From the Sector

Die Heimtextil Trend Preview 23/24 präsentierte zu Herbstbeginn Designkonzepte und Inspirationen für die textile Einrichtungsbranche. Mit „Textiles Matter“ will die Heimtextil 2023 Maßstäbe für die zukunftsorientierte und nachhaltige textile Einrichtung von morgen setzen.
 
Mit konzentrierter Analyse und Fachexpertise untersucht der Trend Council der Heimtextil, bestehend aus dem Studio FranklinTill (London), dem Stijlinstituut Amsterdam und der dänischen Agentur SPOTT Trends & Business, die Zukunft für den nationalen und internationalen Markt. Nachhaltigkeit und Kreislaufwirtschaft stehen dabei so stark wie nie zuvor im Fokus und setzen den Trend für die Saison 23/24.
 
Textilien sind aus dem Alltag nicht mehr wegzudenken. So vielfältig die Ansprüche der Nutzer*innen sind, so vielfältige sind auch die Einsatzzwecke der Materialien und ihre Herstellung. Dies stellt die internationale Industrie vor eine große Herausforderung. Die Textilindustrie bezieht ihre Rohstoffe aus vielen Quellen und nutzt zahlreiche Verfahren zur Herstellung einer unbegrenzten Vielfalt von Produkten. Dies bietet großes Potenzial für eine nachhaltige Weiterentwicklung. Die Heimtextil Trends zeigen Möglichkeiten auf, dieses Potenzial zu nutzen und nachhaltige Entwicklung zu fördern. Unter dem Motto „Textiles Matter“ werden Ansätze der Kreislaufwirtschaft vorgestellt, die dem Markt Impulse für eine nachhaltige Entwicklung liefern.
 
"In Anbetracht des ökologischen Notstands, in dem wir uns derzeit befinden, steht die Textilindustrie in der Verantwortung, ihre Prozesse zu überprüfen und zum Besseren zu verändern. Aus diesem Grund verfolgen wir bei dieser Ausgabe der Heimtextil Trends einen materialorientierten Ansatz und konzentrieren uns auf die Beschaffung, das Design und die Nachhaltigkeit von Materialien. Textiles Matter zeigt das Potenzial der Kreislaufwirtschaft auf und würdigt Designinitiativen, die schön, relevant und vor allem nachhaltig sind", erklärt Marta Giralt Dunjó von FranklinTill.
 
Anorganische Materialien wie Nylon, Polyester, Kunststoffe oder Metalle können im technischen Kreislauf ohne Qualitätsverlust recycelt und wiederverwendet werden. Organische Materialien wie Leinen oder Bast werden im biologischen Kreislauf wieder in die Natur zurückgeführt. Die vier Trend-Themen „Make and Remake“, „Continuous“, „From Earth“ und „Nature Engineered“ leiten sich daraus ab.
 
Make and Remake
Gebrauchte Materialien, Altbestände oder Stoffreste erhalten ein neues Leben. Dabei rückt die Ästhetik des Reparierens in den Fokus und wird als gezieltes Designelement des recycelten Produkts eingesetzt. Mit hellen und fröhlichen Farben und Techniken wie Überdrucken, Überfärben, Bricolage, Collage oder Patchwork entstehen neue und kreative Produkte. Überlagerte Farbmuster und Grafiken führen zu gewagten und maximalistischen, zugleich bewussten Designs.
 
Continuous
Das Trend-Thema Continuous beschreibt geschlossene Kreisläufe, in denen Materialien immer wieder zu neuen, abfallfreien Produkten recycelt werden. Vermeintliche Abfallstoffe werden getrennt und zu neuen Fasern, Verbundwerkstoffen und Textilien wiederaufbereitet. Synthetische sowie zellulosehaltige Garne werden somit abfallfrei produziert. Dank technisch fortgeschrittener Rückgewinnungsverfahren behalten die Materialien ihre ursprüngliche Qualität und Ästhetik. Zweckmäßigkeit, Minimalismus und Langlebigkeit bestimmen das Design der Continuous Produkte.

From Earth
Hier stehen die Natürlichkeit und der Einklang mit der Natur der organischen Materialien im Mittelpunkt. Natürliche Färbungen vermitteln Wärme und Weichheit. Unvollkommene Texturen, Abnutzungen und Unregelmäßigkeiten präsentieren eine ökologische und erdverbundene Ästhetik. Erdige und botanische Farbtöne, natürliche Variationen und haptischer Reichtum dominieren den Bereich From Earth. Unbearbeitete und rohe Oberflächen sowie ungebleichte Textilien, natürliche Farbstoffe betonen die Materialien in ihrem ursprünglichen Zustand.
 
Nature Engineered
Natürlichkeit wird neu interpretiert. Nature Engineered wertet organische Materialien wie Bast, Hanf, Leinen und Nesseln mit mechanischen Mitteln auf und perfektioniert diese. Modernste Techniken bereiten natürliche Textilien zu anspruchsvollen und intelligenten Produkten auf. Klare Linien und Formen, kombiniert mit weichen Beige- und Brauntönen kennzeichnen dieses Thema.
 
Die nachhaltigen und zukunftsweisenden Trends werden im Trend Space der Heimtextil, vom 10. bis 13. Januar 2023 in Frankfurt, inszeniert.

In light of the evolving pandemic circumstances in Shanghai, Cinte Techtextil China will no longer be taking place from 6 – 8 September at the Shanghai New International Expo Centre. A new date for the technical textile fair will be announced in due course.
 
Ms Wendy Wen, Managing Director of Messe Frankfurt (HK) Ltd, explained: “After discussions with stakeholders, and in support of the government’s pandemic control measures, we have decided to postpone Cinte Techtextil China 2022 to a later date. The safety of fairgoers is of paramount importance to the fair’s ongoing success, and we are working tirelessly to provide an efficient sourcing platform for the technical textile industry. I would like to thank all participants for their sustained support and understanding.”

Cinte Techtextil China’s product categories cover 12 application areas, which comprehensively span a full range of potential uses in modern technical textiles and nonwovens. These categories also cover the entire industry, from upstream technology and raw materials providers to finished fabrics, chemicals and other solutions. This scope of product groups and application areas ensures that the fair is an effective business platform for the entire industry. The 2021 edition attracted 366 exhibitors and recorded 14,868 visits. The fair is organised by Messe Frankfurt (HK) Ltd; the Sub-Council of Textile Industry, CCPIT; and the China Nonwovens & Industrial Textiles Association (CNITA).

The 50th INNATEX fair opens its gates to a Green Fashion trade audience from 29 to 31 July 2022 in Hofheim-Wallau, near Frankfurt. At this anniversary fair, over 200 labels will be exhibiting, a wide range of experts and organisations will be gathering, and elaborate features and facilities are planned for the Rhein-Main exhibition centre.

According to INNATEX project manager Alexander Hitzel, one highlight is the Community Area, which brings together a range of experts. In short lounge talks, they reveal insights into what they are currently working on and a dialogue format encourages personal discussion. Mirjam Smend, whom we know well from Greenstyle Munich, introduces her recently launched sustainability magazine, Pureviu, and facilitates the morning talks.

Alongside standard bodies such as IVN and GOTS, which have taken part in INNATEX for many years, younger projects such as Fairmodel and the digital platform Retraced will be part of this special area. Fairtrade Germany, Femnet and the VDMD are to be found there too. Almost all of them are joining in with the Ask Me Anything dialouge format. Interested attendees can pre-book a slot of up to ten minutes for a personal discussion with the expert of their choice.

The supportive activities that had to be suspended during the pandemic are enjoying a comeback at this year’s summer fair: five newcomers to INNATEX designated DesignDiscoveries will be presenting their projects in another special area. Vegtus, from Barcelona, produces sneakers and other products from cactus leather. Natural textiles such as organic cotton are used by Lounge Cherie, a yoga fashion label.

Products for kids through to seniors, classics and streetwear, footwear and accessories
Nordlicht similarly relies on recyclable, renewable natural fibres for its outerwear, bags and accessories. The field of circular fashion is also served by the remaining two Design Discoveries. Both Nature is Future, with its handmade sneakers, and Freibeutler, with its functional rucksacks, make extensive use of recycled materials, while also paying due attention to broader sustainability aspects.

Regular INNATEX exhibitors include Lana, Chapati and Didymos, all of whom are also celebrating anniversaries. Labels such as Anokho with their colourful accessories in jacquard fabrics and Danish label Angel Circle with its plus-size fashion are exhibiting for the first time.

New ideas were exchanged, brainstormed, and discussed freely at members’ booths at the Swiss Textile Machinery Pavilion during the recent Techtextil in Frankfurt. “Customers and researchers met Swiss textile machinery companies to explore the possibility of the not-yet-invented. “We regard our Pavilion as the place where future innovations catch a spark,” says Cornelia Buchwalder, Secretary General of the Swiss Textile Machinery Association. Further developments in the field of hybrid yarns were a hot topic. One example of this involves producing a yarn which has all the typical characteristics and advantages of carbon – but which also prioritizes careful use of resources, combining carbon fibres with thermoplastics.

Technical textiles cover a vast range of applications, and it’s still growing thanks to intensive research by specialist institutes and universities. Many members of the Swiss Textile Machinery Association maintain long-standing partnership with such bodies. Innovations are often joint efforts.

Feel-good technical fabrics
Some technical textiles feel like a second skin. A well-known example is activewear from the ‘sport tech’ field. Activewear includes breathable clothing, usually consisting of a three-layer-laminate: an inner lining, a breathable membrane in the center, and an outer fabric. The challenge is to bond the individual layers without losing breathability or softness, while meeting technical requirements such as resistance to a number of wash cycles.

Bonding solutions meeting top quality requirements, as well as ambitious standards for environmental protection and sustainability, were reinvented by the Cavitec brand from the Santex Rimar Group. This company’s hotmelt technology uses one-component polymers applied to textiles in a hot, molten state. Bonding based on hotmelts is both water- and solvent-free. Drying and exhaust air cleaning are not necessary, which is an ecological advantage. Energy consumption is also significantly lower. Cavitec hotmelt technology is also developed for laminated medical protection fabrics which are safe, high-quality and sustainable. These fabrics can be washed, sterilized, and used again.   

A second skin with added value is the result of Jakob Müller Group’s cooperation with an institute for an established outdoor fashion brand. They have devised a heating mat applied as an inner jacket. Outdoor gear with a heated inlay offers the wearer a comfortable feeling even in a cold climate. The heating mat is particularly light, breathable, flexible and adjustable to three temperature levels.

Fabrics with these advantages are now possible thanks to multi direct weaving (MDW) technology from the Jakob Müller Group. A lacquer-insulated heating strand is inserted into the base textile as a ‘meander’ using MDW technology. The technology is offered with both label weaving machines and the latest generation of ribbon weaving machines. The textile pocket calculator is another MDW based future-oriented application developed in cooperation with a textile research institute.

Safety and health
Life-saving reliability is a must for vehicle airbags. They have to fulfil high security aspects, and must remain inflated for several seconds when an accident occurs. Airbags made of flat-woven fabric – cut and seamed – can show weakness at seams during the inflation phase. Latest Jacquard technology by Stäubli enables one-piece-woven (OPW) airbags to be produced, creating shape and structure in a single process. The final product is an airbag consisting of a sealed cushion with woven seams. OPW airbag weaving reduces the number of production steps, and increases the security aspects.
Another big advantage of Stäubli’s new weaving technology is the flexibility in formats required in today’s mid- and upper-range cars, where lateral protection (in the seat or in the roof over the door) has become standard and is designed in line with the car shape. Safe airbags are woven on modern high-speed weaving machines. The warp material, the variety of fabric patterns, and the importance of precisely shaped airbags require the use of a robust and reliable Jacquard machine.

A revolution for orthopaedic patients is a knitting machine from Steiger Participations, which uses compressive yarns developed to meet the needs of the specific health market. This machine model was exclusively designed for production with inlaid elastic yarns and offers optimum performance with guaranteed final product quality.

In the orthopaedic field, many Steiger flat knitting machines have already been operating as automatic, custom-made production systems. For example, the dimensions of an injured limb are taken by the doctor and fed into a web-based application. The doctor selects the compression class in the various sections of the item and a data file created by the software automatically applies a preconfigured program. With no human intervention required, the program is generated and produced on the machine, precisely matching the patient’s dimensions. Each product is different, and generally available within 48 hours.

The 2002 prize of the Walter Reiners Foundation of the VDMA Textile Machinery Association for the best Master's thesis in German textile mechanical engineering was awarded to a young engineer from the ITA Institut für Textiltechnik of RWTH Aachen University. The prize ceremony took place at Techtextil 2022 in Frankfurt am Main, Germany. Peter D. Dornier, Chairman of the Board of the Walter Reiners Foundation, presented the award at the VDMA Textile Machinery Association’s booth.

Felix Xaver Zerbes, M.Sc., was awarded the "Promotional Prize for the Best Master's Thesis of the German Textile Machinery Industry 2022", endowed with 3,500 EUR, for his master's thesis "Development and Construction of a Separation Unit for Weft Yarns in Air Jet Weaving".

The subject of the master's thesis was the development of a mechanism with which faulty sections in the weft yarn can be sorted out before they are woven into the textile. This way, both yarn-related weft defects and material defects can be drastically reduced. The prototype developed by Mr Zerbes shows how this can be done even during the ongoing weaving process without having to stop production. Due to its modular design, the yarn rejection unit can be retrofitted to many different types of air-jet weaving machines, which represents an enormous savings potential not only in Germany but in weaving mills all over the world.

On the occasion of the Techtextil fair in Frankfurt, the Chairman of VDMA’s Walter Reiners-Stiftung Foundation, Peter D. Dornier, has awarded prizes to seven successful young engineers. For the first time, the Foundation awarded two Sustainability Awards. They are awarded to academic works in which, for example, solutions for resource-saving products and technologies are developed.

A Sustainability Prize in the category Project Work, endowed with 3.000 euros was awarded to Simon Hoebel, TU Dresden, for his thesis on recycled thermoplastic fibres for composite components.
Marina Michel, TU Dresden, received a Sustainability Award in the category Master, worth 3.500 euros. The topic of her master thesis was the functionalisation of yarns for the filtration of micro- and nanoplastics from water.

A Promotion Prize in the category Project Work, endowed with 4.000 euros, was awarded to a student group from RWTH Aachen. The teamwork of Luis Gleissner, Leopold Habersbrunner, Frederic Olbrich and Frederik Schicks was the construction of a test rig for tests on oil-adsorbing textiles.

Felix Zerbes, RWTH Aachen, was awarded a Promotion Prize of 3.500 euros in the category Master. He developed a technical solution for air jet weaving to improve the quality of woven fabric.

Wissenschaftler:innen vom Institut für Textilmaschinen und Textile Hochleistungswerkstofftechnik (ITM) der TU Dresden sind am 21. Juni 2022 für ihre gewebten Herzklappenimplantate mit dem Techtextil Innovation Award 2022 in der Kategorie „New Product“ ausgezeichnet worden.

Im Rahmen eines Forschungsprojektes der Industriellen Gemeinschaftsforschung (IGF) entwickelten Wissenschaftler:innen des ITM neuartige textile Herzklappenprothesen. Die Implantate können exakt an die anatomische Form angepasst und minimalinvasiv im Herz platziert werden. Die textile Herzklappe ist integral gefertigt. Hierbei erfolgt die Integration des Ventils in situ während des Webprozesses. Somit besteht die strömungstechnisch optimierte Herzklappe aus einer einzigen textilen Struktur. Weitere Fügeprozesse, z. B. durch Nähen, sind nicht mehr erforderlich. Das reduziert den Fertigungsaufwand im Gegensatz zur heutigen Herstellung biologischer Herzklappenprothesen in Handarbeit enorm.

Prof. Chokri Cherif, Institutsdirektor des ITM, freut sich mit seinem Team sehr über die kontinuierli-chen interdisziplinären Forschungserfolge, die am ITM in enger Kooperation mit technischen Webereien, Medizinern und Anwendern stetig erzielt werden. „Bereits vor zwei Jahren wurden wir mit dieser neuartigen Entwicklung als eines der drei Finalistenteams des Otto von Guericke-Preises 2020 geehrt. Die Auswahl für den Techtextil Innovation Award 2022 ist eine erneute Bestätigung für den Bedarf an unserer praxisorientierten Forschung und eine besondere Würdigung, aber gleichzeitig auch weiterer Ansporn für die zeitnahe Umsetzung unserer Forschungsergebnisse in die Industrie.“

Bislang stehen für die Behandlung defekter Herzklappen mechanische und biologische Klappen zur Verfügung. Die neuartigen gewebten Herzklappenprothesen sollen die Vorteile der beiden Typen vereinen: unbegrenzte Lebensdauer, keine lebenslange Einnahme von blutverdünnenden Medikamenten und minimal invasive Operation. Ferner können die textilen Herzklappen zeit- und kostensparend mit hoher Reproduzierbarkeit und Qualität gefertigt werden.

Natural fibers are among the most important raw materials in the textile and fashion industry worldwide. For centuries, they have fed millions of people through their cultivation or breeding, and it is impossible to imagine daily life without them. Especially at the moment, natural fibers are gaining special importance due to the intense discussions about sustainable living. Even though natural fibers have accompanied mankind for a long time, they are changeable, technical, and adaptable to the challenges of the textile industry.

The Discover Natural Fibres Initiative (DNFI) is celebrating natural fibres in a program to be conducted during Heimtextil in Frankfurt on 23 June. Anyone with an interest in the role of natural fibres in the world economy, economic indicators of textile activity, innovations in natural fibre research, and updates on proposed EU legislation affecting textiles is welcome to attend.

The program will include various presentations by the previous and current award winners, presentations, and discussions:

Overview of world natural fibre production, employment, and value,

• Economic indicators and impacts of coronavirus on textile industries,
• Updates on innovative uses of natural fibres:
• Use of wool in automobile insulation applications for enhanced sustainability,
• Using cellulose from cotton to produce a biodegradable plastic substitute,
• Manufacturing waterproof fabric from a blend of cotton and jute as sustainable
• Substitute for polypropylene tarps
• Proposed EU textile legislation and potential impacts on natural fibres

ACG Nyström, a member of TMAS, the Swedish textile machinery association, will demonstrate the automated Talon 75 multi-ply cutter at the forthcoming Texprocess exhibition in Frankfurt, Germany, from June 21-24.

The Talon 75 is capable of cutting up to 7.5cm of compressed materials common to the sewn products and technical textiles industries. The machine is engineered to automatically pull stacked material plies from the spreading table to a modular, bristle-block conveyor bed for reciprocating knife cutting of patterns. Precise system operations with state-of-the-art motion control communications offer an industrial-strength solution.

Industry 4.0 ready
Eastman’s Talon multi-ply cutting systems are Industry 4.0 ready and equipped with the latest in condition based predictive maintenance technology. Their robust design utilises motors and amplifiers that automatically detect changes in critical components to notify operators well in advance of maintenance prompts. Also on display in Frankfurt will be Eastman’s ES-960, a material spreader capable of fast and easy spreading heights up to 20cm.

Members of TMAS will be showcasing a range of solutions aligning with the growing trend for more localised and automated textile manufacturing at the forthcoming Texprocess, Techtextil and Heimtextil shows which are all taking place in Frankfurt from June 21-24.

Archroma will be at Techtextil 2022 in Frankfurt am Main, Germany, from 21 to 24 June 2022, to launch its latest innovations and system solutions aimed to help textile manufacturers with optimized sustainability, productivity and value creation in their markets.

Archroma will present 9 new solution systems and 3 innovations, and will hold 2 booth events.

3 innovation highlights

• PFC-free* Smartrepel® Hydro SR, a new solution developed for the repellence of water-based soil;
• Biocide-free OX20, a new odor-neutralizing technology newly launched by our partner SANITIZED AG;
• Perapret® AIR, a new mineral finishing technology for air purification is activated by natural and artificial light sources and can be applied on all fabrics

9 new solution systems
Archroma introduced its first ever solution systems at the Techtextil 2019 edition, and since then has developed more than 30 systems for technical textile and nonwoven applications.

• CLEAN AIR, a mineral air purification system that stays put on all kinds of fabrics and is activated by artificial and natural light, for as long as there is light; ➔ based on the new Perapret® AIR;
• CONSCIOUSLY DEEP, a metal-free one-step scouring and dyeing system for medium to very dark colored nylons that stay deep and bright day after day, and are good for you and the planet;
• EARTH SOFT, a biomass-based and vegan softening system that is suitable for all kind of fibers and makes you comfortable in your own skin;
• NATURE BOUND, a compostable binder system for food filtration materials that protect you and the planet;
• ODOR CONTROL 2.0, a system for odor-free sportswear where permastink cannot build up on your favorite clothes, that’s applicable on polyester, cotton and nylon; ➔ based on the new OX20;
• RAG N’ROLL, a compostable binder system for nonwoven cleaning rags, that protect you and the planet;
• SAFE SEATS NextGen, a PFC-free* and halogen-free* modular surface treatment system for safer and cleaner seating materials, ➔ based on the new Smartrepel® Hydro SR;
• SWEET DREAMS, a metal and particle free* system that redefines protection for mattress ticking fabrics, with long-lasting hygiene and outstanding softness, that protects you and the environment;
• TAKE A BREATH, an enhanced filtration system that keeps your air clean and fresh for longer putting health first and your competition behind;

2 booth events
A WORLD WITHOUT ODORS, FIGHT OR FLIGHT?
Innovation highlight: Biocide-free OX20 odor management solution by SANITIZED AG

Speakers:

• Nuria Estape, Panel Moderator, Head of Marketing & Promotion, Brand & Performance Textile Specialties, Archroma
• Georg Lang, Head of CC Finishing, Archroma
• Stefan Müller, Head of BU Textiles Additives Sanitized
• Yann Ribourdouille , Global registration expert Product Stewardship, Archroma

A WORLD WITHOUT PFC, DREAM OR REALITY?
Innovation highlight: PFC-free* Smartrepel® Hydro SR

Speakers

• Nuria Estape, Panel Moderator, Head of Marketing & Promotion, Brand & Performance Textile Specialties, Archroma
• Roland Borufka, Head of Competence Center Repellents, Archroma
• Wolfgang Knaup, Head of R&D repellents, Archroma
• Yann Ribourdouille, Global registration expert Product Stewardship, Archroma