swimwear and athliesure wear categories, making it the ‘smart-fit’ for the ISPO BrandNew Village presentation.

Lectra brings together partnership schools and industry experts to discuss how changing professions
in fashion are impacting training programs

Lectra, the world leader in integrated technology solutions dedicated to industries using fabrics, leather,
technical textiles and composite materials, recently welcomed partners from the world of
education to the company’s Bordeaux-Cestas campus for its eighth education congress. The
event was dedicated to the mega trends shaping the fashion industry and impacting
professions from design to production.

Over fifty representatives from among the most important fashion schools in Germany, Canada, China,
USA, France, Hong Kong, Italy, The Netherlands, Poland, United Kingdom, Switzerland and Sweden, participated
in this biannual meeting between industry experts and teaching professionals.

Fashion professions are evolving as companies make their first steps towards Industry 4.0, adopting 3D
and rationalizing the lifecycle management for their collections thanks to PLM. Lectra’s congress enabled
schools to discuss the developing role of designers and patternmakers, and the new elements to be
integrated into training programs.

Lectra illustrated future changes through presentations on design, patternmaking, 3D prototyping, and PLM.
“It is fundamental to bring innovation experts in the industry together with fashion schools, because
students will drive the evolution of this industry,” stated Pascal Denizart, Managing Director of the Centre
européen des textiles innovants (CETI).

Working with schools to design courses which meet the needs of fashion companies has always been at
the heart of Lectra’s education program. During the event, the company presented collaborative
experiences between partner schools and fashion brands, such as the competitions organised by Lectra
with Missoni, Balenciaga, and Armani in Italy, as well as Peacebird in China and JC Penney in the United
States.

In the United Kingdom, Lectra collaborated with COS (H&M group) and the Arts University Bournemouth
(AUB) for a competition centred on the design of a collection with zero waste.
“The process was totally digital, from design to the creation of a virtual prototype in 3D. Our students learnt
to optimize each stage of the process. By leveraging the use of Kaledo®, Modaris® and Diamino®, the
collaborative work between AUB, COS and Lectra is exactly the type of project that enormously motivates
our students. Live briefs developed with leading fashion brands and Lectra offer excellent opportunities
which directly inform industry currency and student employability,” explained Penny Norman, a lecturer at
AUB.

The event also shone the spotlight on China and its major role in the evolution of the fashion industry.
Li Min, Vice-Dean of the fashion and design faculty at Donghua university in Shanghai spoke of the event,
organized by Lectra, which brought together major Chinese companies, experts, and representatives from
the biggest schools in China.

“Exchanges on the impact of the Made in China 2025 plan on the fashion industry can better prepare
students for tomorrow’s professions, where digital and automation will occupy a far more central position
than today,” testified Li Min.

"The fashion industry is evolving so fast that sharing insights and best practices with experts and other
fashion schools has become vital to ensure we offer the best learning experience and technology tools to
our students", said Dr. Trevor J. Little, Professor of Textile and Apparel, Technology and Management in
the College of Textiles at NC State University.

“Lectra’s eighth education congress confirms the company’s commitment to our partner schools. We
shared our analysis of the market, the digitalization of the eco-system, and how Industry 4.0 principles can
be applied to the fashion industry. We also discussed mass customization and the role of PLM. While these
are key subjects for our customers, many schools are only now approaching them. We are preparing
tomorrow, today: Lectra is supporting our customers, and schools to play an essential role,” concludes
Céline Choussy Bedouet, Chief Marketing and Communications Officer, Lectra.

What Keeps Consumers Up at Night?

Climate change appears to be a bigger concern for consumers than recent media reports may have indicated. In the ground-breaking, global, quantitative consumer survey, “The Key to Confidence: Consumers and Textile Sustainability—Attitudes, Changing Behaviors, and Outlooks”, commissioned by the OEKO-TEX® Association in commemoration of its 25th Anniversary, climate change ranked third on a list of sixteen modern day worries on the minds of today’s consumers.

“The Key to Confidence” online study was conducted earlier this year with a worldwide sample of more than 11,000 clothing and home textile consumers. Designed and administered by global brand and sustainability research expert, Ellen Karp of Anerca International, the extensive study explored a broad assortment of consumer attitudes about textile sustainability including harmful substances, the industry’s environmental impact, and the social welfare of textile workers.

Prior to answering questions about clothing and home textiles in particular, consumers responded to several queries to gauge their attitudes about sustainability in general. To understand the relative importance of climate change, consumers were asked to pick the top five issues that worry them most from a list of sixteen political, economic, personal, and global problems. “Terrorism” ranked first with 49% of consumers listing it in their top 5, “illness and disease” was second with 42%, and “climate change” rated third with 41%. “My personal finances” came in fourth at 37%. “Opportunities for my children in the future” and “the political leadership in my country” tied for fifth with 31% each.

“Climate change has become a significant issue for consumers,” Karp concludes. “Erratic weather patterns, mounting scientific data, escalating political debate, and first-hand experience with environmental degradation combine to make climate change more of an immediate threat than people considered it to be just a decade ago.”

“For twenty-five years, OEKO-TEX® has helped reduce the use of harmful chemicals and increase sustainable manufacturing practices in the global textile supply chain,” says Anna Czerwinska, Head of Marketing and Communication at OEKO-TEX®. “Our certified clients are industry leaders in the production of compliant, high quality textiles that are tested for harmful substances and responsibly made with respect for the environment and employees. They will be well positioned to capitalize on the growing consumer demands for sustainable textile products.”

A webinar with Ellen Karp presenting the research findings can be viewed at https://rebrand.ly/oekotexTKTCweb. To learn more about “The Key to Confidence: Consumers and Textile Sustainability—Attitudes, Changing Behaviors, and Outlooks”, please contact Trish Martin at t.martin@oeko-tex.com or Anna Czerwinska at a.czerwinska@oeko-tex.com. Read more about the OEKO-TEX® portfolio of testing, certification, and label products at: www.OEKO-TEX.com

• Amazon, EasySize, Evo Pricing and Lectra explored diverse uses for customer data during a round table event organized by the ESCP Europe - Lectra ‘Fashion & Technology’ Chair Paris

Lectra, the world leader in integrated technology solutions dedicated to industries using fabrics, leather, technical textiles and composite materials, the French business school ESCP Europe and their joint ‘Fashion & Technology’ Chair examined the multiple ways the fashion industry’s ecosystem can use customer data, during a recent round table event at the start of the fifth Fashion Tech Week in Paris.

Elise Beuriot, senior category leader, EU Luggage, Amazon, Olivier Dancot, VP of data, Lectra, Fabrizio Fantini, founder and CEO, Evo Pricing, and Gulnaz Khusainova, founder and CEO, Easysize, agreed straight away on one key point: the analysis of customer data lends itself to limitless applications along the entire fashion value chain. Its impact is immense, whether in terms of customer satisfaction, competitiveness, revenues or waste limitation.

As early as the design phase, a wealth of data offers many sources of inspiration for stylists. For teams in charge of collections, “complex models allow the analysis of data like online traffic and purchase history in order to design and offer the products that consumers expect, which is a priority for a company obsessed by the customer, like Amazon,” stated Elise Beuriot. For sales, “decisions based on data trigger millions of orders. The impact on the inventory is enormous,” she added.

“Fashion is an industry where unsold items generate a lot of waste. Algorithms and big data analysis can reduce left-overs by anticipating demand several weeks ahead in order to optimize the price and replenishment,” observed Fabrizio Fantini. “Fashion companies who exploit data to inform their decisions become more efficient. They are better armed to protect their margins, but can also sell for less, and potentially reach a larger number of consumers.”

Other IT models aggregate customer data in real time ‘to determine, among hundreds of factors, those which have the biggest influence on buying decisions. Value doesn’t necessarily lie in the volume of data but in the depth of the analyses,’ claimed Gulnaz Khusainova. Easysize is careful that collected data is anonymous, she underlined, because ‘consumers need to keep control of their data, and know how it is used’.
For editors of software dedicated to fashion businesses, and suppliers of cutting machines designed for the clothing industry, “analyzing usage data from our solutions enables the offer to evolve, making each step in the value chain more efficient and perfectly adapted to the needs of the brands, retailers and manufacturers. What is at stake is better quality products, placed on the market as quickly as possible and at a reduced cost,” explained Olivier Dancot.

“It is easy to collect data, but difficult to extract actionable information. Everything hinges on data analysis,” concluded Céline Abecassis-Moedas, professor and co-scientific director of the ‘Fashion & Technology’ Chair and moderator of the round table. “Due to its emotional dimension—from the stylist’s inspiration to the consumer’s desire to buy—fashion is not an industry like others. However, all the components that make up its ecosystem can truly benefit from the judicious exploitation of customer data. Examples discussed this evening illustrate the diversity of what is possible.