From the Sector

The philosophy guiding Officina39's innovation and development ranges fluidly between exploration of color, denim heritage and artistic expression, but has sustainability and the search for environmentally friendly chemical solutions for the fashion industry as its cornerstones. This is the core vision that accompanied the Italian company, when presenting its latest technologies and collaborations at Denimsandjeans in Tokyo from November 1-2.

Denim & Art
Juan Manuel Gomez, Officina39 Creative Leader, represents the company’s multidisciplinary approach and combines artistic expression with a thorough technical experience. His explorations were drawn on the Denim Art Wall at the fair. Furthermore, in the interactive seminar “Art & Denim As A Process Of Repetition” he explained that there is a constant act of repetition as automatic drawing or pictorial act in the processes of the textile industry.

The SS24 collection
The Multicolor Denim Dreaming collection is a combination of several Officina39’s sustainable key technologies:

• Nebudye D: a wide range of fresh colors to obtain a unique dyeing effect in nebulization/fog system machinery and can be discharged in a creative way with Oz-One Powder, an advanced product to give garments a bleached yet eco-friendly treatment, and Remover IND/J-N, Officina39’s solution to replace the use of Potassium Permanganate (PP) on denim and obtain a worn and distressed vintage look.
• Novantic series: a combination of selected dyestuffs with a special mordanting agent suitable to obtain surface dyeing to provide vintage or old look effects.
• Recycrom™: a patented dyestuffs range obtained through a cutting-edge upcycling process that involves textile fibers from used clothing and manufacturing waste for dyeing and printing applications. Its sustainable and revolutionary powders assure a whole universe of denim effects: from classic authentic vintage to acid wash look (Eco Marble), from printed effect (Indigo Replica) to worn and distressed vintage look (Recycrom™ Dirty).
• Just One Step Process: an innovation that saves time, energy, space and of course water, by combining several phases of the Aqualess Mission at the same time: a raw garment enters the machine and a garment with a basic vintage effect comes out ready to be dried, already treated, bleached and softened.
• Remover Activator: a technology that in combination with PP replacement products creates in one step general bleaching, localized corrosion and highlights effects on jeans.

• made out of recycled PET flakes and recyclable again
• suited for finishing recycled yarns and fabrics
• moisture management in sports and active wear

For the sustainable use of resources, the CHT Group has developed the product ARRISTAN rAIR, according to the principles of the circular economy. Here, plastic waste is converted into a valuable textile finishing product to achieve, for example, optimal moisture management in sports and active wear. Other areas of application include socks and tights in the clothing sector, filtration media and nonwovens in the technical textiles sector, and pillows and curtains in home textiles.

Since ARRISTAN rAIR is made out of recycled PET flakes, it is suited for finishing recycled yarns and fabrics which are subsequently recyclable again.

The hydrophilizing agent ARRISTAN rAIR is characterized by its fast-drying properties in combination with excellent soil release and thermoregulation. It therefore offers, especially in the field of functional textiles, optimal functionalities for high-quality and durable sportswear.

JIAM 2022 OSAKA, organised by the Japan Sewing Machinery Manufacturers Association (JASMA), will soon be held at INTEX OSAKA from 30 November – 3 December 2022. Under the theme of “It all connects at JIAM – the forefront of technology and master craftsmanship”, the 12th edition brings together leading sewing machine suppliers and apparel manufacturers, making it a must-attend event for textile professionals. In this era of change, an international platform to facilitate business and information exchange is essential. The 2022 edition will showcase apparel manufacturing solutions catered to each and every need, combining high-level skillsets and time-tested knowledge with the latest modern-day technology.

As of October, 144 exhibitors from 10 countries and regions (China, Greece, Germany, Hong Kong, India, Italy, Singapore, Taiwan and Thailand) have signed up for JIAM 2022 OSAKA to showcase their latest products and services. Of these, 39 companies (21 domestic, 18 overseas) will be joining the fair for the first time. In addition, two pavilions from Germany (VDMA; Mechanical Engineering Industry Association) and Taiwan (TSMA; Taiwan Sewing Machinery Association) will bring even more product diversity to the show floor. The previous edition of JIAM OSAKA in 2016 welcomed 258 exhibitors from 15 countries and regions as well as 15,257 visitors from 72 countries and regions, mainly from Bangladesh, China, India, Korea, Taiwan, Sri Lanka, and Vietnam.

A wide variety of special seminars
11 special organiser seminars will not only provide relevant industry knowledge, but also offer practical skills for daily work:

• Manufacturing industry and digital technology
  Mr Atsushi Yasuda, Manager of Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry Manufacturing Industries Bureau,Industrial Machinery Division
• Skills training seminar
  1. Twist Jacket (Lapel) pattern and matching sewing (front and shoulder seams)
  2. Shoulder keeper (prevent shoulder collapse) cherish a piece of clothing
  Mr Susumu Inarida, Emeritus Professor of Bunka Fashion Graduate University (BFGU) / Specially Appointed Committee Member of Japan Modelist Associate / Contemporary Master Craftsman Certified by the Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare
• "Mottainai!" sustainable initiatives from Osaka!
  Common points between Senshu Towl and OSAKA KABAN and the future
  Mr Eiji Shinoda, President of Shinoda cCorp
  Mr Kenji Fukuroya, Representative Employee of Fukuroya Joint Company etc.
• About the sustainable fashion community “NewMake”- Upcycling initiatives in collaboration with brands
  Mr Tac Hosokawa, CEO of Story & Co.
• Win - win strategy on underwear sewing, viewpoint of BISEI SANGYO Co., LTD
  Mr Toru Miyawaki, Managing Executive Officer of BISEI SANGYO Co.,LTD / Chairman of Hikoneseni Cooperative

Home Sewing Machine Zone
Catering to the B2C market, the Home Sewing Machine Zone, will feature major domestic household sewing machine suppliers. To promote the joy of sewing, a special workshop will be organised by Brother Industries Ltd, Janome Corp, JUKI Corp and JASMA covering topics such as the use of upcycled materials. As part of JIAM 2022 OSAKA’s sustainable development goals, visitors will be taught to sew “cup sleeves” using discarded items and materials from the DIY brand WHTATNOT. Attendees will also learn about upcycling, the process of upgrading unwanted items into new products that are useful. Another highlight will be the awards for JASMA’s “42th Home Sewing Competition for Elementary, Middle, and High School Students”.

After two years of joint collaboration and research the Swiss Textile Recycling Project “Texcircle” comes to an end. Partners and stakeholders have worked on the vision of a textile cluster where materials flow in circular loops. The goal of the project was to develop high-quality yarns and products incorporating such a large amount of recycled textiles as possible. In the end, several product prototypes from carpets, socks, and curtains to pullovers, padding and accessories have been developed with at least 50 % recycled fiber up to 80 % recycled fibers and yarns.

Europe has a waste problem of 7.5 million waste of which only 30-35 % is collected and less than 1 % of the textile and clothing worldwide is recycled into textiles and clothing again. It is as well found that around 80 % of the impact of a textile product lies in the design.

Together with the design research expertise of the Lucerne University of Applied sciences and arts, the spinning expertise of Rieter and the sorting and collection expertise of Texaid, systems should be created where products of high quality can be produced of recycled fiber. On board were the expertise of further Cluster partners of Brands, Retailers, and the public sector to see how a joint Cluster and system coukld be established.

The Project Texcircle and cluster is led by the Lucerne University of Applied Sciences and Arts – Art  & Design, and in collaboration with Coop, Rieter, Jacob Rohner AG, Ruckstuhl AG, TEXAID as well as workfashion.com ag. Furthermore, Bundesamt für Zivildienst ZIVI, NIKIN AG, and Tiger Liz Textiles are supporting the project. The project is funded by Innosuisse.

Furthermore, collaboration partners from all over Europe contributed to the project to enable these prototypes and systems.

Through joint developments from the design, the collecting, sorting trials, tearing, and spinning trials until the actual production trials and product testing. The partners were able to recycle 2.5 Tons of pre-and post-consumer textile waste into product prototypes with a promising commercial interest. From socks, west, and pullovers to non-woven felts and accessories to carpets and curtains. Through our 2 years of collaboration, the teamcame across several hurdles in the textile recycling value chain which could be tackled. This was a proof of concept that a circular system is possible and the industry now has to enable this at full scale.

RHEON LABS, a fast-growing materials technology company based in Battersea, London, has completed an extensive 6 month trial with FET, a world leader in laboratory and pilot meltspinning equipment. Backed by a £173,000 grant from Innovate UK for feasibility studies, RHEON LABS has further developed its RHEON™ technology, a reactive polymer that dynamically stiffens when subjected to force. The technology can control energy of any amplitude or frequency, from small vibrations to forces at ballistic-speeds and therefore has a wide range of applications.
 
This Innovate UK Smart Grant-backed project aims to develop a hyper viscoelastic fibre from RHEON™ which displays high strain-rate sensitive properties. Creating a fibre with unique strain-rate sensitive properties will be a world first. It will enable the creation of a 'breakthrough-generation' of stretch textiles that can actively absorb, dampen and control energy during movement, rather than simply acting as a spring.

For close-fitting activewear and sports bras, the ability to actively control muscle mass or soft tissue movement during exercise will be a game-changing advancement. It will allow brands to engineer garments that relax during everyday use but actively stiffen during exercise for improved support and performance.
The Innovate UK grant was awarded under the category of Hyper-Viscoelastic Fibre Extrusion for Textile Manufacture. Fibre Extrusion Technology Limited (FET) enabled the customer trials at its bespoke Fibre Development Centre in Leeds, England using its in-house FET-103 Monofilament meltspinning facilities, in harness with RHEON and FET technical operatives. The next phase will be to upscale the trials of preferred materials on RHEON’s own new FET-103 meltspinning line, with FET’s continued support and expertise on hand.
 
Creating a fibre with unique strain-rate sensitive characteristics could be as radical a change in the market as the initial introduction of stretch fibre with the launch of Lycra™. The textiles would have a multitude of beneficial properties and would provide significantly less compression in the garment than conventional materials, substantially improving user comfort, support and performance.

Coisne et Lambert, the group composed of the two companies TDV Industries and Klopman International, a leader in the production and marketing of technical fabrics for the professional clothing and PPE sector, announced the acquisition of TAD Teintures et Apprêts Danjoux.

TAD is specialized in the dyeing and finishing of knitted fabrics and has been in the market for over 30 years. Based in Le Coteau (France), the company has a production site of 9,000 m² and is a major player in the civil and administrative markets for technical textiles for professional clothing, medical, sport and apparel.

With a well equipped R&D laboratory, responsive and innovative sampling and production processes, TAD is ISO 14001 certified to manage its environmental performance.

TAD will extend the group's textile know-how adding expertise in knitwear finishing (dyeing, finishing and functionalities). The complimentary nature of their skillsets will allow the three companies to develop synergies for the benefit of their common and specific markets.

This integration will enable TAD to strengthen its specific business model and its services as a French finishing company over the long term, for the benefit of its historical and future customers.

The group, which is made up of the two companies TDV Industries and Klopman International, achieved a turnover of 185 million euros for the 2021-2022 financial year and employs more than 600 people. It also intends to expand its presence in new markets and geographical areas. Klopman International and TDV Industries want to offer markets more complete, flexible and competitive solutions for professional, civil and military clothing.

Within the scope of the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE) initiative “The Sustainability Pledge”, to improve transparency and traceability for sustainable garment and footwear supply chains, the Swiss company Haelixa traces Egyptian cotton from the source up to premium shirts.

The UNECE and United Nations Centre for Trade Facilitation and Electronic Business (UN/CEFACT) has been developing over the period 2019-2022 policy recommendations, implementation guidelines, a call to action, and a traceability toolbox including blockchain and DNA tracing solutions, which has been implemented in few different textile supply chains. Haelixa is part of the group of experts that develops such policy recommendations and conducts projects with key industry players to set traceability benchmarks and later develop them into standards.

Fashion brands are often responsible for complex global value chains and traceability is the needed tool to enable trust, transparency and credible sustainability. The magnitude of the supply chain traceability challenge can be overwhelming for brands, but the UNECE initiative framework facilitates the alignment with suppliers, provides the necessary guidance and the needed tools, with Haelixa as physical traceability provider.

To make the premium shirts traceable, Haelixa has developed a DNA marker to label the raw material, premium Egyptian cotton. The DNA marker has been applied as fine spray to GIZA 96 lint cotton in Borg Al Arab, Egypt and used to produce the finest fabric by Swiss manufacturer Weba. Once applied to the fibers, Haelixa’s DNA markers stay safely embedded into the material and withstand the industrial processing, ensuring traceability from the source until the finished garment. Samples of lint cotton, yarn, and fabric at different steps were verified with a test based on PCR, and the correct DNA marker was detected, thereby enabling the identification of the premium product, of its origin and the specific supply chain. The forensic data obtained were recorded on a blockchain system provided by UNECE. The marked fabric was used to make Hugo Boss cotton dress shirts. As one of the leading premium fashion brands and partner to the UNECE project, Hugo Boss is responsible for a complex global value chain and strives for high sustainability standards and is looking at traceability options.

“In cases like this one, where the material is of the highest quality and the product is shipped from one facility to another for premium processing, adding physical traceability is critical to ensure that the origin, quality and processing claims can be backed up" says Gediminas Mikutis, CTO and co-founder at Haelixa.

Maria Teresa Pisani, Economic Affairs Officer and Project Lead at UNECE, emphasized: “Traceability and transparency are crucial elements to protect environmental, social, and human rights along global value chains. At UNECE, we aim to enhance traceability approaches by exploring new and innovative solutions that help identify and address negative impacts in the fashion industry.”

The garment is part of the New Cotton Project, an EU Consortium of key players united to demonstrate the potential of circular garment production
adidas by Stella McCartney presented a first of its kind sportswear garment designed to demonstrate the potential of a circular fashion ecosystem. Joining forces with leading names and innovators in the fashion industry to create, test, and innovate, the tracksuit forms the pinnacle expression of the brand’s pilot circularity program, Made to Be Remade. A take-back scheme where consumers can wear it down and then return it by scanning a QR code via the product so it can be remade. Moving adidas closer to its goal to help end plastic waste.

It’s currently estimated that just under 1% of all textiles worldwide are recycled into new textiles, so it’s vital the textile industry comes together to learn and knowledge-share. Scheduled across a three-year period, the consortium which includes partners such as Frankenhuis have collected and sorted post-consumer end-of-life textiles, which using pioneering Infinited Fiber technology have been regenerated into a new man-made cellulosic fiber called Infinna™ - which looks and feels just like virgin cotton. This is then turned into a yarn blended with organic cotton, for garment production.

Designing the tracksuit, made using viscose (60% viscose, 40% organic cotton) as a consortium member took the process from a linear to a circular model , as the apparel’s function and style were of equal focus to the garment’s end of life existence.

At the end of the project, consortium partner Aalto University, a Finnish multidisciplinary community specialising in science, art, technology , and design, will distribute learnings with the industry and bring this potential circular design solution to the ever-eco-conscious consumer.

The world’s largest fashion brands and retailers must increase transparency to tackle the climate crisis and social inequality, according to the latest Fashion Transparency Index.

The seventh edition of the Fashion Transparency Index ranks 250 of the world’s largest fashion brands and retailers based on their public disclosure of human rights and environmental policies, practices, and impacts, across their operations and supply chains.

• Brands achieved an average score of just 24%, with nearly a third of brands scoring less than 10%
• The majority of brands (85%) do not disclose their annual production volumes despite mounting evidence of clothing waste around the world
• Most major brands and retailers (96%) do not publish the number of workers in their supply chain paid a living wage

The Index reveals insights into the most pressing issues facing the fashion industry, like:

• As new and proposed legislation focuses on greenwashing claims, almost half of major brands (45%) publish targets on sustainable materials yet only 37% provide information on what constitutes a sustainable material.
• Only 24% of major brands disclose how they minimise the impacts of microfibres despite textiles being the largest source of microplastics in the ocean.
• The vast majority of major brands and retailers (94%) do not disclose the number of workers in their supply chains who are paying recruitment fees. This paints an unclear picture of the risks of forced labour as workers may be getting into crippling debt to accept jobs paying poverty wages.
• While many brands use their channels to talk about social justice, they need to go beyond lip service. Just 8% of brands publish their actions on racial and ethnic equality in their supply chains.

Despite these results, Fashion Revolution is encouraged by increasing supply chain transparency among many major brands, primarily with first-tier manufacturers where the final stage of production occurs, e.g. cutting, sewing, finishing and packing. Nine brands have disclosed their first-tier manufacturers for the first time this year. It is encouraging to see significant progress across market segments including luxury, sportswear, footwear and accessories and across different geographies.

Fashion Revolution’s co-founder and Global Operations Director Carry Somers says: “In 2016, only 5 out of 40 major brands (12.5%) disclosed their suppliers. Seven years later, 121 out of 250 major brands (48%) disclose their suppliers. This clearly demonstrates how the Index incentivises transparency but it also shows that brands really are listening to the millions of people around the world who keep asking them #WhoMadeMyClothes? Our power is in our persistence.”

More key findings from the Fashion Transparency Index 2022:

Progress on transparency in the global fashion industry is still too slow among 250 of the world’s largest fashion brands and retailers, with brands achieving an overall average score of just 24%, up 1% from last year
For another year, the initiative has seen major brands and retailers publicly disclose the most information about their policies, commitments and processes on human rights and environmental topics and significantly less about the results, outcomes and impacts of their efforts.

Most (85%) major brands still do not disclose their annual production volumes despite mounting evidence of overproduction and clothing waste
Thousands of tonnes of clothing waste are found globally. However, brands have disclosed more information about the circular solutions they are developing (28%) than on the actual volumes of pre- (10%) and post-production waste they produce (8%). Brands have sat by as waste importing countries foot the bill, resulting in serious human rights and environmental implications.

Just 11% of brands publish a responsible purchasing code of conduct indicating that most are still reluctant to disclose how their purchasing practices could be affecting suppliers and workers
Greater transparency on how brands interact with their suppliers ought to be a first step towards eliminating harmful practices and promoting fair purchasing practices. The poor performance on transparency in this vital area is a missed opportunity for brands to demonstrate they are serious about addressing the root causes of harmful working conditions, including the instances where they themselves are the key driver.

Despite the urgency of the climate crisis, less than a third of major brands disclose a decarbonisation target covering their entire supply chain which is verified by the Science-Based Targets Initiative
Many brands and retailers rely heavily on garment producing countries that are vulnerable to the impacts of the climate crisis, yet our research shows that only 29% of major brands and retailers publish a decarbonisation target covering their operations and supply chain which is verified by the Science Based Targets Initiative.

Only 11% of brands publish their supplier wastewater test results, despite the textile industry being a leading contributor to water pollution
The fashion industry is a major contributor to water pollution and one of the most water intensive industries on the planet. Only 11% of major brands publish their wastewater test result, and only 25% of brands disclose the process of conducting water-related risk assessments in their supply chain. Transparency on wastewater test results is key to ensuring that brands are held accountable for their potentially devastating impacts on local biodiversity, garment workers and their communities.

Most major brands and retailers (96%) do not publish the number of workers in their supply chain paid a living wage nor do they disclose if they isolate labour costs
Insufficient progress is being made by most brands towards ensuring that the workers in their supply chain are paid enough to cover their basic needs and put aside some discretionary income. Just 27% of brands disclose their approach to achieving living wages for supply chain workers and 96% do not publish the number of workers in their supply chain paid a living wage. In response, we have joined forces with allies across civil society to launch Good Clothes, Fair Pay. The campaign demands groundbreaking living wage legislation across the garment, textile and footwear sector.

IFFAC (Impact Fund for African Creatives) has revealed plans which will revolutionise West African textile and garment production at one stroke. The fund is converting a partially disused textile mill in the region into a hi-tech centre for processing local cotton and recycling waste fabric, to produce both fabric for further processing and new clothes. The mill will be equipped with modern equipment, all sustainably powered by hydroelectricity from the nearby Volta Dam.

West Africa grows about 6% of the world’s cotton but only a tiny fraction of that crop is processed on the continent, the vast majority being shipped thousands of miles to Asia before being shipped back again as finished or part-finished fabrics. The mill project will end the continent’s reliance on such an unsustainable practice with all the obvious financial and environmental benefits.

As well as producing fabric from sustainably grown virgin cotton, a joint venture with Shandong-based WOL Textiles Ltd., a privately owned plant that has long supplied the African market, the mill will be home to a state-of-the-art shredding and recycling facility, a joint venture between IFFAC and the Dutch Circularity B.V. CEO Han Hamers of Circularity B.V. in The Netherlands, has been involved in the production of 100% circular knit and woven articles.

The mill project is expected to create over a thousand jobs. The surrounding area already boasts a significant number of experienced textile workers ready to be retrained on the new equipment. While the majority of the products created will be sold within the region, all processes will confirm to new EU Supply Chain Law to allow for the possibility of export.  

Output is forecast at six million pieces of finished clothing and twenty-five million metres of spun and woven cloth per year. In total, thirty million US$ of investment will be made in the site with operations ready to begin next year (2023).