From the Sector

Ontex Group NV, a leading international developer and producer of personal care solutions, launches Dreamshield® 360 Night Pants, a new night-time concept designed to give babies dry nights and parents greater peace of mind. The new night pants offer extra absorbency for up to 12 hours of protection – especially important for long nights, heavy wetters, extended naps and travel.

Ontex’s Dreamshield®360 baby pants are already trusted for nighttime use, and the new night pants build on that foundation by offering parents an even more reassuring solution for prolonged overnight protection.

Research confirms that nighttime performance remains a critical priority for families: 75% of parents identify their baby’s sleep quality as their top stressor, with nighttime leaks the leading cause of disruption. Parents increasingly look for products that guarantee dryness for longer periods, not just overnight but also during situations that require absorbency designed for high-demand occasions.

Recent consumer insights confirm the relevance of stronger night-time protection: parents choose baby pants more often for nighttime across all ages and tend to switch to baby pants sooner at night than during the day.

Superior nighttime protection, comfort and sustainability
Dreamshield® 360 Night Pants deliver enhanced overnight performance together with the trusted features of the Dreamshield® 360 Pants range:

• Extra absorbency for long nights – up to 12 hours of leak-free sleep and extended-use protection.
• Triple leak protection – including Ontex’s unique pee & poo back barrier.
• Soft, secure 360° fit – gentle materials and an elastic waistband for comfortable sleeping.
• Night-time packaging – clear extra absorbency claims and strong night icons for quick and confident shopper navigation.
• Sustainability at the core – supporting Ontex’s targets of CO₂ emissions and plastic reduction across its product portfolio.

Kraig Biocraft Laboratories, a leader in spider silk technology*, launched a key hiring initiative at its production operations in Southeast Asia. This expansion of the company's production workforce is driven by rapidly increasing throughput, an expanded operational footprint, and preparations for the opening of its newest production center, now in active development.
 
The company is ramping up staffing to support what it expects to be a significant increase in production volumes over the coming quarters. These new team members will play a critical role in supporting the deployment of the Company's advanced spider silk technologies and modernized sericulture systems across its growing network of facilities.
 
All incoming production staff will receive specialized training under Dr. Nirmal Kumar, one of the world's foremost sericulture experts. Training under Dr. Kumar will prepare new hires to support operational growth at Kraig Labs' newest production center, currently in development, increasing capacity, resilience, and commercial production of its high-performance spider silk.
 
"This hiring initiative reflects the incredible momentum we are building and the strength of our forward-looking production strategy," said Kim Thompson, Founder and CEO of Kraig Labs. "As we scale up our next-generation spider silk technology and expand our production footprint, we are focused on assembling a team capable of supporting the high growth trajectory we anticipate. Bringing new staff into the fold and having them train directly with Dr. Kumar ensures that we are building the strongest possible foundation for the future of our operations."
 
The Company's expanded workforce will contribute to Kraig Labs' increasing production capacity and its readiness to meet both near-term production targets and longer-term commercial opportunities. As construction and development of the new production center takes shape, these newly trained team members will be positioned to support the facility's launch and help drive the Company's next major phase of growth.
 
Kraig Labs expects to continue adding staff and resources as it advances its mission of delivering the world's first cost-effective, eco-friendly, industrial-scale recombinant spider silk.

CARBIOS announced the signing of two new multi-year commercial agreements with major players in beverage industry, for the supply of recycled PET (r-PET).

The signing of these two new commercial agreements marks CARBIOS’s entry into a new strategic sector: beverages. Thgey are part of the pre-commercialization process for CARBIOS’s future industrial site, bringing the current level of pre-sales to approximately 50% of the site’s maximum production capacity.

Negotiations are ongoing with other partners to reach a pre-commercialization level of 70% of the Longlaville site’s maximum capacity, a threshold constituting one of the conditions for obtaining additional non-dilutive funding necessary to resume construction of the Longlaville plant.

A regional grant of €12.5 million has also been signed, bringing the total amount of public funding already secured to €42.5 million.

Hong Kong–based New Focus Textiles is adopting Haelixa’s Swiss DNA traceability technology to strengthen trust and transparency in recycled cotton production. 

Haelixa, the Swiss-based global leader in DNA-based traceability, has enabled New Focus Textiles to provide forensic proof of recycled cotton content across its textile-to-textile manufacturing operations. This marks a significant move towards evidence-based verification in recycled material sourcing, addressing one of the main credibility gaps in the circular materials market.  

DNA-based forensic traceability for recycled cotton  
Haelixa’s DNA marker is applied directly to post-industrial and post-consumer waste, before shredding, staying intact through New Focus Textiles’ mechanical recycling process. The non-toxic DNA marker, which is derived from Swiss mountain herbs, is a permanent tag, and cannot be removed or copied, remaining embedded throughout spinning, weaving, dyeing, and finishing.  

At any point, the material can be tested in an accredited laboratory using a simple PCR analysis to confirm origin and verify the presence of recycled content. This method provides physical proof of the recycled fibre identity, going beyond certification schemes that rely on documentation and chain-of-custody declarations.  

Strengthening supply chain assurance  
New Focus Textiles produces GRS-certified recycled cotton fabrics from post-industrial and post-consumer feedstock under its T2T™ (Textile-to-Textile) programme. The integration of Haelixa’s DNA-based traceability ensures each recycled batch is scientifically identifiable and can be aligned with digital records on platforms such as TextileGenesis, enhancing material transparency at supplier, auditor, and brand level.  

Preparing for regulatory compliance  
The system supports upcoming EU Digital Product Passport requirements and wider regulatory scrutiny over green claims. It reduces reputational and compliance risk for brands that prioritise recycled materials. 

In a remarkable union of innovation and global expertise, the world’s largest fibre innovation congress, the Dornbirn Global Fibre Conference (GFC) Asia, was successfully held in Mumbai on November 18, 2025, hosted under the banner of the Techtextil India Symposium 2025. 

Under the theme ‘Shaping the Future: Sustainable Growth in Fibre Solutions and Innovations’, the event was a dynamic confluence of ideas, research breakthroughs and collaborative exchanges aimed at propelling the textile industry into a new era of responsible growth. The conference was supported by the Government of Tamil Nadu as a Partner State. 

The day-long conference included the latest research on sustainable fibres, innovations in eco-friendly manufacturing, breakthroughs in recycling & circular economy practices and the evolution of smart technical textiles. Discussions also addressed global fibre market shifts, policy frameworks shaping the industry and strategies for integrating sustainability into business models. These topics reflect the most pressing imperatives and emerging opportunities for manufacturers, designers, technologists and policymakers alike. 

The Dornbirn Global Fibre Conference is a collaboration between organisers, Messe Frankfurt Trade Fairs India Pvt Ltd and Austrian Fibers Institute. It cements India’s position as a powerhouse in textile innovation, sustainability and fibre technology. Set against the backdrop of India’s ambition to elevate its textile and apparel exports to USD 100 billion by 2030, the Dornbirn Global Fibre Conference Asia proved to be a seminal platform for industry visionaries to share pioneering discoveries and collaborate on building a greener, smarter, and more resilient textiles future. 

The conference highlighted key initiatives and industry potential:

• India is leading in converting post-consumer waste than many other developed countries 
• India recycles its bottles into yarn and plastic
• India’s EPR for plastic waste could be beneficial for speeding up the recycling of plastic waste into fibres 
• Using technology for collection and sorting will make feedstock available for the circular supply chain to work efficiently
• India shows positive signs and a huge the potential to become a recycled polyester hub

The India edition of the Dornbirn GFC Asia uniquely blended global expertise with India's vibrant textiles sector—a market rapidly advancing in technological innovation, sustainability efforts and export ambitions. The industry’s leading brands who were part of the conference included: Dodhia Group, Lenzing, Oerlikon Polymer Processing Solutions, Birla Cellulose, Erema Group GmbH, High Performance Textile Ltd, Pan Healthcare Pvt Ltd, TextileGenesis, Bekaert, FibreCoat GmbH and more. 

The European Chemicals Agency (ECHA), to protect health and the environment, recommends that the European Commission adds four substances, including melamine, to the REACH Authorisation List. Once added to the list, companies must apply for authorisation if they wish to continue using the substances.

The recommendation includes the following substances:

• Barium diboron tetraoxide;
• S-(tricyclo[5.2.1.0 2,6]deca-3-en-8(or 9)-yl) O-(isopropyl or isobutyl or 2-ethylhexyl) O-(isopropyl or isobutyl or 2-ethylhexyl) phosphorodithioate;
• Diphenyl(2,4,6-trimethylbenzoyl)phosphine oxide; and
• Melamine.

ECHA has selected these substances from the Candidate List of substances of very high concern (SVHC) for this recommendation because, following the agreed approach, they are of the highest priority. 

The inclusion of melamine in the draft recommendation was comprehensively commented on by sectors using the substance during the 2024 consultation period but the decision to include it was made after careful consideration of all the issues.

Ofelia Bercaru, Director for Prioritisation and Integration, said: 
“When assessing the consequences of including a substance in the Authorisation List, it is important to consider the scope of the legal requirement. In most of its applications, melamine appears to be used as an intermediate, which does not require authorisation under REACH.
“However, applications for authorisation for the remaining uses may potentially create a significant workload for companies and authorities. ECHA is aware of the challenges and considered that balancing the risks posed by melamine with its continued use, requires a policy decision by the Commission and EU Member States.”

Background
ECHA has the legal obligation to regularly recommend substances from the Candidate List for the Commission to include in the Authorisation List. Before sending its recommendation to the Commission , ECHA considers comments received during a three-month consultation and the opinion of the Member State Committee.

The Commission will decide which substances are included in the Authorisation List and what conditions apply to each substance. If a substance is included in the Authorisation List, it can only be placed on the EEA market or used after a given date, if an authorisation is granted for a specific use.

The authorisation process aims to enhance the substitution of substances of very high concern when technically and economically viable alternatives are available. Until this is achieved, the goal is to ensure proper control of risks for human health and the environment.