From the Sector

In celebration of Earth Day, Global Fashion Agenda (GFA) announced the development of a new film series produced by BBC StoryWorks, the award-winning commercial content division of BBC Studios.
 
GFA launched Fashion Redressed in 2023, a series showcasing innovations that aim to advance sustainability in fashion and the inspiring stories of the changemakers behind them. Launched on BBC.com, the series spotlighted creative solutions driving social and environmental progress – from silk-inspired scientists in Helsinki to cultural appreciation in Arizona.

With over five million video views and record-breaking engagement on social media, the series resonated globally. Showcased at Global Fashion Summits in Copenhagen and Boston, it sparked vital conversations on fashion's future, blending storytelling with industry innovation.

Now, as the highly-anticipated forum for sustainability in fashion, Global Fashion Summit, approaches, a new season is set to explore an industry amid transformation, as it moves from commitments to urgent implementation and adaptation.

With education and awareness of current barriers at the core, the series will bring to screen the stories of organisations and trailblazers working to close the loop on the circular economy, drive greater social equity through collective courage or seek to redesign fashion futures with new technologies and innovations.
 
BBC StoryWorks’ creative teams will work directly with selected partners to produce vivid, human-centric pieces of branded content for the campaign, and partners will be supported by BBC StoryWorks and the Global Fashion Agenda to promote the content through a variety of platforms.

The new series will go live on a dynamic, branded microsite on BBC.com in early 2026, engaging BBC.com’s 175 million monthly browsers, further amplified by GFA channels and its network.
GFA is calling on its ecosystem to share their stories for potential inclusion in the commercial series. If your organisation has a story to share, please submit your expression of interest by filling in the short form at www.bbcstudios.com/fashionredressed by 9th May 2025.

The Lenzing Group is presenting the Lenzing Young Scientist Award at the Dornbirn Global Fiber Congress (GFC) from September 10 to 12, 2025 for bachelor, master and doctoral students who develop innovative solutions to ecological challenges in the fiber and textile industry. The deadline for applications is June 30, 2025. The best thesis by Bachelor's and Master's students will receive a prize of EUR 3,000, while the best doctoral thesis will receive EUR 5,000.

For the fourth time, the Lenzing Group honors young researchers with the Lenzing Young Scientist Award for excellent research work in the fiber and textile sector. The Dornbirn-GFC, as a platform for international exchange of experience in the field of fibers, offers an ideal stage for this research competition. Bachelor's and Master's students can submit their scientific work under the guiding theme “Unlimited inspiration from nature: Together we research sustainable innovations based on cellulose, including regenerated cellulose fibers and films, as well as cellulose composites” and face a jury of renowned experts from the industry. The aim is to support students who inspire the industry with their research results and create a platform for networking with the textile and fiber industry.

Austrian Fibers Institute as organizer of the Dornbirn GFC
For the 64th time, the Austrian Fiber Institute is organizing the Dornbirn Fiber Congress on a non-profit basis and will provide the framework for presenting the Lenzing Young Scientist Award from September 10 to 12, 2025. The Austrian Fiber Institute, based in Vienna, was founded in 1960 by fiber producers and the Austrian textile industry to promote the market launch of fibers and their products. The Fiber Institute also offers the opportunity to exchange information and experience about fibers and supports contact with educational institutions. The GFC focuses on an international exchange of experience in close coordination with the umbrella organization CIRFS in Brussels and deals with topics relevant to the future, such as fiber innovations, sustainability and the circular economy.

Applicants for the Lenzing Young Scientist Award have the opportunity to submit their work (theses, papers, etc.) in English until June 30, 2025 to the following e-mail address: YSA2025@lenzing.com. Further information can be found online at https://www.lenzing.com/young-scientist-award.

The Levi’s® brand announced a new campaign with global icon Beyoncé. Following the release of “LEVII’S JEANS” — a track from “COWBOY CARTER,” the critically acclaimed album exploring and redefining Americana — Beyoncé steps into the role of protagonist in “REIIMAGINE,” a campaign inspired by the legacy of the Levi’s® brand and the forward-thinking vision of one of the most influential figures of modern culture, reaffirming the brand’s enduring place at the center of culture.
 
Drawing inspiration from Beyoncé’s innovative approach to art, culture and storytelling, the campaign reimagines classic Levi’s® looks and films. In a series of chapters, the new campaign reinterprets several of the Levi’s® brand’s most iconic advertisements, bringing them into the modern era through the transformative vision of celebrated filmmaker Melina Matsoukas. The first film — inspired by “Launderette,” the 1985 ad that famously reignited “I Heard It Through the Grapevine” on the Billboard charts — places Beyoncé center stage and celebrates the Levi’s® brand’s heritage as a canvas for self-expression, worn by changemakers and icons alike.
 
The fully integrated campaign — which will include television, out-of-home, digital, social media, print, brand activations and exclusive products — kicked off with digital projections in key markets like San Francisco, Houston, Chicago, New York, Atlanta, Paris, London and Berlin, creating buzz and giving fans a sneak peek into the campaign to come. On September 30, high-impact out-of-home is launching around the world to inaugurate the Levi’s® and Beyoncé campaign.

The Toulouse Biotechnology Institute (TBI), a joint INSA Toulouse/ INRAE/ CNRS research unit, and Carbios, a French green chemistry company pioneering the world of bioplasturgy, presented a study entitled ”An engineered enzyme embedded into PLA to make self-biodegradable plastic”. This study reinforces Carbios and TBI's pioneering work in the field of enzymatic degradation of plastics.

The work describes the engineering strategies deployed to ensure the development of an enzyme capable of biologically depolymerizing polylactic acid (PLA)-based plastic materials over a wide temperature and pH range, reflecting the natural variations found in the life cycle of domestic compost.

It also describes the methodologies and challenges involved in obtaining homogeneous incorporation of the enzyme into PLA films at high temperatures (170°C), while retaining sufficient activity to enable the plastic produced to degrade completely and rapidly under domestic and industrial composting conditions, as well as in anaerobic digestion (methanization). It highlights the optimization process used to obtain an enzyme capable of withstanding the 170°C required to melt it into PLA by extrusion. The new enzymatic material is shown to disintegrate and biodegrade at a much faster rate than the 26 weeks required for certification for use in home composting, and also to help produce more biomethane, another source of waste recovery. It is also stated that the enzymatic material remains intact during long-term storage, and that its degradation will only be activated when transferred to composting or methanization conditions, thus guaranteeing its compatibility with PLA-based commercial applications such as flexible packaging or short-life items like food containers.

This work was mainly carried out within the INSA/Carbios PoPlaB (Polymers, Plastics and Biotechnology) cooperative laboratory at TBI and was supported by a grant for scientific research (THANAPLAST project, OSEO ISI contract number I 1206040W).

Since inventing the first fleece crafted from recycled plastic water bottles more than three decades ago, Polartec®, a Milliken & Company brand, and the creator of innovative and more sustainable textile solutions, has upheld its pledge to protect the environment.

With its new Beyond Begins Today initiative, Polartec aims to raise awareness around the important global themes of sustainability, diversity and positive change.

Polartec is engaged to make the goal of zero waste a reality – from using 100% recycled and plant-based materials, to delivering certified waste reductions and innovative technologies that reduce the impact of its activities.

Beyond Begins Today is a multifaceted campaign featuring static and multimedia content, including short films released throughout the year via multiple touchpoints and channels – the first of which will be released on Earth Day 2024 to underscore the underlying premise that the future is what we make it. Polartec’s commitment to sustainable solutions go beyond the integration of increasingly advanced manufacturing methods or the ongoing exploration of novel fibers, and continued investments in sustainable materials development.

Polartec’s promises that every product launches in 2024 will either reduce the impact on the planet, endure the test of time, or contribute to circularity processes. Beyond Begins Today looks at how Polartec fabrics are made to last, and made to be used and enjoyed from one generation to the next and beyond. It explores the innovative monomaterials, repurposed plastic and plant-based nylon membranes and fabrics that Polartec uses to set new standards for high performance materials and the ambitious climate-related objectives across the entire value chain that exceed existing mandates. This holistic strategy shall allow Polartec to stay at the forefront of its industry by producing top-notch textiles that champion environmental stewardship and pave the way for a more sustainable tomorrow.

Researchers at the ITA, the University of Bonn and Heimbach GmbH have developed a new method for removing oil spills from water surfaces in an energy-saving, cost-effective way and without the use of toxic substances. The method is made possible by a technical textile that is integrated into a floating container. A single small device can remove up to 4 liters of diesel within an hour. This corresponds to about 100 m2 of oil film on a water surface.
 
Despite the steady expansion of renewable energies, global oil production, oil consumption and the risk of oil pollution have increased steadily over the last two decades. In 2022, global oil production amounted to 4.4 billion tons! Accidents often occur during the extraction, transportation and use of oil, resulting in serious and sometimes irreversible environmental pollution and harm to humans.

There are various methods for removing this oil pollution from water surfaces. However, all methods have various shortcomings that make them difficult to use and, in particular, limit the removal of oil from inland waters.

For many technical applications, unexpected solutions come from the field of biology. Millions of years of evolution led to optimized surfaces of living organisms for their interaction with the environment. Solutions - often rather unfamiliar to materials scientists and difficult to accept. The long-time routine examination of around 20,000 different species showed that there is an almost infinite variety of structures and functionalities. Some species in particular stand out for their excellent oil adsorption properties. It was shown that, e.g., leaves of the floating fern Salvinia molesta, adsorb oil, separate it from water surfaces and transport it on their surfaces (Figure 1, see also the video of the phenomon.).

The observations inspired them to transfer the effect to technical textiles for separating oil and water. The result is a superhydrophobic spacer fabric that can be produced industrially and is therefore easily scalable.

The bio-inspired textile can be integrated into a device for oil-water separation. This entire device is called a Bionic Oil Adsorber (BOA). Figure 2: Cross-section of computer-aided (CAD) model of the Bionic Oil Adsorber. The scheme shows an oil film (red) on a water surface (light blue). In the floating cotainer(gray), the textile (orange) is fixed so that it is in contact with the oil film and the end protrudes into the container. The oil is adsorbed and transported by the BOA textile. As shown in the cross-section, it enters the contain-er, where it is released again and accumulates at the bottom of the container. See also the video regarding the oil absorption on the textile, source ITA).
 
Starting from the contamination in the form of an oil film on the water surface, the separation and collection process works according to the following steps:

• The BOA is introduced into the oil film.
• The oil is adsorbed by the textile and separated from the water at the same time.
• The oil is transported through the textile into the collection container.
• The oil drips from the textile into the collection container.
• The oil is collected until the container is emptied.

The advantage of this novel oil separation device is that no additional energy has to be applied to operate the BOA. The oil is separated from the surrounding water by the surface properties of the textile and transported through the textile driven solely by capillary forces, even against gravity. When it reaches the end of the textile in the collection container, the oil desorbs without any further external influence due to gravitational forces. With the current scale approximately 4 L of diesel can be separated from water by one device of the Bionic Oil Adsorber per hour.

• It seems unlikely that a functionalized knitted spacer textile is cheaper than a conventional nonwoven, like it is commonly used for oil sorbents. However, since it is a functional material, the costs must be related to the amount of oil removed. In this respect, if we compare the sales price of the BOA textile with the sales prices of various oil-binding nonwovens, the former is 5 to 13 times cheaper with 10 ct/L oil removed.
  Overall, the BOA device offers a cost-effective and sustainable method of oil-water separation in contrast to conventional cleaning methods due to the following advantages:
• No additional energy requirements, such as with oil skimmers, are necessary
• No toxic substances are introduced into the water body, such as with oil dispersants
• The textiles and equipment can be reused multiple times
• No waste remains inside the water body
• Inexpensive in terms of the amount of oil removed.
• The team of researchers from the ITA, the University of Bonn and Heimbach GmbH was able to prove that the novel biomimetic BOA technology is surprisingly efficient and sustainable for a self-controlled separation and automatic collection of oil films including their complete removal from the water. BOA can be asapted for open water application but also for the use in inland waters. Furthermore, it is promising, that the textile can be used in various related separation processes. The product is currently being further developed so that it can be launched on the market in 2-3 years.

Technological progress often results from close collaboration, and industries that rely on continual improvement stand to benefit from the return to in-person business. Cinte Techtextil China’s first edition since eased pandemic measures is set to reflect a 27.9% increase in exhibitor numbers, with a rejuvenated international contingent further supplemented by the return of the European Zone. Taking place from 19 – 21 September across 40,000 sqm at the Shanghai New International Expo Centre, the platform is expected to welcome buyers from across Asia, Europe, and beyond. Pre-registrations have doubled compared to the previous edition, and international buyers account for over 20% of the total.

The new zone, Marine Textile Zone, will be comprised of multiple Chinese green marine and nautical rope netting exhibitors, while also hosting the Technology Exchange Forum, and the awards ceremony of the Top 10 Suppliers in the China Rope Net Industry. Prominent exhibitors in this zone include Ropenet Group, Hunan Xinhai, and Zhejiang Four Brothers Rope.

Other domestic exhibitors, such as Shanghai Shenda Kebao New Materials, SIJIA New Material (Shanghai), Zhejiang Hailide New Material, and Zhejiang Jinda New Materials, will showcase products for applications in outdoor advertising, tents, boats, vehicles, environmental engineering, and much more.

Supplementing the fairground’s wide variety of domestic suppliers will be a much-increased showing of international exhibitors, with many to be found within hall E1’s European Zone. Several global industry leaders are featured in their categories below:

Nonwovens equipment

• Autefa Solutions, Germany: solutions provider for nonwovens lines and machines for carded-crosslapped needlepunching lines, spunlace lines and thermobonding lines.
• Dilo, Germany: in addition to offering general services, Dilo supplies opening and blending equipment, carding and airlay machines, and crosslapping and needling machines.
• Groz-Beckert, Germany: provider of industrial machine needles, precision parts and fine tools, as well as systems and services for the production and joining of textile fabrics.
• Reifenhäuser Reicofil, Germany: provider of innovative technologies and components for plastics extrusion, producing blown films, cast films, sheets as well as nonwovens.

Weaving equipment

• Itema, Italy: provider of advanced weaving machines, spare parts, and integrated services, specifically for rapier, air jet and projectile weft insertion technologies.
• Lindauer DORNIER, Germany: the company manufactures weaving machines, film stretching lines, and composite systems, also offering technical support and spare parts supply.
• Picanol, Belgium: producer and servicer of high-tech air jet and rapier weaving machines, with around 2,600 weaving mills utilising their systems worldwide.

Coating and lamination

• BRÜCKNER Textile Technologies, Germany: manufacturer of machines and lines for the coating and finishing of apparel fabric, technical textiles, nonwovens, glass fabrics and floor coverings.
• ROWA Lack, Germany: developer of high-quality materials and product solutions for the polymer industry, with applications including automotive, electrical engineering, construction, technical textiles, and medical technology.
• Stahl, the Netherlands: the Dutch company provides high quality coatings, dyes and process chemicals for leather, flexible coated substrates, textiles, films and foils, paper, and related products.

Fibre

• Monosuisse, Switzerland: with production sites in Switzerland, Poland, Romania, Mexico, and Germany, Monosuisse manufactures various precise, high-quality polymer monofilaments from 19µm to 3.00 mm in diameter.
• Perlon, Germany: specialised in the manufacture of synthetic filaments in diverse application areas, including paper machine clothing, dental care, and advanced technical textiles for agriculture, 3D printing, sports and leisure, home, and more.

Meanwhile, first-time exhibitors include Rökona (Germany), showcasing RE:SPACE, their range of recycled technical textiles; Testex AG (Switzerland), the official OEKO-TEX® representative in multiple countries including China; Hohenstein (Germany), the renowned testing laboratory and research institute; and zwissTEX (Germany), the knitted fabrics and lamination specialists. In addition, the returning Taiwan Pavilion is set to feature the debut of Shinih Enterprise Co Ltd (Taiwan China).

Beyond the innovation displayed at the booths, the fair’s programme is set to welcome global experts from various technical textile and nonwoven sub-sectors to offer specific insights and unveil innovations. Highlighted events include:

The 11th China International Nonwovens Conference
14 sessions cover topics such as the quality control of medical supplies; green development in technology and applications in the nonwovens industry; and the development and application of flashspun nonwovens in China.

Marine textiles and rope netting events
Events specific to this zone include the Top 10 Suppliers in the China Rope Net Industry; Conference on Textile Applications for Marine Engineering and Fisheries; and the China Nonwovens & Industrial Textiles Association (CNITA) Rope Net Branch Council Meeting

"Nonwovens, Creating a Better Life” Innovation Showcase
Product display area showcasing around 100 nonwovens products with applications in five areas: medical and health, quality of life, human habitat, sustainable development, and innovative design.

Advanced Technical Textiles Industry Chain Synergistic Innovation Development Forum
Includes presentations from multiple key players in the technical textile industry, including Mr Steven Liu, Commercial Manager of Polymer Additives Business of Sanitized (China) Ltd.

SABIC will present its portfolio of PURECARES™ and TRUCIRCLE™ materials for the healthcare and hygiene market at INDEX™23 from April 18 to 21 in Geneva, Switzerland, under the theme of ‘Collaborating for sustainability and innovative solutions’.

At INDEX, SABIC will highlight a joint project with two market leaders, using certified circular polymers from the TRUCIRCLE portfolio in recyclable films for feminine hygiene, baby care and disposable medical applications. In all of these cases from diapers to surgical drapes and medical gowns, the sustainable materials can serve as direct drop-in alternatives with no compromise in production efficiency and product performance.

Further examples on display at the company’s booth will feature TRUCIRCLE solutions for facemasks, including an N95 design that localizes the value chain with SABIC® PURECARES PP spunbond and meltblown polymers in Saudi Arabia. SABIC provides complete solutions for facemask production as part of its localization strategy and has been a key enabler of the Saudi Made initiative. Also shown will be a closed-loop facemask developed in collaboration with industrial and research partners in Europe.

The company’s PURECARES polyolefin products are based on technologies free of both tris (nonylphenyl) phosphite (TNPP) and phthalates. Consumer comfort is achieved by using SABIC polypropylene (PP) and polyethylene (PE) polymers for bi-component fibers to answer multiple needs for soft and loft handfeel nonwovens, enabling easy lamination to other building blocks on medical nonwovens or absorbent hygiene applications.

In addition, SABIC produces TRUCIRCLE certified circular polymers for its PURECARES PP and PE portfolio with feedstock based on advanced recycling of mixed and used plastic that would otherwise typically not be suitable for mechanical recycling processes. These more sustainable solutions can be adopted in downstream processes as direct drop-in alternatives to incumbent materials with no compromise in production efficiency, purity and product performance.

• Future plans for the nonwovens market

The two companies will develop sustainable materials solutions based on CJ Biomaterials’ PHACT™ PHA and NatureWorks’ Ingeo™ PLA technologies NTR and CJ Biomaterials

CJ Biomaterials, Inc., a division of South Korea-based CJ CheilJedang and leading producer of polyhydroxyalkanoate (PHA), and NatureWorks, an advanced materials company that is the world’s leading producer of polylactic acid (PLA), have signed a Master Collaboration Agreement (MCA) that calls for the two organizations to collaborate on the development of sustainable materials solutions based on CJ Biomaterials’ PHACT™ Biodegradable Polymers and NatureWorks’ Ingeo™ biopolymers. The companies will develop high-performance biopolymer solutions that will replace fossil-fuel based plastics in applications ranging from compostable food packaging and food serviceware to personal care, films, and other end products.

The initial focus of this joint agreement will be to develop biobased solutions that create new performance attributes for compostable rigid and flexible food packaging and food serviceware. The new solutions developed will also aim to speed up biodegradation to introduce more “after-use” options consistent with a circular economy model. The focus on compostable food packaging and serviceware will create more solutions for keeping methane-generating food scraps out of landfills, which are the third largest source of methane emissions globally, according to World Bank. Using compostable food packaging and serviceware, we can divert more food scraps to composting where they become part of a nutrient-rich, soil amendment that improves soil health through increased biodiversity and sequestered carbon content.

CJ Biomaterials and NatureWorks plan to expand their relationship beyond cooperative product development for packaging to create new applications in the films and nonwoven markets.  For these additional applications, the two companies will enter into strategic supply agreements to support development efforts.

POWERFIL, a business unit of recycling machine manufacturer EREMA GmbH, presents its 2/406 laserfilter.

"For applications with a focus on melt quality and filtration fineness, this increase in screen area ensures lower pressure and temperature at the same throughput rate, allowing even finer screens to be used for even better results in quality-intensive plastics applications," explains Robert Obermayr, Head of Business Unit POWERFIL, EREMA GmbH. If the throughput capacity of the recycling plant needs to be increased, a significantly higher rate of plastic melt can be filtered while maintaining the other parameters thanks to the larger surface area of the screen. Up to 9,000 kilogrammes of melt can be filtered per hour with the Quattro version of the new LF 406 laserfilter.

"Plastic recycling has become a must-have, even for input streams with higher levels of contamination. Efficient filtration systems are therefore indispensable for achieving the specified melt quality using existing extrusion systems," says Obermayr. That is why POWERFIL also offers the proven EREMA melt filters as individual components for existing EREMA machines and third-party extrusion systems. The product range includes the SW RTF partial area backflush system and the laserfilter. The range is aimed at manufacturers as well as recyclers, because the high-performance filters can be used to process post consumer plastics as well as post industrial films with paper labels and clean PET material. Both types of filter are particularly easy to integrate into an existing recycling plant and both are available in numerous sizes and variations. Whether the customer uses the robust backflush filter or the continuous high-performance laserfilter depends on the throughput and level of contamination of the material. The Laserfilter is ideal for heavy contamination. It handles impurity levels up to 5 percent and filtration as fine as 70 μm while continuously cleaning the screen with a scraper.

POWERFIL will also present the new 2/406 laserfilter and the full range of filters at the K 2022 trade fair stand for the EREMA Group.