From the Sector

Monterey Textiles developed ECO-FYRE, an innovative recycled aramid fabric designed for the gas and oil industry. This sustainable solution tackles the growing problem of uniform waste sent to landfills by recycling soiled garments back into fiber form. Blended with virgin aramids, the fabric delivers superior flash fire protection, color fastness, and comfort while supporting environmental responsibility. Extensive lab testing and wear trials confirmed the fabric’s performance in harsh conditions without sacrificing safety or durability. 

ECO-FYRE offers a closed-loop recycling model that reduces manufacturing waste, minimizes environmental impact, and supports companies focused on sustainability—delivering both protection for workers and meaningful progress for the planet. Moreover, the integration of this technology has also allowed for a more efficient production cycle, helping Monterey Textiles offer competitive pricing without compromising quality.

General Recycled® (GR) stated that its patented aramid recycling technology played a pivotal role in the development of Monterey Textiles' new Eco-Fyre® fabric, which was honored with the Innovation Award for Sustainability at the 2025 Network Association of Uniform Manufacturers and Distributors (NAUMD) annual conference.

"Monterey's success with Eco-Fyre® underscores the value and potential of our patented recycling process," said Ted Parker, President of General Recycled. "Partnering with Monterey and Filspec to bring this sustainable solution to market has been incredibly rewarding. This recognition highlights the growing industry demand for circular, closed-loop innovations in flame-resistant textiles."

The Portuguese Textile and Apparel Association (ATP) is promoting the national textile industry at Expo 2025 Osaka with the installation TEXTILE LIVE – Draping with Sustainable Materials, made in Portugal, featured in the Portugal Pavilion under the theme Ocean, The Blue Dialogue.

This international initiative celebrates innovation, environmental responsibility, and the heritage of the Portuguese textile and clothing industry, highlighting materials and processes developed in Portugal that respect ecosystems and place sustainability at the heart of creative practice.

From 12 to 15 June, the thousands of visitors of the Portuguese Pavilion everyday, namely the Multiuse Room (with doors opening directly onto the Expo grounds), will be able to watch and witness an unprecedented live work action by 15 young Japanese designers and one Portuguese designer, on textile materials made in Portugal based on the pillars of sustainability and environmental responsibility.

In collaboration with three Japanese fashion schools - Osaka Institute of Fashion, Marronnier College of Fashion Design and Kobe Bunka Fashion College - art, tradition and innovation, in the form of draping work on busts also made from sustainable materials, will show the world the creative potential of our most eco-friendly materials.

This live draping performance will take place twice a day, one in the morning and another in the afternoon. In addition, visitors will also be able to see a photo exhibition in which Portuguese textiles materials are “interpreted” through the beauty and talent of top Portuguese models from past generations. The experience is further enriched by a miniature doll’s installation, the Marias Paperdolls by Cláudia Oliveira and an informative video that explains the sustainable processes behind the materials on display

Altogether, these elements offer more than enough reason for high anticipation around the event, which aims to reaffirm the active role that Portugal’s textile and clothing industry is playing in positioning itself at the forefront of the Circular Economy.

Curated by Paulo Gomes, the installation highlights textile solutions made in Portugal with:

• Natural wool and linen, responsibly sourced and rooted in traditional craftsmanship.
• Bio-based artificial fibers, derived from food industry by-products.
• Recycled synthetic fibers, including polyester from PET bottle waste.
• Seaweed-based finishes, which reduce water consumption and create unique effects.
• Natural and eco-friendly dyes, with environmentally conscious processes.

The result is a living dialogue between tradition and innovation, Portugal and Japan — where textiles become a medium of artistic expression and a symbol of an industry in transformation.

ATP extends its gratitude to all those who made this installation possible — especially the Portuguese companies Albano Morgado, Burel Factory, Lemar, Positive Materials e Trimalhas; the curator Paulo Gomes; the designer Renato Luiz; and the 15 Japanese fashion students from the Osaka Institute of Fashion, Marronnier College of Fashion Design, and Kobe Bunka Fashion College and AICEP.

ATP further acknowledges the valuable contributions of Cláudia Oliveira (Marias Paperdolls); the volunteer interpreters Kazuha Toriyama and Ayu Adachi; photographer Sorin Opait; models Elsa Correia, Isabel Sousa, Milene Veiga, and Telma Santos; Rui Guimarães (graphic materials); Liliana Alves (video production); and the team from Saiunion Co., Ltd (mannequins), as well as the support of our sponsors, Aquitex and Mind.pt. With this action, ATP reinforces the positioning of the Portuguese Textile and Apparel Industry as a global benchmark in sustainable innovation, presenting itself to the world through art, design, and the matter that defines them: textiles made in Portugal – FOR A BETTER WOLRD.

Introducing PET fibers and filament yarns made solely from discard textile waste, lower carbon bio-fibers, and more, Indorama Ventures expands dejaTM portfolio to boost textile industry sustainability:
The company expands its fiber and filament yarn portfolio called dejaTM to boost sustainability. The goal is to actively drive circularity and decarbonization efforts in the global textile industry and to prepare for supporting the upcoming European Ecodesign for Sustainable Products Regulation (ESPR).

Three key offerings add to the company’s deja portfolio, addressing customers’ main sustainability challenges:

1. On-demand solutions for textile circularity, providing deja PET fibers and filament yarns made solely from enhanced recycled textile waste that was being discarded. Products available on customers’ request are high-tenacity yarns and cords for technical applications like airbags and seat belts, as well as fibers and filament yarns for lifestyle applications, such as apparel and home textiles. Customers interested to drive circularity and reduce greenhouse gas emissions, while keeping performance equal to standard solutions, are encouraged to request more information at enquiry.fibers@indorama.net.
2. deja Bio: Solutions to help customers reduce their carbon footprint. Thanks to its fully integrated, in-house PET supply chain, Indorama Ventures can deliver high-performing deja PET yarns out of Europe and Asia that have a substantially reduced carbon footprint. All of them comply with the accounting methodology of the ‘Together for Sustainability’ industry initiative.

Indorama Ventures takes a mass balance approach to increase the use of renewable sources, benefitting from eleven ISCC+ (International Sustainability and Carbon Certification) certified sites across its entire business, including PTA, PET chips, fibers, and technical fabrics. The mass balance approach is a chain-of-custody method that allows manufacturers to mix sustainable and conventional inputs like renewable and fossil-based materials in a shared production system, while still allocating the environmental benefits of the sustainable inputs to a portion of the output.

High-tenacity yarns and tire cord fabrics available in the bio-based deja portfolio allow for a progressive bio-content introduction into customers’ products. Customers can benefit from avoiding or simplifying qualification procedures and receive the same performance as from fossil solutions. Further, these products can be given new life through mechanical or enhanced recycling.

1. deja Enhanced: Products that give hard-to-recycle packaging and textile waste new life. In close collaboration with like-minded partners along the value chain, Indorama Ventures is also looking at ways to convert hard-to-recycle packaging into fibers and yarns through enhanced recycling. These solutions are readily available at similar level of performance as fossil solutions. In future, these products will also be supplied with flexible proportions of reprocessed textile feedstock to accommodate customers’ circular targets.
2. Customers and brand owners are invited to take a closer look at what the expanded deja™ fibers & yarns portfolio offers during Textiles Recycling Expo on June 4-5 in Brussels, booth no. 1825. As one of the leading events dedicated to textile recycling and circularity, this expo brings together industry leaders, innovators, and decision-makers to shape the future of sustainable textiles.
3. Claire Mattelet, Global Sustainability Program Head for Indorama Ventures’ Fibers Business, says: With the expanded deja portfolio, we are turning ambition into action – empowering our customers to meet their circularity and decarbonization goals through innovative, high-performance PET fibers and yarns made from textile waste, bio-based inputs, and hard-to-recycle materials. This is how we shape the future of sustainable textiles without compromising on quality or performance.”
4. With most of the textile waste globally being incinerated or landfilled, the global fashion industry accounts for an estimated 3 to 8 percent of total greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. According to recent reports1,2, the industry’s emissions are expected to increase by about 30 percent by 2030 if no further action is taken1. In response, Indorama Ventures has set a 2030 target of 40% of recycled and bio-based feedstock of its current commodity feedstock. Taking a leading role and collaborating along the entire value chain to drive sustainable practices in the man-made fibers industry is at the core of Indorama Ventures’ commitment to shaping the future of textiles.

Volunteers at Salvation Army charity shops from across the UK, were invited to a photoshoot with top celebrity photographer and glam team at Holborn Studios to feature in a new Volunteers’ Week campaign.

The photoshoot saw hundreds of second-hand items, that were donated to Salvation Army clothing banks and charity shops, selected to style the volunteers for a photoshoot which aims to celebrate the important role volunteers and charity shops play in their community and promoting sustainable fashion.

There are over 10,2001 charity shops in the UK, supported by around 233,0002 volunteers. Salvation Army Trading Company Ltd (SATCoL) operates over 250 stores on behalf of its parent charity, supported by more than 5,5003 volunteers.

Kelly Castelete, Head of Communications at Salvation Army Trading Company, said:
“Our charity shops are all about community, affordability and sustainability. We have over 5,500 volunteers who help us sort through donations and help our customers to find amazing second-hand fashion. With our volunteers’ help, we raise millions of pounds every year to support The Salvation Army’s important work. Our volunteers are true advocates for sustainable fashion, and they continue the long legacy of our charity to turn donated items into valuable resources to help others and help protect our planet. We were honoured to invite volunteers to take centre stage for our latest campaign. They shone in front of the camera on the day, and they are shining examples to us every day.”

The fashion shoot was art directed and photographed by Catherine Harbour, with styling by Rebekah Roy, and hair and make-up by Lan Nguyen-Grealis.

As part of Volunteers’ Week 2025 which is running from 2nd to 8th June, shops will celebrate their volunteers and host tea parties. A special edition of SATCoL’s internal magazine was also produced which shares volunteer stories and all the benefits of volunteering.

Under the theme “Ensuring a Transformed World Prosperity – Action for Planet with Innovation and Collaboration,” APIC 2025 promoted the petrochemical industry’s role in driving growth and building a sustainable future amid fundamental structural shifts in the sector, which aligns with Indorama Ventures’ brand promise to deliver indispensable chemistry through sustainable solutions.
Indorama Ventures joined some 1,500 delegates from across the globe to discuss sustainability, innovation, and industry cooperation. Ahead of the event, the company’s Combined PET segment, the world’s largest producer and recycler of PET bottles, hosted a reception for about 200 customers, suppliers and partners, including a traditional Thai puppet performance and an interactive VR experience of Indorama Ventures’ 360 Gallery.

Indorama Ventures Public Company Limited, a global sustainable chemical producer, reinforced its leadership in shaping the future of the petrochemical industry at the Asia Petrochemical Industry Conference (APIC) 2025, held this year in Bangkok.

Mr. Aloke Lohia, Group CEO of Indorama Ventures, emphasized that collaboration across the value chain is critical to building long-term resilience and relevance in a shifting global landscape:
“Our global diversity gives us the agility to meet change with confidence and to remain dependable no matter the environment. It is this quiet strength that makes us a partner you can rely on, for today and for what lies ahead. The future of our industry won’t be written in isolation. It will be shaped, once again, through collaboration. Through shared purpose. Through indispensable chemistry.”

Driving Sustainability Through Innovation
At a APIC 2025 panel discussion titled “Reimagining Petrochemicals”, Dr. Anthony Watanabe, Chief Sustainability Officer, explored how the industry must move beyond incremental change by adopting systemic innovation, improving sourcing transparency, and accelerating climate-positive technologies.
Complementing this vision, Dr. Tinnabhop Santadkha, Sustainability Innovation Specialist, delivered a keynote on “Indorama Ventures’ Alternative Feedstocks.” He outlined how the company is investing in bio-based materials, chemical recycling, and alternative feedstocks to reduce emissions and enable a circular economy at scale.

Scaling Impact at the Grassroots Level
In a session focused on circular economy ecosystems, Ms. Naweensuda Krabuanrat, Head of Global CSR, Global Recycling Education and Thai Advocacy, spotlighted the company’s work in building community-based PET collection systems and driving education through public-private collaboration. Her presentation underscored a key takeaway: that systems-level change requires both infrastructure and behavior change. The company’s recycling infrastructure and public-private partnerships are contributing to a more sustainable value.

Combining sustainability and individual personal protective equipment - ITA PhD student Roxana Ley achieved this with her demonstrator surgical goggles. In her master's thesis at Institut für Textiltechnik (ITA) of RWTH Aachen University, she presented a method that combines Tailor Fibre Placement (TFP) with fused deposition modelling 3D printing. At the same time, she developed a system that customises personal protective equipment (PPE) and demonstrated this with a pair of surgical goggles. The combination of the two processes enables fast and flexible customisation in terms of size and shape.

Roxana Ley was awarded the Wilhelm Lorch Award 2025 in the field of technology for this development on 15 May. The prize was awarded on the occasion of “TextilWirtschaftforum” (Textile Industry Forum) at the “Palmengarten” in Frankfurt am Main, Germany.

“Our graduates are regular winners of the Wilhelm Lorch Foundation Awards, “ says ITA Director Prof Dr Thomas Gries enthusiastically. “We are very pleased about their potential and that the Wilhelm Lorch Foundation supports creative minds.“

The Wilhelm Lorch Foundation has been supporting talented young people for 37 years and awarded ten sponsorship prizes of €5,000 each to a total of twelve young people in 2025 (two award-winning works were produced by teams of two).

Eastman Naia™ joined Challenge the Fabric 2025 as an official Innovation Partner, reaffirming its commitment to scalable sustainability through cross-sector collaboration. The event held May 13–14 in Milan, brought together leaders from fashion, textiles, and forestry to accelerate circular solutions and spotlight man-made cellulosic fibers.

A key highlight of the event was the CTF Award, a global competition pairing emerging designers with material innovators to co-create visionary garments. As part of the program, Naia™ collaborated with designer Oscar Ouyang and Italian mill Lady V to co-create a garment using NAIA/WO, a custom textile made from 50% RWS-certified virgin wool, 50% GRS-certified recycled wool, blended with Naia™ Renew fiber. “The esteemed Prato-based textile company Lady V have introduced Naia™ into their apparel by creating NAIA/WO. The fabric is finished using traditional wooden barrels, ensuring a soft, luxurious ‘lambswool’ texture without overfelting. This partnership exemplifies our shared commitment to creative, sustainable innovation in fashion,” said Cristiano Vieri from Lady V.

Designer Oscar Ouyang reflected on the inspiration behind his piece: “It has been a pleasure working with the Eastman Naia™ fabric. The versatility and the sustainability of the MMCFs fabric is truly impressive. The combination of cutting-edge and traditional techniques behind the production of the fabric inspired me to create this shepherd's look,” said Oscar Ouyang.

At the heart of the textile is Naia™ Renew, Eastman’s cellulosic fiber made from 60% sustainably sourced wood pulp and 40% GRS-certified recycled waste, enabled by molecular recycling. “Challenge the Fabric is a unique event where we have real, action- and collaboration-based conversations,” said Claudia de Witte, Marketing & Sustainability Director at Eastman. “We are proud to have participated in the design competition and even prouder to see Oscar, his design, and how he showcased the versatility of our Naia™ Renew staple fiber.” De Witte also expanded on this vision during the CTF panel “From Ambition to Execution,” emphasizing the role of partnerships in scaling sustainable solutions.

TradeBeyond, a retail’s provider of supply chain solutions, announced a partnership with Carrefour Global Sourcing, part of Carrefour S.A. Group, a global retail leader with more than 14,000 hypermarkets, grocery stores, and convenience stores. To support its responsible sourcing initiatives, Carrefour Global Sourcing will leverage TradeBeyond’s CBX platform to strengthen supplier management and improve risk assessment and auditing, ensuring sustainability and compliance with a multitude of European sustainability laws.

Carrefour Global Sourcing will implement TradeBeyond’s supplier management and compliance solutions to manage its wide supplier base covering non-food products, ensuring full transparency. TradeBeyond’s supplier portal and supply chain mapping tools will allow Carrefour to onboard new vendors efficiently, conduct in-depth supplier screenings, digitize contracts, manage all compliance documents, and monitor adherence to key ESG and social compliance standards. The platform integrates with amfori BSCI to provide real-time sustainability data, ensuring Carrefour’s suppliers meet ethical labor standards and regulatory obligations.

Using TradeBeyond’s robust sustainability tools such as lifecycle assessment (LCA) solutions, Carrefour will gain deeper insights into product specification and bill of materials used. The partnership will streamline critical processes for Carrefour, while ensuring its global operations remain compliant, ethical, and environmentally responsible.

Carrefour Global Sourcing’s implementation of TradeBeyond’s platform is part of a long-term strategy to digitally transform its global sourcing processes.

Under its Baldwin brand, BW Converting will partner with Fi-Tech, Inc. at Techtextil North America to demonstrate its TexCoat™ G4 precision spray finishing system, an advanced, sustainable solution designed to reduce chemical waste, minimize water usage and cut energy consumption in textile manufacturing.
Held May 6-8 in Atlanta, Techtextil North America is the premier event for technical textiles and nonwovens in the United States. BW Converting will be present in the Fi-Tech booth A3207 to connect with textile professionals seeking to streamline operations while improving finishing quality and sustainability outcomes.
 
The TexCoat G4 applies chemistry with pinpoint accuracy — on one or both sides of the fabric — with no contamination, overspray or dilution. By eliminating pad baths and reducing the frequency of changeovers, the system significantly improves operational efficiency.
 
Also featured at Techtextil North America will be BW Converting's Baldwin Plasma Pure surface modification technology. Plasma Pure boosts adhesion and uptake in dyeing, coating and laminating processes by optimizing surface energy at the molecular level, without the need for added chemicals.

From April 24 to 26, the Karachi Expo Center hosts a new edition of Igatex, Pakistan’s leading textile‑industry trade fair. At a decisive moment for the region’s manufacturing sector, Jeanologia presents its proposal for technological integration to drive modernization through automation, sustainability, and productivity.

With nearly two decades of presence in Pakistan, Jeanologia has helped transform the local production landscape by promoting competitive models based on cutting‑edge technologies such as laser, ozone, e‑Flow, and water‑recycling systems like H2Zero. Designed to be accessible to both small workshops and large corporations, these solutions have enabled more sustainable and efficient denim production—reducing water consumption by up to 85%, minimizing chemical use, and ensuring safer processes for workers.

At this year’s Igatex, Jeanologia is highlighting the potential of its laser technology to automate processes and optimize marking quality and speed—critical factors for boosting productivity and lowering cost per garment. It will unveil Compact Super, the fastest laser machine on the market, as part of its portfolio of high‑productivity solutions built on intelligence, speed, and precision—elements essential for the future of the textile sector, especially denim.

All these innovations converge in the Laundry 5.Zero model, the first denim‑finishing plant to guarantee zero pollution. Already operational in Pakistan, this solution represents the evolution from traditional factories to fully digital, scalable production systems with a neutral cost balance.

Pakistan: a strategic hub in the new global manufacturing map
With 8.5% of its GDP tied to textiles, Pakistan has established itself as a key node in the new global manufacturing map. Its favorable cost structure and robust production facilities make it a strategic destination for global textile operators. Jeanologia works closely with local mills, brands, and exporters to accelerate this transformation and reinforce the country’s leadership in the sustainable denim era.

With over 35% of the world’s five billion annual jeans produced using its technologies, the Spanish company consolidates its position as a strategic partner for brands, manufacturers, and exporters worldwide reaffirming its mission to transform the textile industry through innovation and sustainability.

By participating in Igatex 2025, Jeanologia underscores that the future of textile manufacturing lies in digitalization, automation, and sustainability—recognizing Pakistan as a pivotal hub in this transformative process.