From the Sector

• There is an urban legend that hemp canvas was used to make the very first pair of Levi’s jeans.
• While this is a myth that originated in the counterculture of the 1960s, hemp is without doubt the fibre of the moment for the denim industry.

At the second Kingpins24 virtual denim show that was broadcast from New York on June 23rd and 24th, the sustainable benefits of hemp fibre were referenced by many Monforts customers who are now including it in their collections, including AGI Denim, Artistic Milliners, Black Peony, Calik, Cone Denim, Naveena Denim Mills (NDM) and Orta.

“Hemp is an easy to grow fibre which requires no irrigation, no fertilizers, no herbicides and no chemicals,” says Allan Little, Director of Product Development for Cone Denim, which has recently launched its Sweet Leaf collection featuring the fibre. “Significantly, it also uses fifty per cent or even less water than cotton in cultivation.”

It can also bring some new aesthetics to denim too, he adds.

“Hemp has a unique colour and adds a different cast to our indigo, the drape and texture of the fabrics is different and it even adds  a bit of a unique hand, so combined with its sustainable credentials we are proud to be bringing the Sweet Leaf collection to the market.”

US supply chain

Cone is currently sourcing its hemp from France, but with much of its manufacturing now in Mexico – and with the introduction of the US Farm Bill in 2018 which has legalised the growing of legal hemp – is exploring the possibility of investing in the US supply chain.

“With US hemp we’re really at the R&D phase,” Little emphasises. “It’s a unique crop, so coming up with the right stalk to provide the right fibre is challenging. We’ve experimented with different types of seed and various methods of decortication.”

Decortication, he explains, is the mechanical removal of the outside layer of the hemp stalk to useable fibre on the inside. A second process, cottonization, is necessary to make the fibre suitable for spinning, because compared to cotton, hemp is longer, stiffer, and less flexible.

100% success

At the end of 2019, Naveena (NDM), headquartered in Karachi, introduced fabrics featuring up to 51% hemp content in blends with Tencel and recycled polyester and this year has developed the first 100% hemp denims.

“The response to the fabrics we showed last year was incredible and we were looking forward to the response to this latest development – which everyone was asking for – at the Kingpins show in Amsterdam, which unfortunately was unable to go ahead,” says NDM’s Director of Marketing Rashid Iqbal. “We produced initial samples in an undyed state because we were not sure how the wet spun yarn would react in the dyeing, but I’m happy to say we have had success in this respect and are now able to provide one hundred per cent indigo dyed hemp denim.”

Environmental benefits

“Differentiation is the key in the highly-competitive denim industry and we have assisted our customers with trials and optimised processing parameters for a range of different fibres, including hemp, both at our Advanced Technology Centre in Germany and at their own mills around the world,” says Hans Wroblowski, Monforts Head of Denim. “Given the environmental benefits of hemp, and the liberalisation of its cultivation in many parts of the world, the interest in it now comes as no surprise. We have the technologies and know-how to help our customers to fully maximise their hemp denims at all post-weaving stages of production.”

Monforts has a dominant position in the field of denim finishing with its well proven Montex stenters. It has been enjoying further recent success with its Eco Line concept based on two key technology advances – the Eco Applicator and the Thermo Stretch.

The latest Monforts innovation for denim is the CYD yarn dyeing system. This technology is based on the effective and established dyeing process for denim fabrics that is now being applied for yarn dyeing.

The CYD system also integrates new functions and processes into the weaving preparation processes – spinning, direct beaming, warping and assembly beaming, followed by sizing and dyeing – to increase quality, flexibility, economic viability and productivity. A full CYD line is now available for trials at the company’s Advanced Technology Centre.

Der Bundesverband Medizintechnologie (BVMed) hat der Bundesregierung und der Europäischen Kommission im Rahmen der deutschen EU-Ratspräsidentschaft eine enge Zusammenarbeit beim Aufbau einer europaweiten strategischen Reserve für Medizinprodukte angeboten.

"Wir stehen für smarte Lösungen bereit. Wir können die Herausforderung durch die intelligente Nutzung bestehender Lagerkapazitäten mit einem rotierenden System meistern", so BVMed-Geschäftsführer Dr. Marc-Pierre Möll. Die vorhandenen Lagerkapazitäten unter anderem der Hersteller könnten online vernetzt und intelligent gesteuert werden. "Das System ist kostengünstig, schnell umsetzbar und für den Katastrophenschutz sehr effizient." Zudem spricht sich der BVMed für einen "europäischen Pandemieplan" aus, um innerhalb Europas eine erneute Schließung der Grenzen zu verhindern.

Hintergrund der BVMed-Initiative ist, dass in der Sitzung des Koalitionsausschusses vom 3. Juni 2020, in der Besprechung der Bundeskanzlerin mit den Ländern am 17. Juni 2020 und auch auf europäischer Ebene das Thema Aufbau einer strategischen Reserve von persönlicher Schutzausrüstung und Medizinprodukten für die Intensivmedizin auf der Tagesordnung steht.

Aus Sicht des deutschen MedTech-Verbandes hat die COVID-19-Krise gezeigt, dass Deutschland und die EU Gefahr laufen, sich abhängig zu machen, wenn sich die Produktion wichtiger Güter des medizinischen Bedarfs auf nur wenige außereuropäische Länder konzentriert. "Um dies anzugehen, muss die EU zunächst zusammen mit den Herstellern etwaige Schwachstellen in den Lieferketten untersuchen. Um zukünftige Engpässe zu vermeiden, sollte die EU zudem ihren Vorrat an medizinischer Ausrüstung erweitern und den Mitgliedsstaaten zur Verfügung stellen, die ihn benötigen", so Möll. Der BVMed-Vorschlag: Eine europäische strategische Reserve von Medizinprodukten kann durch eine intelligente Nutzung und eine Onlinesteuerung der bestehenden Lagerkapazitäten aufgebaut werden. "Probleme mit der Haltbarkeit der Produkte gibt es dann nicht, weil die Lager regelmäßig umgeschlagen werden", so der BVMed.

Während der Corona-Pandemie kam es zudem zu zahlreichen Lieferengpässen bei Rohstoffen, die für die Herstellung vieler Medizinprodukte und Arzneimittel zwingend erforderlich sind. Ein Aufbau einer strategischen Rohstoff-Reserve durch Medizinprodukte- und Arzneimittelhersteller für mehrere Monate bedeute aus BVMed-Sicht einen vergleichsweise geringen Aufwand und überschaubare Lagerkosten. Für die einmaligen Zusatzkosten, die durch den initialen Aufbau der Reserven entstehen, könnte ein Ausgleichsmechanismus gefunden werden.

Erforderlich hält der BVMed auch die Bereithaltung eines intensivmedizinischen Produktportfolios für mehrere Monate. "Von staatlicher Seite muss in Abstimmung mit medizinischen Fachgesellschaften und den Herstellern ein intensivmedizinisches Produktportfolio definiert und für einen zu bestimmenden Zeitraum bereitgehalten werden, das über persönliche Schutzausrüstung hinausgeht", fordert der BVMed. Dabei könnte in Verträgen zwischen Bund und Herstellern vereinbart werden, vorab definierte Produkte und Mengen für eine bestimmte Reichweite dauerhaft im Bestand der jeweiligen Hersteller vorzuhalten.

BVMed-Geschäftsführer Dr. Marc-Pierre Möll: "Die Unternehmen verfügen über Kompetenz und etablierte Logistikprozesse, um Gesundheitseinrichtungen kontinuierlich und zuverlässig mit benötigten Medizinprodukten und Arzneimitteln zu beliefern. Darüber hinaus findet damit nach dem Prinzip first-in-first-out eine nachhaltige und ressourcenschonende Umwälzung der Bestände statt, ohne dass eine Vernichtung nach Ablauf von Verfallsdaten bei einigen Produkten notwendig würde."

On June 22, the VDMA starts a series of Textile Machinery Webtalks. In the first edition experts from the companies Oerlikon Manmade Fibers, Mahlo and Nanoval will present technologies for the production of melt-blown nonwovens for respiratory protection masks (FFP masks and surgical masks). After the presentations, the experts will be available to answer the participants' questions. The webtalk will run from 2 – 4 pm (German time). Participation is free of charge. Interested persons can register here. 

Further technology webtalks on other topics are in preparation. Please check 
www.machines-for-textiles.com/webtalk for updates.
 

Reinach, Switzerland - Archroma, a global leader in color and specialty chemicals towards sustainable solutions, today announced a new collaboration with Esprit, the global fashion clothing brand, who selected the EarthColors® range for its ‘I AM SUSTAINABLE’ capsule collection.

Esprit was founded in California by couple Susie and Doug Tompkins in 1968, and is now headquartered in Germany and Hong Kong, with a presence in 40 countries around the globe. Esprit creates laid-back, high-quality essentials that reflect its core values of sustainability, equality and freedom of choice. The brand developed its first eco-conscious collection made of 100% organic cotton, back in the early 90’s.

Archroma’s EarthColors® range came to public attention for being the Gold Winner of the OutDoor Industry Award 2017, Sustainable Innovations category. The range is regularly featured by brands such as Kathmandu, G-Star and Ternua, who are willing to explore truly innovative and authentic color options for more eco-conscious casual wear collections. Archroma’s EarthColors® is a line of patented plant-based dyes, sourced from up to 100 percent renewable resources. Archroma developed EarthColors® using non-edible waste products, from agriculture and herbal industries, to replace petroleum derived raw materials; which are the conventional raw materials used to synthesize dyes currently. This gives brands an alternative when looking for more natural ways of dyeing garments.

The colors available in the capsule collection created by Esprit: mauve, beige, blue, khaki, pink and blush hues, are made from the non-edible parts of nutshells, almond shells, rosemary, saw palmetto, bitter orange and beetroot, left over from agriculture industry or herbal extraction.

The brand is working on future fall/winter and spring/summer collections with more exciting articles to discover for nature-inspired consumers.

“Colors traditionally made with plants come with some limitations in terms of color reproducibility, fastness and they require huge amounts of plants to produce the quantities needed at industrial scale”, comments Kristina Seidler-Lynders, Manager Social & Environmental Sustainability at Esprit. “So when Archroma presented us their EarthColors®, we were excited to have found a technology that would allow us to explore authentic colors synthesized from plants rather than petroleum.”

“The whole team at Esprit really embraced the possibilities of EarthColors®”, says Dion Cragg, Brand Solutions Europe, Brand & Performance Textile Specialties at Archroma. “They truly pushed the boundaries in adopting the concept across every possible article, from t-shirts and scarves to canvas sandals and bags. The end result simply looks amazing, and we are so incredibly proud to be able to support such creativity with our nature-based innovation - because it’s our nature!”

• Die neuesten Living-Trends für 2020+

COVID-19 hat viel verändert und wird es weiterhin tun – auch und vor allem zu Hause. Hier brauchen Menschen ein gutes Setting. Die neuesten Living-Trends hat das Forschungsinstitut Marketmedia24, Köln, in Kooperation mit der Trendagentur Gabriela Kaiser, Landsberg am Lech, für das neue „Home Look Book 2020+“ analysiert. Bereist wurden 11 internationale Fachmessen sowie die Mailänder Showrooms.

Das „Home Look Book 2020+“ zeigt in 175 Bildinspirationen eine „Home-Tour“ durch alle Räume: aktuelle und künftige Wohntrends aus den Bereichen „Möbel und Beleuchtung“, „Boden und Wände“, „Heimtextilien“ sowie „Homeaccessoires“. Weiter widmet sich das Buch dem Trendthema „umweltfreundlich + nachhaltig“ mit zahlreichen Bildmaterialien und Expertenstatements.

„Was das Sichten von Trends betraf, so hatten wir Glück im Unglück. Wir konnten im Januar und Februar 2020 die Heimtextil, die imm cologne und die Ambiente noch physisch erleben. Der Salone Internazionale del Mobile 2020 fand zwar schon nicht mehr statt. Aber wir haben den umfangreichen Live-Input der letzten stattgefundenen internationalen Living-Messen ebenso auf dem Tisch wie aktuelle Trend-Mailings aus Italien“, so Gabriela Kaiser.

„Der größte Lifestyle-Trend passiert sowieso gerade jetzt, in diesem Moment. Das Leben hat sich etwas verlangsamt und wird in einigen Facetten natürlicher. Wie sehr dieser Lebensstil bereits vor COVID-19 in der Luft lag, zeigt unser neues „Home Look Book 2020+“ auf verblüffende Weise“, erläutert Sonja Koschel, Geschäftsführerin von Marketmedia24. Überall Grün, Holz, Gewürztöne, Blatt-, Blumen- und Waldmuster, robuste Materialien, Handwerk, Flechtwerk, klassische, historische, optisch langlebige Formen und Möbel sowie viele schöne und hochwertige Objekte, die ganz bewusst zelebriert werden.

Das „Home Look Book 2020+“ ist in gebundener Version zum Preis von 1.750,00 Euro zzgl. MwSt. erhältlich.

Shanghai – Sateri has unveiled FinexTM as its new product brand for recycled fibre. FinexTM, short for ‘Fibre Next’, is an innovative next-generation cellulosic fibre containing recycled content. Internationally known outdoor brand Lafuma has produced FinexTM apparel ahead of 618, China’s major mid-year online shopping festival, while independent China designer Rico Lee will launch his FinexTM apparel next month.

Since its announcement in March this year of a breakthrough in commercial production of viscose using recycled textile waste, Sateri has worked closely with its downstream yarn and garment manufacturing partners to bring the recycled fibre product to the consumer market.

“We’re pleased to collaborate with Sateri as one of their first brand partners for FinexTM. Sateri’s dedication to this partnership made it possible for Lafuma to produce T-shirts with this fine quality fibre in a short time. T-shirts made with FinexTM will be among the offerings Lafuma has in store for the 618 festival as we look to support environmentally-friendly and excellent performance solutions to strengthen our position as a leading outdoor apparel brand,” said Wu Qian, General Manager of Lafuma China.

Echoing similar sentiments is Rico Lee who established his own independent label in 2014, “I jumped at the opportunity to collaborate with Sateri when they approached me because FinexTM encapsulates what my brand stands for – Beautiful Technology that combines function and fashion.”

Tom Liu, Sateri’s Commercial Vice President said, “Like our flagship brand EcoCosy®, FinexTM is made from bio-based natural fibres. Innovation and technology has made cellulosic textile fibre recycling possible and FinexTM represents how nature not only renews itself but that products made from nature can also be regenerated. This, at its heart, is what circular fashion looks like. Our brand promise to customers remains constant– Sateri’s products are sustainable, high quality, efficient, and cost-effective. The FinexTM tagline ‘Together For A Better Next’ expresses our aspiration to be the partner of choice for next-generation fibre - we thank Lafuma and Rico Lee for pioneering with us on this quest.”

Last month, Sateri announced its entry into China’s Lyocell fibre market. The recent string of product portfolio expansion announcements is underpinned by Sateri’s business strategy to capture value. Allen Zhang, President of Sateri said, “Being the world’s largest viscose producer gives us the advantages that come with volume, but value is what we hope differentiates us. By this, we don’t only mean higher value products like Lyocell or FinexTM but also the value we bring to communities, country, climate and customers.”

Globally, less than 1% of material used to produce clothing is recycled into new clothing. This presents a big opportunity for textile fibre recycling, particularly in China which is the largest textile producing country in the world. Last month, Sateri became a council member of the China Association of Circular Economy (CACE). The company will work closely with CACE’s Textile Waste Comprehensive Utilisation Committee to establish standards and promote industrial-scale textile waste recycling. Sateri is part of the Singapore-based RGE group of companies which has committed USD200 million into next-generation textile fibre innovation and technology.

• Digital processes also speed up the manufacture of meltblown systems

in order to further optimize the material provision for the Oerlikon Neumag and Oerlikon Nonwoven business units and to strengthen internal processes at the German site in Neumünster, the Manmade Fibers segment of the Swiss Oerlikon Group decided last year to invest in a state-of-the-art logistics center with a new lift center. It has already been fully operational for a few weeks. This is tremendously helpful for speeding up the processing of the numerous orders for meltblown systems for manufacturing high-quality nonwovens for protective masks and apparel that Oerlikon Nonwoven has received over the past months alone

Investing in a new Oerlikon Neumag and Oerlikon Nonwoven logistics center is paying dividends: the processing speed when manufacturing new systems – very much to the benefit of customers – considerably improved in the first week after the center started operating, not least as a result of the optimized processes and the material handling. After 25 years, the time had finally come to break new ground and to better equip ourselves for the future requirements of the markets. The paternoster storage facility to date not only needed to have regular repairs carried out due to its age, it was also too small for the projects increasingly being carried out today. The only 90 m² were capable of storing around 12,000 parts. In contrast, the new logistics center now offers more than 250 m² of storage space for in excess of 25,000 parts. As a result, this now also houses all small parts, which used to be stored in the high-rack facility due to lack of space.

New hardware, new software
Coinciding with the opening of the new logistics center, Oerlikon also introduced new digital processes that will also help cope with the increasing production volumes. To this end, consistently maintained master data and photos for all parts ensure safe, paper-free storage and handling of the material from now on. In order to minimize mistakes, a laser pointer now indicates from which or to which space the goods are moved. Furthermore, a photo of the material, sorted to type, is displayed on the screen. The digitalization of the warehousing facilities secures the pick and put-away process so that checking material numbers becomes superfluous when removing items from the warehouse.

• Producing fabric for medical gowns: Advanced barrier effect solutions support COVID-19 efforts

Huntsman Textile Effects and Bao Minh Textile, one of the largest and most modern woven fabric producers in Vietnam, are collaborating to produce fabric that meets the stringent performance standards required of isolation gowns. High-quality medical gowns are essential protective wear for healthcare workers combatting the global COVID-19 pandemic, but these are in short supply worldwide.

Bao Minh Textile will initially treat 760,000 meters of woven fabric with a carefully curated combination of Huntsman Textile Effects barrier effect solutions and auxiliaries. This fabric is sufficient to produce 345,000 high-grade isolation gowns.

Bao Minh Textile’s isolation gown fabric relies on a range of Huntsman pretreatment, dyeing and finishing solutions. These include CLARITE® ONE, an all-in-one pretreatment for peroxide bleaching; NOVACRON® and TERASIL® dyes; PHOBOL® CP-C, an excellent oil-, water- and stain-repellent finish; and PHOBOTEX® RSY, a non-fluorinated durable water repellent with extremely high washing resistance. PHOBOL® EXTENDER XAN is also applied to further increase wash durability.

In these difficult times of the worldwide COVID-19 crisis, flexible reactions and fast decisions can be of imminent importance, particularly in the fragmented composite industry with its back-bone of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs).

In response, the Industrial and Business Consulting company AMAC under the lead of Dr. Michael Effing has signed today a cooperation agreement with Alpha Executive Advisory to jointly offer advisory services in Business Coaching, Acquisitions & Divestitures as well as Business Transformation and Crisis Management, also ad interim.

In detail, this cooperation is to identify the right fit in terms of capabilities and financial strength for companies looking for expansion or divestiture, to deliver support to innovative young start-up firms in order to faster penetrate the market and to smoothen the transition to the next owner in interim management or to make the next appropriate strategic step.

Protective masks for Europe
With FleeceforEurope and Lindenpartner, Düsseldorf-based Kloepfel Group purchasing consultancy and Berlin-based industrial consultancy Bechinger & Heymann Holding plan to manufacture and distribute up to 50 million protection class FFP1 through FFP3 respiratory masks a month exclusively for the European market from the beginning of fall. And the primary focus will be on quality.
With protective masks – including those used in operating rooms – this quality is provided above all by  virus-absorbing nonwovens. And these will be manufactured by ‘FleeceforEurope’ using an Oerlikon Nonwoven meltblown system.
But masks effectively protecting against infections can only be guaranteed with the right quality. A crucial factor in this is the inside of the mask. Because the nonwoven used in protection class FFP1 through FFP3 respiratory masks plays a decisive role.
Here, the meltblown technology from Oerlikon Nonwoven will be deployed. In a special, patented process, the fibers laid into a nonwoven fabric during manufacture are subsequently electrostatically-charged, before the material is further processed downstream.

European market for protective masks with a promising future
Those responsible at Oerlikon Nonwoven and FleeceforEurope, which will primarily focus on producing high-end nonwovens, and Lindenpartner, which will manufacture and distribute the protective masks, are certain of one thing: the market for protective masks has a very promising long-term future in Europe.
What has been commonplace in Asia for many years now will also become normal in Europe. People will be increasingly wearing face masks when venturing out, in order to better protect themselves against health risks such as the current pandemic and also against increasing environmental pollution in the form of  fine particles and exhaust fumes in the future. A

Medical face masks from a vending machine
Mask producer Lindenpartner has already secured supplies of nonwovens and will be producing face masks for the European healthcare sector over the coming weeks. To fight the coronavirus pandemic, Lindenpartner is planning to install 100 self-service face mask vending machines in Germany over the next four weeks, positioning them in publicly-accessible places such as shopping centers and airports, for example.