From the Sector

At the next edition of Milano Unica, the leading international trade fair for high-end fabrics and accessories, scheduled to take place at Rho Fiera Milano from July 8 to 10, ACIMIT (the Association of Italian Textile Machinery Manufacturers) will participate for the first time with an institutional booth.

Through this initiative, ACIMIT aims to foster connections between its member companies, exhibitors, and buyers attending Milano Unica, while also promoting greater awareness of the cutting-edge technological solutions that define the Italian textile machinery industry—particularly in the areas of sustainability, circular economy, and digitalization.

Marco Salvadè, President of ACIMIT: “I believe it is essential for our Association to be present at such a significant trade event. The synergy between Italian excellence in textiles and textile machinery has always been, and continues to be, a key factor in strengthening the leadership of the entire Italian textile supply chain.”

A much more sustainable, cost effective and very flexible process for manufacturing critical fibres based on ultra high molecular weight polyethylene (UHMWPE) is being launched by the UK’s Fibre Extrusion Technologies (FET).

UHMWPE is prized in many industries due to its extraordinary properties. The fibre is, for example, ten times stronger than steel by weight, while exhibiting outstanding abrasion resistance, low friction and high impact strength. UHMWPE fibres are also chemically inert, resistant to most chemicals and UV light and do not absorb water. They maintain performance in a wide range of temperatures and despite their toughness are extremely lightweight.

As a result, they are unbeatable in demanding applications such as high-performance ropes in maritime industrial and rescue applications. In addition, they are invaluable in ballistic protection, cut-resistant clothing and high-performance sports gear – and increasingly in medical implants.

Biomedical market
“FET has supplied many extrusion systems to the biomedical market, most notably for the production of both resorbable and non-absorbable sutures,” says FET Managing Director Richard Slack. “In exploring what else we could do in assisting these customers, it became clear that there was a need for smaller quantities of UHMWPE fibres in bespoke sizes.”

“The current systems for manufacturing UHMWPE filament yarns are on a huge scale, with very complex processing routes,” adds Research and Development Manager Jonny Hunter. “This means the supply chain is currently very inflexible with minimal opportunity for new product development. These disadvantages have been fully addressed in the development of our new FET-500 series lab and small scale gel spinning system.”

Solvent extraction
A major FET innovation is the introduction of a patented batch system for solvent extraction exploiting supercritical carbon dioxide (CO2).

UHMWPE production, until now, has involved the use of large volumes of hazardous solvents such as dichloromethane (DCM) or hexane. The UHMWPE powder is mixed with mineral oil to form a gel which is subsequently extruded, cooled and solidified. The oil is then extracted from the fibres using DCM or hexane and the solid fibres are then drawn at high temperature to further align the polymer chains, resulting in final strong and tough fibres. Typically, it takes 10 kg of Hexane to extract 1 kg of oil. 

“Solvent reclamation using extraction baths and hot air drying chambers is not practical for the scale of our system,” explains FET’s Senior Material and Process Scientist Kris Kortsen. “The current baths employed can be up to 200 metres long and the waste volumes are considerable. Expertise is needed in dealing with such dangerous chemicals and overall the process has an immense environmental impact.

“CO2, by contrast, is a cheap and abundant sustainable solvent that is non-toxic, non-flammable and leaves no residue.” 

Closed loop
FET’s closed-loop system can achieve more than 95% solvent recovery without loss of performance, resulting in residue-free UHMWPE filament yarns via a vastly improved route in terms of both safety and logistics.

A further innovation is the highly modular drawing system based on heated godet rollers, enabling flexible temperature and drawing control for new product development and the ability to be expanded at any time to meet customer needs.

A comprehensive LCA study detailing the full savings potential is currently being prepared and will be published shortly.

“Having processed over 130 separate polymers in the development of our extrusion systems, we believe the FET-500 is a game changer,” concludes Richard Slack. “We believe there is a big gap in the market for smaller quantities of UHMWPE, and our first line is now fully operational at the FET Fibre Development Centre in Leeds. We look forward to demonstrating it and discussing its full potential with interested companies from around the world.”

Source Fashion, a leading destination for responsible sourcing and fashion innovation, has launched a landmark report tackling one of the fashion industry’s most pressing but least addressed issues: overproduction.

Titled “Do We Really Need to Produce So Much?”, the report—developed in collaboration with retail futures consultancy Insider Trends—offers a data-rich exploration of the scale, causes, and consequences of overproduction. It presents forward-thinking solutions for brands looking to remain competitive while reducing waste and environmental impact. The full report is now available for download at Source Fashion – Overproduction Report 2025.

Overproduction: A Costly and Widespread Issue
The report reveals that the global fashion industry produces between 80 and 150 billion garments annually—yet up to 40% remain unsold, frequently ending up in landfill, incineration, or markdown bins. Despite the environmental and financial toll, only 1% of fashion brands are actively working to reduce production volumes. 

A New Blueprint for Fashion
Rather than simply highlighting the problem, the report presents actionable models already being piloted by leading brands and retailers:

• On-Demand Production – Producing only what is needed, when it’s needed, to eliminate excess stock.
• Circular Design – Creating garments designed to be reused, repaired, or recycled, thereby extending their lifecycle.
• Retail-as-a-Service – Shifting from ownership to access models such as rental, resale, and subscription.
• Collaborative Creation – Co-designing with consumers to ensure relevancy and reduce waste.

As the report states, “Brands can reduce production without reducing profit. In fact, in many cases, it increases margins and strengthens consumer trust.” The publication includes case studies from brands already implementing these approaches, demonstrating commercial viability alongside sustainability gains.

A Turning Point for Retail
The report arrives at a pivotal moment for fashion, as the industry faces shifting consumer expectations, economic uncertainty, and growing pressure from both regulators and investors.

Suzanne Ellingham, Sourcing Director at Source said, “This report highlights the uncomfortable truth behind retails success — that excess production is built into the model with volume is the only way to increase profits. As we approach 2025, companies must question not only how they produce, but how much, and how they deal with . There are real over production and excess. Opportunities for those willing to embrace a leaner, smarter, more circular future.”

It is estimated that around 100 billion items of clothing are currently produced worldwide, most of which will end up in recycling processes. Sorting these old textiles by hand requires an enormous amount of human labour. A research team is now developing new technologies that will enable robotic grippers to sort textiles more effectively.

“At present, automatic sorting systems mainly use contactless methods, such as visual and near-infrared sensors. But when people sort old textiles, they can do much more: When they touch the textiles, they can also quickly classify what should be reused and what should be recycled based on the feel of the fabric”, Hubert Zangl, project manager of AdapTex at the Department of Smart Systems Technologies at the University of Klagenfurt explains. If you want robotic grippers to perform this work, he goes on to explain, many challenges remain: “Physical interaction with objects and the evaluation of haptic feedback are not yet sufficiently developed in robotics. When sorting textiles, robots have to work in a complex environment with randomly assembled quantities of textiles made from different materials and in a wide variety of shapes and sizes. Contamination can further complicate matters.”

The central factor here is the gripping process, which is crucial for the effective sorting of these materials in recycling plants. The research team is therefore focusing on improving the physical interaction between the robot gripper and the textiles with the aim of improving both the handling and the classification of the textiles. To this end, the researchers are developing textile-based, adaptive sensor skins for the robotic grippers. “These will be intelligent materials containing networks of sensors and actuators that can adapt optimally when touched,” says Hubert Zangl. The unique properties of AdapTex skin offer potential not only for use in textile recycling, but also in many other areas of the textile industry, such as sportswear, lifestyle clothing, and rehabilitation garments. It might also be possible to use the improved capabilities and functions for robots deployed in industrial manufacturing and automation.

The AdapTex project is coordinated at the University of Klagenfurt and the AAU/SAL USE Lab. The project partners are Grabher Group GmbH, Infineon Technologies Austria AG, Silicon Austria Labs GmbH and V-trion GmbH. AdapTex is supported by the Austrian Research Promotion Agency FFG.