From the Sector

TRSA, the global association for the linen, uniform and facility services industry, has donated approximately $80,000 to Anayat House, Children of Restaurant Employees (CORE) and ConPRmetidos: organizations assisting those impacted by hurricanes in Florida, Texas and Puerto Rico.

The donations are the result of TRSA’s 105th Annual Conference, which had been scheduled for last September in Miami, but was cancelled due to Hurricane Irma. While offering to refund all registration and sponsorship fees, TRSA asked members to donate all or a portion of those fees to support local charities.

“We’re very proud of the TRSA community, which was able to create some positive outcomes in an overwhelmingly tragic circumstance,” said Joseph Ricci, CEO of TRSA.

"The contribution from TRSA will directly assist low income families and the elderly who seek overnight accommodations during a medical crisis,” said Tressa Clarke, Executive Director of Anayat House, which provides affordable overnight accommodations for family members of patients at local Beaumont, TX, hospitals and anyone traveling to Beaumont for medical care and outpatient treatment. “This contribution will help bridge the gap between the suggested donation of $20 and the actual cost of $90 per room.”

CORE, an organization that is part of the Florida Restaurant & Lodging Association, grants support to children of food and beverage service employees navigating life-altering circumstances. "CORE was incredibly grateful to receive the generous donation from TRSA," said Lauren LaViola, executive director of CORE.  “The donation to CORE will help to fulfill grants for qualifying children of food and beverage service employees navigating life-altering circumstances."

“I feel truly inspired by TRSA’s continued commitment to the support of our industry’s community of families. It is an honor and a privilege to be part of such great association,” said Pablo Lucchesi, Managing Partner of Crown Linen, in whose name TRSA made the CORE contribution.

An additional contribution was made to ConPRmetidos, an organization that specializes in matching Puerto Rico’s “diaspora” – people who settle away from their ancestral homeland – with companies there to help them grow.

“We don’t have words to say thanks for all your generosity,” said Michael Shulevitz, President of Cadillac Uniform & Linen Supply in Puerto Rico. “Thank you for helping Puerto Rico to rise up again.”

The $80,000 donation follows an immediate TRSA charitable effort that took place just after the conference, when several hundred homeless residents were given welcome boxes that had been packaged for conference attendees at the time of the cancellation.

Over three years, this new Chair aims to help the fashion industry’s eco-system—from textile design to clothing sales—transform challenges coming from new ways of living and consuming into economic opportunities.
“How to find and develop sustainable materials which will open up new markets for companies in the sector? Which technologies to invent to make the most of these new materials? How to organize the factory of the future to meet new consumer expectations, such as customization? It’s an entire economy that we aim to develop around emerging industries,” explains Jean-Pierre Mocho, the founder of JPS Conseil and former President of the French federation for women’s ready-to-wear. “There are many opportunities to seize, on condition that all the players, both old and new, work together.”
To help textile and apparel companies to innovate, the Chair will combine knowledge sharing with open innovation. In particular, a technical training facility will adapt and pass on material-related savoir-faire. “This Chair will help us to better understand the changes that are necessary in the sector, to anticipate innovations and to circulate knowledge worldwide,” underlines Patxi Elissalde, director, ESTIA. “Based in Biarritz and founded with a long-term vision, this Chair will dive into user behaviors, materials and components, manufacturing technologies and services, the digitalization of processes, and the distribution of products, from clothes to accessories.”

This approach will also foster interactions between different professions in order to stimulate creativity. Inspired by overarching principles in the collaborative and circular economy, the Chair also aims to capitalize on advances in research, from frugal or disruptive innovation.

The H160 was designed by Airbus Helicopters to create added value for customers in terms of performance, economic competitiveness, safety and comfort. The use of Hexcel’s composite materials throughout the structure (fuselage, tail boom, tail rotor and main rotor blades) contributes to the lightweight fuel-saving design and performance optimization.
“Hexcel’s composite materials have been used in Airbus Helicopters’ programs for many years and we are honored to be continuing our long term relationship, based on innovation and continuous improvement” commented Thierry Merlot, Hexcel President Aerospace EMEA-AP. “We thank Airbus Helicopters for their selection and look forward to our ongoing supply of high performance, weight saving composites materials for this innovative rotorcraft”.
H160 configurations in development include offshore transportation, business and private aviation, emergency medical services, public services, and commercial passenger transport. The helicopter is planned to enter into service in 2019.

In partnership with IPSOS, GINETEX presents the outcomes of its European barometer: "Europeans and textile care labeling" 70% of Europeans follow the textile care instructions featured on the labels and 80% admit that they would not (or would rarely) buy clothes without any labels, While another 84% feel concerned by water and energy savings . GINETEX, the international Association for Textile Care Labeling, called upon the French market research company IPSOS, to evaluate the behavior of European Consumers with regards to textile product labels and care symbols. This study, carried out in December 2016, combines the results of six different countries, gathered from a sample of 6,000 people in Germany, England, France, Italy, the Czech Republic and Sweden.
This IPSOS study reveals that 70% of Europeans follow the textile care instructions represented by the symbols. At a pan-European level, 57% even admit that they follow them 'often' and 13% do so 'always'. These figures illustrate the importance of care instructions in the minds of European consumers.
- 38% state that they follow these instructions in order to avoid washing problems such as shrinking, in the first place
- 31% follow them in order to preserve their clothes and keep them longer, as a second reason Overall, Europeans consider labels as too cumbersome and 62% admit cutting them out: for 74% of them, the labels itch and irritate their skin and for another 55%, they are often too long and uncomfortable. These results can differ from one European country to another.
However, the presence of the label is a real purchasing criterion since 80% of Europeans state that they would never or rarely buy a piece of clothing without a label.