From the Sector

Carbios and L’Oréal have won the “Pioneer Awards” in the Industry category, presented by the Solar Impulse Foundation at the first World Alliance Summit. This prize was awarded to Carbios for its enzymatic PET recycling solution, labeled “Efficient Solution” by the Solar Impulse Foundation since 2019, and to L’Oréal for using this technology for the first time in a cosmetics bottle prototype. Carbios’ solution offers brands an alternative to petro-sourced plastic that helps them meet their sustainability commitments. This advancement paves the way for future applications in other sectors such as packaging, food and beverage, and textiles.

Carbios and L’Oréal: a long-term collaboration
Since 2017, Carbios and L’Oréal have been working together with a shared vision of accelerating the transition to a circular economy for plastic. In 2017, both companies created a Consortium to improve the recyclability and circularity of PET packaging.  Nestlé Waters, PepsiCo and Suntory Beverage & Food Europe joined this Consortium in 2019 to scale up Carbios’ innovation. The world’s first enzymatically recycled PET packaging was made in 2021 using Carbios’ biorecycling process. The world’s first PET biorecycling plant is scheduled to be commissioned in 2025. In parallel, Carbios is rolling out its technology internationally through licensing agreements.

The environmental benefits of biorecycling developed by Carbios
Recent life-cycle analyses^[1] show a 57% reduction in CO₂ emissions compared with the production of virgin plastic^[2], and for every tonne of recycled PET produced, 1.3 tonnes of petrol are avoided. Compared with conventional recycling, enzymatic recycling is 4 times more circular (calculated according to the Ellen MacArthur Foundation’s Material Circularity Indicator). Thanks to its highly selective enzyme, optimized for efficient PET degradation, Carbios’ depolymerization process can process all types of PET waste, including colored, multilayer or textile waste that cannot be recycled using current technologies. Furthermore, the two monomers produced (PTA and MEG) make it possible to recreate recycled PET products of identical quality to virgin ones, and suitable for food contact.
 
 
^[1] Database ecoinvent 3.8
^[2] French scenario, taking into account the detour of 50% of PET waste from conventional end-of-life. Virgin PET: 2.53 kg CO₂/kg (cradle to gate)

Mahlo GmbH + Co. KG will present its systems and solutions for efficient and high-quality textile production and finishing together with Shanghai Kuantex at ITMA Asia (November 19 and 23). The focus will be on the machine manufacturer's new straightening concept, the Orthopac RXVMC.

"In the new straightening concept, special attention was paid to the straightening mechanics and their interaction with the analysis electronics of the probe system," explains Sales Manager Thomas Höpfl. The control concept is also new. A probe group at the leveler infeed detects distortions even before they reach the correction rolls. In this way, the rolls are brought directly into position and the fabric is corrected from the very first centimeter. A scanner group at the outfeed also detects possible residual distortion, which is corrected at the second straightening module. This enables an even more precise and faster response when it comes to reacting to rapidly changing distortions. The Orthopac RXVMC therefore shows its full strength when straightening knitwear and fabrics sensitive to distortion.

Also contributing to high-quality textile production and finishing is the Famacont PMC for controlling weft and stitch course density, which will also be on show at ITMA Asia. The Famacont PMC-15 uses a sensor to measure the yarn or stitch density and compares it with the target value stored in the recipe data management system. The detected deviation of the yarn density from the target value is used to fully automatically regulate the leading during the needling process on the stenter frame. Interested parties can have the mode of operation explained to them at the Mahlo booth with the help of a demo tower and their own or provided fabric samples.

Another major topic remains Industry 4.0, because the best measured data is of no use if it cannot be utilized. Mahlo has continuously developed its digital environment mSmart. "Our systems generate data that the customer can use immediately to regulate goods on-line. At the same time, all measured values are backed up in our data management system mLog enhanced and can be retrieved at any time. With this historical data, processes can be optimized and weak points in the process can be minimized," explains Sales Manager Thomas Höpfl.

Trumpler has teamed up with Archroma to offer a leather production process that can be used to produce high-performance leather in a more eco-friendly and cost-efficient way.

The new process DyTan®combines offers an alternative to existing metal-free and chrome-tanned leather. It enables the reliable production of leather with great shavability, color depth and migration and abrasion resistance. Free from metal salts and reactive aldehydes, DyTan® is suitable for a wide range of leather applications, from garment and footwear to automotive and furniture upholstery, for today’s eco-conscious leather producers and consumers.

At the core of the DyTan® process is Archroma’s patented AVICUERO® System, which is based on novel molecules that enable more sustainable leather tanning and dyeing, developed by Archroma in cooperation with leather technology consultant Dr Leather. It enables collagen fibers in the leather to be covalently cross-linked through a simplified process at low temperatures. As a result, the system shows strong potential to save energy and water, while also reducing process time and CO₂ emissions by up to 23%.*

The DyTan® process combines the AVICUERO® System with Trumpler’s bio-based fatliquors and retanning agents based on functional biopolymers produced from hydrolyzed shavings – resource-saving technology that Trumpler has been refining for 15 years.

As a global partner of Archroma, the Trumpler Group is responsible for the distribution of the AVICUERO® System worldwide. Delivering technical support and first-class customer care, Trumpler will help leather manufacturers and brands to implement sustainable tanning and draw on its comprehensive product portfolio and process knowledge of tanning, retanning and fatliquoring processes.
 

* Estimations carried out with the Archroma ONE WAY Impact Calculator show energy savings of up to 25% and reduced process time leading to a reduction in CO₂ emissions of up to 23%, compared to traditional chrome tanning. They also show significant water savings compared to other metal-free tanning systems¹. With the ONE WAY Impact Calculator, customers will be offered personalized calculations for their specific processes.

¹ Trials made at Trumpler GmbH application lab.

In its latest evaluation, adidas ranked the suppliers of chemical products and auxiliaries used in the manufacture of its products. With 98 % ZDHC Level 3 auxiliaries and colorants in its portfolio CHT is supplier of choice in this ranking. On the one hand, this pays off the innovative strength of CHT's research and development, and on the other hand, it shows that CHT is the preferred partner for the sustainable chemical treatment of certifiable brand products.

CHT invests in sustainable textile value chains
In 2022, the CHT Group generated 77 % of its total sales with sustainably classified products. The company's own research and development is working ceaselessly to make the entire textile value chain more sustainable.
Customers from the manufacturing textile industry benefit from CHT’s know-how and technical expertise in machine application.

CHT and textile standards
In this regard, CHT has already been active as a ZDHC Contributor since 2019 with a comprehensive range of more than 2200 certified products. Of these, 70 % are textile auxiliaries and 30 % are dyes in the portfolio that are certified to Level 3 ZDHC, bluesign® or C2C standards.
CHT supports its customers and business partners and invests in compliance and regulatory measures. Especially in the textile sector, the group of companies cooperates with all renowned standards and labels. Among others bluesign®, C2C or GOTS. Especially in the context of the ZDHC program, CHT is one of the global leaders. More than 2200 products certified by CHT currently reach LEVEL 3, the highest possible level for safe textile chemistry. It is particularly noteworthy that this includes textile auxiliaries (70 %) as well as dyes and pigments (30 %).

CHT Group is involved in several ZDHC task teams and is also a member of the ZDHC internal Chemical Industry Advisory Group (CIAG).

Adient, a leader in automotive seating, has presented its latest innovations at the IAA 2023.
 
The current automotive business landscape is marked by shifting industry dynamics, showcasing a strong desire for mobility, with an emphasis on digitalization, cost, and sustainable products. In line with this, Adient’s overall approach is characterized by responding to the need for more sustainable material use, while taking advantage of the potential that sustainable practices hold for streamlining processes.

Responding to the need for overall cost and complexity reduction in manufacturing, the Pure Essential seat is especially lightweight. Environmentally-conscious practices such as material separation and recycling, and design for disassembly are embedded into the manufacturing process from the development stage. The visionary seat consists of two materials only – green steel and recyclable polyester (PET).
 
New customer needs in terms of premium comfort are met with the Autonomous Elegance seat, specifically developed to fit Advanced Driver Assistance Systems (ADAS). State-of-the-art findings on ergonomics and human body kinematics have been incorporated following extensive occupant research. They are complemented by advanced comfort assets such as noise cancellation and advanced climate functions. “Our seat demonstrators provide solutions to our customers’ main concerns, and we are looking forward to continuing the strategic product dialogue with them, based on our new demonstrators” highlights David Herberg, Vice President Engineering Adient EMEA. Most features of the seat can already be offered for sourcing, such as the metal structure and seat kinematics (adjustment functions and mechanisms).

Considering optimized use of space as well as sustainability aspects, the automotive supplier has also given its Smart Efficiency seat an update: the seat features a slimmer appearance than its predecessor without compromising on comfort. This design does not only help save space, but also paves the way for new mobility concepts based on battery packaging in electric vehicles.
 
The showcased products will be available for demonstration in customer roadshows as of December 2023.

The new Orthopac RXVMC-20 automatic straightening system for forward control of knitwear with strong distortions can remove distortions in textile webs even faster and more precisely.

"With the new straightening concept, special attention was paid to the straightening mechanics and their interaction with the analysis electronics of the scanner system," explains Head of Sales Thomas Höpfl. Two individually controlled and driven straightening modules with a total of four bow and three skew rollers ensure that the correction of bow and skew distortions takes place in small steps. The control concept is also new. A scanner group at the infeed of the straightening machine detects distortions even before they reach the correction rollers. This way, the rollers are brought directly into position and the fabric is corrected from the very first centimetre. A scanner group at the outlet also detects possible residual distortion, which is corrected at the second straightening module. This enables an even more precise and faster response when it comes to reacting to rapidly changing distortions.

The Orthopac RXVMC therefore shows its full strength when straightening knitwear and distortion-sensitive fabrics. Knitted fabrics are special in terms of distortion dynamics. It is difficult for operators when changing the fabric rolls to join the relatively short fabric webs with weft and loop-straight seams. Before and after unavoidable insufficient seams, the distortion (e.g. right before to left before) changes abruptly. Conventionally, the distortion change is only detected by scanning at the output of the straightener.
 
The RXVMC concept enables a shortened reaction time to jumping distortion, (especially in the case of seams) due to the improved scanning concept with scanning at the outlet and inlet. This reduces knitted fabric outside the straightening tolerance up to 50 percent after each seam. Fewer fabric pieces have to be reprocessed. It guarantees higher quality goods and thus less waste.

ISKO provided their latest innovation in material science to British designers, Priya Ahluwalia, Masha Popova, Chet Lo and Aaron Esh, for the London Fashion Week SS24 season.

Alongside supplying their latest denim fabrics, ISKO opened its doors to its London-based product development centre, Creative Room London, for finishing and washing of their final designs as well providing expertise and knowledge in denim design and construction.

Priya Ahluwalia
For Ahluwalia’s Spring Summer 24 collection, entitled Acknowledgements, Creative Director and founder Priya Ahluwalia’s research led her on a journey of creative rediscovery.
ISKO’s Ctrl+Z fabric, which is made entirely from recycled and regenerated fibres, was used to create the flower motif denim showcase within 3 looks across jeans and jackets. This development contains no virgin cotton and uses a minimum of 60% recycled materials and the remainder is regenerated cellulose fibres while still giving a look and feel identical to traditional denim and speaks to Ahluwalia’s ongoing commitment to sustainable design and business practices.

Chet Lo
This season, Chet Lo took an active stand in reclaiming the power lost during his youth, healing the childhood wounds inflicted by a society that sidelined differences instead of celebrating them.
ISKO’s Ctrl+Z fabric and specialist lasering techniques from ISKO’s Creative Room was used across three looks featuring signature Chet Lo erotic laser prints across denim bottoms.

Aaron Esh
The SS24 season marked the brand’s debut at London Fashion Week, a homecoming of sorts for Esh, who was born and raised in the heart of the British capital, studied at Central Saint Martins and became a finalist at the LVMH Prize earlier this year. The early impulses of Aaron Esh remain steadfast: clothes that combine establishment rigour with the rebellious spirit of youth culture, devotedly crafted for a generation who feels somewhere in-between.
Aaron created bootleg denim ripped jeans made entirely from ISKO Denim using R-TWO50 fabric, which comprises a minimum of 50% pre and post-consumer recycled content. The designer noted the addition of denim accompanied by leathers add a new level of depth to their latest collection.

Masha Popova
Masha Popova’s sophomore catwalk outing, MONSTER was a “seasonless” offering that combines Autumn Winter 2023 and Spring Summer 2024.
Masha continued her obsession with denim manipulation, using various finishings including over-dyeing, flocking, patchwork, scratching and fraying in a variety of colours from vibrant green to silver across jeans, tops and jackets, all developed with the help of ISKO’s Creative Room, London.

Lectra, a leader in technology solutions for the fashion, automotive and furniture industries, announces the appointment of Frédéric Morel as President of the Asia-Pacific region and as a member of the Group's Executive Committee, where he replaces Edward Wang, who previously held the same position. This nomination comes as Lectra prepares to present its latest software and connected equipment offers at the CISMA (China International Sewing Machinery and Accessories) trade show in Shanghai, China, to enable Asian industry players to accelerate their transition to Industry 4.0.

Lectra's presence in the Asia-Pacific region began in 1985 with the opening of its first office in Japan. Today, Lectra employs 16% of its workforce in the region, which accounted for 25% of the Group's revenues in 2022. Thanks to its dynamism, economic fabric and position in world trade, China is a key market in this region, generating 9% of Lectra’s revenues in 2022.

Prior to joining Lectra, Frédéric Morel held the position of South East Asia & Pacific Executive Vice President at Vallourec. He had previously been appointed Sales Director and then Sales Vice President for Vallourec in the Middle East, after holding various sales and general management positions for the company in the Asia region. A graduate of the Institut d'Etudes Politiques d'Aix-en-Provence and the EMLYON business school, Frédéric Morel began his career in 2000 with Saint-Gobain.

On 5th September 2023, the Amsterdam: Best of Bangladesh Europe’ started in the venue of Wastergas in Amsterdam. The 2-day nation branding event was organized by Bangladesh Apparel Exchange (BAE), with support from the Embassy of Bangladesh, Ministry of Commerce, Export Promotion Bureau (EPB) of Bangladesh and in association with PDS.

Tipu Munshi, MP, Commerce Minister, Government of the People’s Republic of Bangladesh; Michiel Sweers, Vice Minister of Foreign Economic Relations, Kingdom of the Netherlands; Shahriar Alam, MP, State Minister for Foreign Affairs, Government of the People’s Republic of Bangladesh; Md Siddiqur Rahman,  Former president of BGMEA; M Riaz Hamidullah, Ambassador of Bangladesh to the Netherlands; Leslie Johnston, Chief Executive Officer, Laudes Foundation; Pallak Seth, Founder & Vice Chairman, PDS Limited; and Mostafiz Uddin, Founder & CEO, Bangladesh Apparel Exchange; attended the inaugural ceremony of the ‘Best of Bangladesh’.

Three MoU were signed in the inaugural for the development of the industries of Bangladesh.
The 1st MoU was signed between Bangladesh Apparel Exchange and Eindhoven International Project Office (EIPO). The 2nd MoU was signed between Bangladesh Apparel Exchange and Apparel Impact Institution. The 3rd MoU was signed between Bangladesh Apparel Exchange and Oxfam.
More than 35 companies from various fields, including apparel, textiles, agriculture, handicrafts, and other sectors, participated in the initiative.

The event held six interactive panel sessions on the topics "Bangladesh – Perspectives from an Emerging Economy", "Sustainable Sourcing Realities: Challenges, Achievements & Next Steps”, “Empowering the Future: Advancing Safety & Well-being for Garments Workforce in Bangladesh", "Bangladesh Agro-Food: A Next Opportunity for Collaboration", "Impact Investing - The Next Frontier", and “Sustainable Synergy: Circular Economy, Climate Action & Bangladesh’s Future".

A Bangladesh Innovation Runway was presented by Pacific Jeans at the event. The Bangladesh Innovation Runway showcased the ability of the country in producing high end, sustainable and innovative apparel products.

SHIMA SEIKI MFG., LTD. of Wakayama, Japan, together with its Korean subsidiary SHIMA SEIKI KOREA INC., will participate in the Preview in SEOUL exhibition in Seoul, Republic of Korea this month (23rd - 25th of August 2023).

SHIMA SEIKI will show its SWG061N2 compact WHOLEGARMENT® knitting machine which can produce a wide range of WHOLEGARMENT® items in their entirety without the need for linking or sewing. The SWG-N2 series “Mini” range is suited to the production of small knit items and accessories such as gloves, socks, hats and scarves as well as cozies, shoe uppers, bags, card cases, glasses cases, smartphone covers and other personal items. The N.SVR093SP is a conventional shaped knitting machine featuring a loop presser bed that yields novel fabrics with special inlay patterns that are produced by inserting yarn into knit fabric in a weave fashion, offering new and exciting possibilities in hybrid knit-weave textiles. Both machines will be shown knitting such items as bags and sporting goods to demonstrate the capability of current knitting technology for producing non-apparel items.

SDS®-ONE APEX design system and APEXFiz® subscription-based design software will also be on display. Both support the creative side of fashion from planning and design to colorway evaluation, realistic fabric simulation and 3D virtual sampling. Virtual samples are a digitized version of sample making that are accurate enough to be used effectively as prototypes, replacing physical sampling and consequently reducing time, cost and material that otherwise go to waste. Virtual samples can furthermore be used in e-commerce to gauge consumer demand before production begins. Feeding that information back to production and combined with on-demand WHOLEGARMENT® knitting technology, production can be adjusted to optimize inventory and minimize leftover waste. APEXFiz® thereby helps to realize sustainability and digitally transform the fashion supply chain.