From the Sector

Intertextile Shanghai Home Textiles – Spring Edition is set for a renewal. After last year’s brief pause, 283 exhibitors from 5 countries and regions will showcase their latest innovations at the National Exhibition and Convention Center (Shanghai) during this traditional peak sourcing period. The fair will be held concurrently with Intertextile Shanghai Apparel Fabrics – Spring Edition, Yarn Expo Spring, CHIC and PH Value from 28 – 30 March 2023.

Comprehensive range of products zoned for easy sourcing
The 27,000 sqm gross exhibition space in hall 5.2 will host suppliers in multiple product categories, such as bedding, towelling, table and kitchen linen, home textile technologies, and textile designs. Several product pavilions and zones will be formed to encourage efficient sourcing, with areas designated for quality bedding, towelling, feather and down duvet fillings, quilt fillings, intelligent equipment and upholstery fabric products. Buyers looking for sustainable fibres, yarns and fabrics may be interested in sourcing at the Lenzing Group’s brand new centralised Lenzing Home Textile Satellite Pavilion. With Lenzing joined by eight of its Chinese downstream manufacturers, the pavilion will showcase the various home textile applications for the Austrian company’s wood-based TENCEL™ fibres.

Other well-known international and domestic exhibitors include Cotton Council International (CCI), Zhangjiagang Coolist Life Technology, Guangdong Kulida Down, Wujiang City Yunjie Textiles, Yantai Pacific Home Fashion, Sunvim Group, and Jiangsu Goostars Hometextiles. These suppliers, and many more, will present their up-to-date products to meet the sourcing demands of buyers from different channels.

Programme
At every edition, Intertextile Shanghai Home Textile’s fringe events keep fairgoers informed on a variety of topics, allowing exhibitors and visitors alike to stay up to date with the latest market trends and make informed business decisions.

Aligning with the fair’s general direction on promoting sustainability, and to satisfy the industry’s needs, representatives from Lenzing will be holding an exclusive seminar about the e-commerce opportunities surrounding eco-friendly TENCEL™ products’ sleep enhancing qualities. Other presentations and discussions that touch on sustainability will also be available under the fair’s Textile & Technology event theme.

With consumers globally paying more attention to health issues and increasing their spending on health products, the home and contract textile industry is also a party to this rising trend. To this end, seminars discussing traditional Chinese medicine and how it relates to different health issues will be held on day one. Their crossover topics include how aromatherapy can encourage high-quality sleep, as well as an introduction on the innovation of traditional medicinal textiles.

Moreover, the well-known Chinese retailer JD.com will co-host an event that promotes home textile products made with Chinese cotton. Several talks will focus on different aspects, such as the products’ quality and the overall potential of this industry aided by government policies.

After China’s relaxation of border restrictions and other pandemic control measures, it is now easier for domestic and overseas buyers to visit their Chinese suppliers at the fairground, for the chance to touch and feel their desired products.

Fibre Extrusion Technology Ltd (FET) of Leeds, UK will shortly be exhibiting at INDEX 23, the leading nonwovens exhibition in Geneva, 18-21 April.

As well as featuring its latest meltblown and spunbond technology, FET will focus on its new Fibre Development Centre. Construction and fit-out of this new purpose-built building is now fully operational. This modern two-storey development provides state-of-the-art facilities, including enhanced laboratory for client testing and product development.

Resident equipment in the Fibre Development Centre reflects the wide range of fibre extrusion systems offered by FET to clients across the globe and will enable continued growth of the company through innovation.  

Complementing FET’s highly successful meltblown technology, the more recent spunbond range provides unprecedented opportunities for the scaled development of new nonwoven fabrics based on a wide range of fibres and polymers, including bicomponents.

Textile performance inspired by nature - Swiss textile manufacturer Schoeller Textil AG launches the sustainable textile collection RE-SOURCE as part of its brand sustainability strategy. All textile innovations in the collection are made from bio-based, post- as well as pre-consumer materials such as recycled polyester and spandex. These are further enhanced with Schoeller textile technologies to provide the wearer with breathability, thermal regulation and wind and water repellency.

Two textile innovations in the collection have been lined on the inside with natural NATIVA Merino wool, produced under the highest sustainability standards. The manufacturing process of NATIVA Merino wool is 100% transparent and traceable for consumers through blockchain technology. NATIVA farms worldwide meet strict social and environmental requirements for animal welfare (ban on mulesing), land management and ethical labour guidelines.

Schoeller is committed to the CODE OF CONDUCT, which guarantees transparent production chains, environmental protection and fair working conditions. All RE-SOURCE textile innovations are bluesign approved - the international standard for responsible and sustainable textile manufacturing.

"The special Q-cycle process was used for RE-SOURCE. The resistant and durable Q-cycle polyamide is obtained by pyrolysis of used tyres and thus saves Co2 emissions compared to the combustion process. In this way, we are helping to protect the climate with Q-cycle," says Hans Kohn, COO, Schoeller Technologies AG.

The new recycled textile collection will be presented at the PERFORMANCE DAYS textile trade fair in Munich from 15-16 March 2023.

Flat knitting solutions provider SHIMA SEIKI MFG., LTD. of Wakayama, Japan, together with its Brazilian representative BRASTEMA TECNOLOGIA TEXTIL LTDA., will participate in the FIMEC 2023 46th International Fair of Leather, Chemicals, Components, Machinery and Equipment for Footwear and Tanneries in Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil next month.

Working off the recent trend in knitted shoe uppers in the athletic footwear market, SHIMA SEIKI proposes knitted fabrics to the general footwear market as an alternative to leather. To that end SHIMA SEIKI will be showcasing the latest applications of computerized flat knitting technology to demonstrate its contributions in this field.

As pioneer of WHOLEGARMENT® knitting technology whereby the knitted product can be produced in one entire piece on the machine without linking or sewing, the company is showing the MACH2XS WHOLEGARMENT® knitting machine for the first time at FIMEC. MACH2XS features 4 needle beds and SHIMA SEIKI's original SlideNeedle™, capable of producing high-quality fine gauge WHOLEGARMENT® products in all needles. Proposals include WHOLEGARMENT® sportswear as well as seam-free shoe uppers. For conventional shaped knitting of shoe uppers, the SVR123SP machine features a loop presser bed that permits inlay technique for producing hybrid fabrics with both knit and weave characteristics, suited to shoe upper applications that require form-fitting function, comfort, flexibility, breathability as well as strength and stiffness. SVR123SP furthermore features i-Plating inverse-plating capability for increased patterning capability, including the production of jacquard-like patterns in light-weight plain jersey stitch. Also on show will be the compact SVR093 machine with a short knitting width intended for knitting shoe uppers. Both SVR machines feature such SHIMA SEIKI innovations as DSCS® Digital Stitch Control System, spring-type moveable sinker system, stitch presser, yarn gripper and cutter, and takedown comb. Made-in-Japan quality, reliability, productivity, user-friendliness and cost-performance all combine to satisfy the high expectations of the world's shoe industry.

SHIMA SEIKI’s SDS®-ONE APEX4 3D design system will also be available for demonstrations in design and simulation suited to shoe production. Of particular interest is its ultra-realistic simulation capability that realizes Virtual Sampling. When countless variations must be evaluated before arriving at a final design, virtual product samples can be used to streamline the decision-making process by minimizing the enormous amount of time and cost normally associated with producing actual samples for each variation. The sustainability factor is also undeniable.