From the Sector

adidas reveals the new Juventus home kit for the 2024/25 season, with a bold, cosmic interpretation of the colours deeply associated with the club. A dynamic interplay of the traditional black and white vertical stripes is given a modern lunar twist, with a subtle all-over crater graphic reflecting the landscape of the moon’s surface.

The kit boasts a unique structured fabric created using a 3D engineering method to construct the jersey in three levels. This layered fabric creates both visual and haptic intrigue when experienced up close, by incorporating textured details that replicate the undulating surface of the moon.

The on-field version of the jersey is constructed with HEAT.RDY technology, using advanced materials to maximize air flow to keep players feeling cool, while the fan version features AEROREADY technology, which uses sweat-wicking or absorbent materials to keep the body feeling dry.

With the fully recyclable 100% polyester trunk side trim, Autoneum is putting the rear of the vehicle at the center of its efforts for a more circular economy in the automotive industry. The latest addition to Autoneum’s growing portfolio of sustainable monomaterial products made entirely from polyester is based on the existing Pure technology Propylat PET. The component demonstrates an excellent environmental performance in terms of recycled content, waste-free manufacturing and end-of-life recyclability.

New regulations such as the revised End-of-Life Vehicles Directive in Europe are accelerating the automotive industry’s transition from a linear to a circular economy. In this context, the recyclability of vehicles at the end of their service life is becoming increasingly important. This in turn raises the demand for automotive components that have an excellent environmental performance across the product life cycle and at the same time meet the highest standards of material quality and technical performance. Autoneum’s new 100% polyester trunk side trim helps customers achieve their ambitious sustainability targets while offering optimum durability, design flexibility and aesthetics.

As with Autoneum’s environmentally friendly monomaterial carpet systems, the new 100% polyester trunk side trim is fully recyclable. Production cut-offs can be reclaimed, processed and reused, ensuring a closed material loop. Thanks to Autoneum’s high-value recycling concept, the recycled fibers can also be granulated and spun into new fibers, which reduces the need for virgin raw materials and thus conserves natural resources. The carrier material is based on the lightweight Autoneum Pure technology Propylat PET and contains at least 50% recycled fibers. Like all variants of Propylat, the technology features a high proportion of recycled material and can be produced waste-free thanks to its complete vertical integration. In addition, Propylat PET consists of 100% PET and is therefore fully recyclable. The new monomaterial trunk side trim made exclusively from polyester is also available under the Autoneum Blue sustainability label. Blue products feature at least 30% recycled PET that was collected from coastal areas, thus making an important contribution to preventing plastic pollution in the oceans.

Autoneum’s sustainable concept for 100% polyester trunk components is not limited to side trim but can also be applied to tailgate and other trunk trim. Thanks to their unique material composition, the Propylatbased trunk trim parts are lightweight and sound-absorbing, thus contributing to the attenuation of tire and rear e-motor noise. In addition, their geometry can be tailored to individual customer needs while the textile surface improves the overall aesthetic of the parts and at the same time offers a high resistance to scratches. Autoneum’s eco-friendly 100% polyester trunk trim is available in Europe, North America and China.

Coloreel Group AB, a pioneering Swedish technology company known for its instant thread dyeing technology, today announced that it has filed for bankruptcy. The decision comes after the company's inability to develop its business volume quickly enough and, related to this, secure the necessary financing.

Despite many in-depth discussions with financial investors and potential industrial partners to secure additional funding, Coloreel has been unable to overcome its financial hurdles.

Coloreel has aimed to transform the textile industry with unique coloring and design possibilities through a sustainable and efficient thread dyeing process. The company has over 90 customers in the global market, many of them well-known brands. Over 120 granted patents across 45 markets ensure robust protection of the innovative technology.

"It is with a heavy heart that we announce the filing for bankruptcy today. We have been working very hard to introduce a new technology and new ways of working on the global textile market. Despite relentless efforts to grow the business, minimize operational costs, and secure additional funding, the challenges are too great. The board and the management are incredibly proud of what our team has achieved, and we are grateful for the support we have received from our partners, customers, and investors”, states Anders Persson, Chairman of the Board, Coloreel Group AB.

The filing also applies for the daughter company Coloreel AB.

INDA, the Association of the Nonwoven Fabrics Industry, announced that wipes leaders across the supply chain convened for new connections, intelligence, sustainability strategies, and business at the World of Wipes® (WOW) International Conference, June 17-20 in Minneapolis, Minnesota.

The winner of the World of Wipes Innovation Award® was Rockline Industries for their Facial Care Wipe with Glycine Amino Acid Complex. This new Skin Care Wipe contains a unique multifunctional complex of two medium chain glycine, a phospholipid and a blend of special glycol ingredients that provides for a multitude of skin care benefits as well as providing a unique preservation system for nonwovens. The Skin Care Wipe provides substantiated improved skin smoothness, elasticity, and hydration alongside an anti-ageing claim. This innovation is amongst the first to use these glycine ingredients in a Skin Care Wipe formulation.

In a special recognition, INDA presented the 2024 Lifetime Service Award to David Powling, Technical Leader, Kimberly-Clark Corporation (retired), and the 2024 Lifetime Technical Achievement Award to Paul Latten, Director of Research & Development & New Business, Southeast Nonwovens, Inc. INDA honors both Powling and Latten for their decades of contributions to the nonwovens industry as well as being strong advocates for INDA.

The 1.5-day WIPES Academy, led by Heidi Beatty, Chief Executive Officer, Crown Abbey, LLC, and Paul Davies, Ph.D., Consultant, Crown Abbey, LLC, preceded the WOW Conference June 17-18. This course focused on the essentials of wet wipes construction and ingredients. Participants learned how to bring nonwovens, lotions, and packaging together to launch a successful product. The next WIPES Academy will be held July 21-22, 2025 at the Hilton Columbus Downtown, Columbus, Ohio in conjunction with WOW 2025.

The WOW conference program featured experts discussing these key topics:

• Sparkle & Shine: How Wipes Became WOW
• Wiping Smart: The Rise of Sustainable Practices in the Institutional and Industrial Wipe Markets
• Transformative Trends in Wet Wipe Formulations: A Dual Focus on Skin Health and Sustainability
• Leading Alternatives to Traditional Plastics Used in Wipes
• Panel Discussion: Leading Alternatives to Traditional Plastics Used in Wipes
• Eclectic Perspectives: Unraveling the Threads of I&I Wipes and Scaling Strategies
• Putting $$ in Your Pocket
• Recycling & Regulations

In addition to the premium content in the conference program, WOW featured four pre-conference webinars (with recordings available for full conference attendees), tabletop exhibits, Lightning Talks, a Skin Care Formulation Workshop 101, and a mentorship program for participants who are new to the wipes industry.

WOW 2025 will be held July 21-25, at the Hilton Columbus Downtown in Columbus, Ohio.

Dibella is making life easier for its textile service customers with a new service: on request, hotel textiles can be ordered with Datamars transponders directly ex works. The chips are permanently available at the Dibella warehouse - the goods are delivered fully equipped.

To relieve its customers, Dibella now offers a new RFID-based laundry tracking service: On request, the company equips textiles ex works with LaundryChips (RFID tags), from Datamars (CH). Dibella is cooperating directly with the Swiss company for this unique service. Customers do not have to worry about ordering or providing the tags - saving them time and effort.

Cost advantage
This new system offers a cost advantage because: It is much more cost effective to send large batches of chips bundled together for production than to make hundreds of shipments per year for each individual order. Handling costs are increasing and shipping costs, especially overseas, have risen immensely. In addition, the customs authorities in some countries are very strict when it comes to importing chips, and this new system also minimizes the risk of customs-related delivery delays.

Transponder data as a future service
Another service is already in the pipeline: Dibella will soon offer the option of directly reading out the LaundryChips in its main warehouse and providing them as a CSV file together with the delivery note. This will eliminate the work step of scanning new goods for the textile service - when the goods arrive, the CSV file is simply entered into the system and can then be fed directly into the laundry cycle.

As there are different chip systems from company to company, this solution cannot be implemented directly for all textile service companies - but Dibella wants to develop further.

Benefits of RFID for laundries and their customers
The RFID technology not only improves efficiency, reduces losses and increases profitability in the laundry industrial process. RFID also improves the quality of service that the textile services can offer to their customers, thanks to a more efficient workflow and instant data exchange between textile services and their customers. No more worries or discussions about lost textiles: the customer knows exactly how many and which pieces have arrived/departed from/to the laundry. In this way, transparency with the customer is improved and invoicing can be based on reliable data. In addition, portable RFID readers allow for automated and quick daily inventory at the customer’s site to request clean textiles from the laundry on time.

Archroma introduces COLOR MANAGEMENT+, an enhanced color design and development solution that helps textile and fashion brands and mills work together for improved economic and environmental sustainability.

Archroma COLOR MANAGEMENT+ incorporates the industry’s largest off-the-shelf color atlas selection, design tools and customized services for fast color selection and creation. It combines these with engineered color standards created with Archroma’s SUPER SYSTEMS+ for reduced environmental impact and consistent and accurate color reproduction.

With these end-to-end capabilities, brands and designers can focus on their color inspiration and on the required functionality and sustainability for their end article, with the assurance that their inspiration can be precisely communicated and efficiently executed at the mill.

Within COLOR MANAGEMENT+, the Color Atlas by Archroma® offers access to a collection of more than 5,700 unique colors for cotton, polyester and blends, both as a physical library and searchable online library. Designers also have the option to create custom colors.

Ahievability criteria are available for each color standard, whether in the Color Atlas or provided as an Engineered Color, at the selection phase. This includes information about the technical and economic feasibility of the selected color, along with a commitment to sustainability build on the foundation of the Zero Discharge of Hazardous Chemicals (ZDHC) Manufacturing Restricted Substances List (MRSL) Level 3.

The COLOR MANAGEMENT+ color standards provide clear color communication to mill colorists, textile technologists and quality control specialists, helping them deliver the right color faster and achieving reproducible colors across countries and mills. Clear communications can also eliminate excessive lab dipping, shorten approval times and improve first-time-approval rates.

The color standards in COLOR MANAGEMENT+ are created with Archroma’s SUPER SYSTEMS+ solutions for bulk production in mind. Offering end article-specific processing solutions, durable colors and intelligent effects, the SUPER SYSTEMS+ suite allows brands to achieve measurable environmental impact, eliminate harmful or regulated chemicals, and add value and longevity to the end product.

The solution is further supported Archroma’s ONE WAY+ Impact Calculator and Sustainability Improvement Program (SIP), and SAFE EDGE+ compliance-data platform. Global technical support is provided to help the supply chain deliver the right colors with consistency and reduced environmental impact.

In-store Asia, a trade fair for retail resources and investments in store design, visual merchandising and in-store marketing on the Indian subcontinent will again be held in Mumbai from 13 to 15 June 2024. Over the course of the 15 years of its existence it has become established as the biggest get-together of retail decision-makers in India. Here, over 4,500 players from retail, consulting and services, manufacturers as well as retail solution providers come together.

Visitors to In-store Asia have the opportunity to discover a wide variety of exhibitors showcasing their products and solutions for the retail sectors including:

• Point-of-Purchase (POP) displays and interactive flatscreens
• Visual Merchandising (VM) and store fittings
• Signage and graphic design solutions
• Retail technologies for improving customer retention
• Tailor-made store design services
• Start-up initiatives for the retail sector

The 2-day conference at In-store Asia provides a platform for discussions about current retail trends in India and the world over. More than 40 key speakers from India and abroad will share their forecasts, latest trends and use cases on the topics of retail markets, retail experience design, sustainability, visual merchandising, retail technology and store fitting under the inspiring motto “Connected, Collaborative, Conscious”.

Highlights at the trade fair amongst others include the VM&RD Retail Design Awards and the VM Challenge, two events that honour special achievements and innovations in visual merchandising and store fitting. The VM&RD Retail Design Awards acknowledge outstanding store fitting projects in a total of 24 categories. The VM Challenge is a unique live window display contest for the visual merchandising community where six teams compete to dress a window on a given theme.

INDA, the Association of the Nonwoven Fabrics Industry, announced the three finalists for the World of Wipes Innovation Award®. The Award will be presented at the annual World of Wipes® (WOW) International Conference, June 17-20, at the Hyatt Regency Minneapolis in Minneapolis, Minnesota.

The three products vying for this Award are multi-purpose cleaning wipes from Kimberly-Clark Professional, a bio-binder technology from OrganoClick, and facial care wipes from Rockline Industries. The winner will be announced on Thursday morning, June 20th.

The three companies competing for the Award are:

• Scott® Xtreme Multi-Purpose Cleaning Wipes by Kimberly-Clark Professional:
  Scott® Xtreme Multi-Purpose Cleaning Wipes are great for tackling extreme cleaning tasks, like removing oil, grease, grime, paint, adhesives, caulk, and more, yet are gentle enough to clean hands.  Featuring a patented citrus cleaning solution, the dual-action cleaning fabric incorporates a textured side to increase scrubbing action for cleaning tough soils and a smooth side for wiping surfaces clean.  Scott® Xtreme Multi-Purpose Cleaning Wipes are truly a must-have for any DIY job and cleaning on-the-go.
• OC-Biobinder® Lily1450 by OrganoClick:
  OC-Biobinder® represents a series of bio-based and biodegradable binders intended for the nonwoven and paper industry. They are produced from renewable raw materials and residual streams from the food industry and replace traditional fossil-based plastic binders. OC-Biobinder® is available with many different properties adapted to the production of home compostable nonwoven materials such as premium napkins, table cloths and wet wipes.
• Facial Care Wipe with Glycine Amino Acid Complex by Rockline Industries:
  Rockline’s development of a facial wipe product containing a unique multifunctional complex of two glycines, a phospholipid compound and a blend of glycols allows for a multitude of skincare benefits as well as providing a self-preserving system for cellulosic nonwovens. Believed to be the first application of glycines in a wet wipe formulation, the product offers improved skin smoothness, elasticity, and hydration alongside an anti-aging claim.

INDA’s Technical Advisory Board selected the finalists based on the creativity, uniqueness, and technical sophistication employed in finding novel ways to expand the utilization of nonwovens. Categories considered for the award were wipes-related raw materials, roll goods, converting, packaging, active ingredients, binders, additives, and end-use products.

The 2023 World of Wipes Innovation Award winner was Indorama Ventures and Polymateria for their Nonwoven Wipe Using Biotransformation Technology. This innovative spunlace wipe utilized advanced biotransformation technology developed jointly by Indorama Ventures and Polymateria. Meeting the BSI PAS 9017 specification, this wipe in the event it becomes fugitive, and exposed to heat, sunlight, air and moisture will transform into a harmless, bioavailable wax at its end-of-life, eliminating microplastic pollution. Compatible with mechanical recycling and combatting 'fugitive' waste, this wipe represents a significant leap towards eco-friendly, sustainable nonwoven hygiene products.

By establishing touchpoint textile, drupa has created a special forum to showcase pioneering applications in digital textile printing. The highlight will be the Digital Textile Micro Factory – a fully connected, integrated process chain starting with the customer enquiry and design through to large-format digital textile printing.

touchpoint textile represents drupa’s growing expansion into new markets comprising such segments as packaging production, large-format or industrial and functional printing next to packaging production. All of these segments are undergoing the same transformation processes and offer enormous growth potential. The special forum revolves around the opportunities and challenges of digital textile printing, brings together renowned exhibitors, industry partners and brand owners and provides scope for cross-industry cooperation, new projects as well as product and manufacturing ideas. The operational content partners of touchpoint textile include the German Institutes for Textile and Fibre Research Denkendorf (DITF), as Europe’s largest textile research centre, as well as ESMA, the European Specialist Printing Manufacturers Association.

Digital Textile Micro Factory: on-demand and virtual products – on the path towards sustainable production
In cooperation with 12 partners from industry and research the DITF will demonstrate a Digital Textile Micro Factory live at drupa and, hence, a fully connected, integrated process chain from design to finished product. This will present new possibilities for digitalisation and direct customer involvement, for instance in the form of 3D apparel simulations complete with links to design networks for creative input. Digital workflows and virtual products are integrated directly in the manufacturing process. As a special highlight for all trade visitors the technology partners of this Micro Factory will demonstrate an automated on-demand production, textile printing, cutting and sorting – without any manual interaction. Such decentralised and digitally connected design and production chains will enable the textile industry to respond to customers’ requests and trends in a more targeted manner in future. This means, touchpoint textile 2024 technologically points the way to a future without shelf-warmers. In addition, the carbon footprint for the complete process from virtual development to finished product will be modelled and presented at the trade fair.  

2024 will see the design competition “drupa – textile design talents” being held for the first time. This was conceived of by the DITF and will be implemented by the partner Mitwill. This provides up-coming textile designers and newcomers with a unique opportunity to introduce their ideas and visions to a professional audience.

Broad industry support
A project as comprehensive as the Micro Factory requires many strong partners. The companies “on board” here include: Assyst/Germany (3D simulation for digital apparel twins), Mitwill Textiles Europe/France (creative design network), D.G.I. Digital Graphics Incorporation/South Korea, Multi-Plot Europe/Germany (large-format textile printing), LEONHARD KURZ Stiftung/Germany, Zünd/Switzerland (digital cutting), robotfactory/Denmark, Asco/The Netherlands (presenting an innovative buffer solution between digital printing and cutting, automated sorting of cut parts from the cutter by robotfactory) as well as Brother/Japan (for small-format textile printing and bonding technology). Vaude and berger textiles will be sponsoring the touchpoint. Another key partner is the Albstadt-Sigmaringen University that is supporting the project as a conceptual sponsor and which has set itself the clear mission to incorporate these new topics into its curriculum. This means the staff of the future will be geared up to the new challenges ahead.

Another partner of touchpoint textile is the European Specialist Printing Manufacturers Association (ESMA), which is responsible for the lecture programme. ESMA represents industrial, functional and specialist printing and acts as an organiser of educational events in the field of textile printing. At drupa speakers from research, development, and industry will address issues related to printing and finishing techniques, workflows, market developments and sustainability, to name but a few. The focus will also be on trends and applications that unlock ever new potential through the interplay of digital printing and textile printing substrates. The lectures are divided into the categories Research, Finishing, Print Systems & Hardware, Substrates, Inks & Chemistry and Software & Electronics. Assyst, for example, will deliver talks on the virtual development of apparel as well as the research project ECOShoring, which is funded by the “Deutsche Bundesstiftung Umwelt” – DBU (German Federal Environmental Foundation) and focuses on personalised and on-demand sustainable manufacturing. Other speakers represent Adobe, Balta Group, Barbieri Electronic, Brother, Centexbel, CST, DITF, Fujifilm Speciality Ink Systems, HS Albsig, Kornit Digital, Meteor Inkjet, Mimaki, Mitwill, Multiplot, Print-Rite, RWTH Aachen, Seiko Instruments, Tiger Coatings, Xaar, Zünd and the list is updated on regular basis.

drupa will be held at the Düsseldorf Exhibition Centre from 28 May to 7 June 2024.

RadiciGroup announced the launch of the first physical and digital nylon traceability project at Techtextil 2024. A gilet made from the yarn manufactured in one of the Group’s European industrial sites, which, thanks to a QR code on the garment, can reveal its origin and display information about its production process.

Product traceability is a key element in guaranteeing transparency along the entire supply chain, as it means each stage of production – from spinning to weaving and from packaging through to retail – can be monitored and recorded. The project, made possible by a partnership with FibreTrace, allows manufactured nylon yarns to be traced both physically and digitally. In fact, RadiciGroup inserts a tracer (an inorganic additive) that is uniquely associated with the yarn and remains identifiable throughout all stages of processing – on both the fabric and the finished garment. Naturally, the tracer does not alter the esthetical, functional and technical performance of the yarns in any way.

In terms of digital traceability, during the production stages a scanner detects the presence of the tracer and can transmit the data relating to provenance onto a dedicated digital platform. Finally, the consumer, via a QR code, can access the digital platform that provides all information concerning the provenance of the product and its journey through the supply chain.
 
“This project is the result of almost two years’ work by our Research & Development team. We’re very proud to bring to the market the first physical and digital nylon traceability solution and we plan to extend this initiative to other fibres produced by the Group,” emphasised Filippo Bona, R&D Manager of RadiciGroup Advanced Textile Solutions.