From the Sector

Archroma and Portuguese home-textile manufacturer Lameirinho have moved the InOneGO continuous dyeing process into commercial production. Lameirinho's first bed-linen collection made with the technology is now available worldwide.

InOneGO combines coloration, fixation and softening in a single pad-dry application. It was developed for woven cellulosic textiles including denim, fashion fabrics and home textiles, and works with Archroma sulfur-dye systems including DIRESUL RDT, EarthColors and FiberColors.

Archroma's ONE WAY Impact Calculator indicates reductions of up to 81% in process time, 97% in water consumption, 65% in energy use and 75% in CO2 emissions when a defined InOneGO/DIRESUL RDT scenario is compared with conventional cold pad-batch reactive dyeing plus pigment top-dye finishing. These are supplier calculations for a specified benchmark, not universal mill values.

The process runs on stenter and Thermosol lines. That makes the industrial proposition particularly relevant: mills may be able to remove several wet and dry processing stages without replacing the core line architecture.

As mandatory sustainability and due diligence regulations multiply, global brands managing complex, multi-tier supply chains face a widening gap between the data they collect and their ability to understand and act on it at scale. TrusTrace, a global leader in supply chain traceability and compliance, today announced the launch of a new platform built to close that gap. 
 
The new platform builds on TrusTrace's enterprise-proven traceability and compliance foundation, making supply chain data directly accessible for insight and decision-making while automating the multi-step programs that act on it. Teams can understand what needs attention faster and automate operational work, from assessments and evidence collection through to follow-up and corrective action. 
 
At the foundation is TrusTrace's real-time, lot-level forward traceability with AI-powered backward chain-of-custody data, across materials and sourcing models, providing the complete and trustworthy data needed to generate meaningful intelligence.
 
“Every regulation ultimately asks the same question: can you prove it? But proving compliance starts much earlier, with understanding your supply chain, knowing where the gaps are and acting before they become problems,” said Shameek Ghosh, CEO and Co-Founder of TrusTrace.
 
The platform rolls out in phases starting this month and has been built and validated over the past year with a number of the world's leading brands. Its first focus is Supply Chain Intelligence: brands can ask questions in natural language across suppliers, facilities, products, materials, and supply chain relationships, surfacing gaps and patterns and generating insights and reports in seconds. 
 
Over subsequent phases, TrusTrace will strengthen this further by adding regulatory intelligence and enterprise intelligence, connecting external regulatory requirements and brands' own policies and standards with their supply chain data, so brands can understand which requirements impact them, identify gaps earlier, and act before they become compliance failures. 
 
Alongside Supply Chain Intelligence, TrusTrace is introducing a program builder and orchestrator that automates the workflows behind Supplier Compliance, TrusTrace's existing solution for managing whether suppliers meet a brand's requirements. Brands can now run vendor onboarding, continuous supplier monitoring, assessments, evidence requests, follow-ups, and corrective actions automatically, replacing manual, repetitive work with a system that runs on the brand's own data.
 
Supply Chain Intelligence is one of three connected solution areas on the TrusTrace platform. Supplier Compliance manages whether suppliers meet a brand's requirements; Supply Chain Intelligence helps brands understand their supply chain, identify what needs attention, and make better-informed decisions; and Product Compliance determines whether a specific product meets applicable requirements and provides the evidence needed to prove it. This launch introduces Supply Chain Intelligence, the newest addition to the platform, along with the automation capabilities that connect all three. 
 
The new platform is built around four pillars: 

• One unified data foundation: Suppliers submit data once, in any format or language, and TrusTrace extracts, validates, and links it into one trusted foundation. Data and evidence can be reused across use cases, reducing duplicate requests and supplier fatigue. 
• Supply Chain Intelligence: Brands can ask questions about their suppliers, facilities, products, materials and supply chain relationships, as described above, and receive live insights and reports grounded in their own TrusTrace data. Regulatory, enterprise and risk intelligence will add further context as the platform evolves.
• Automated operations: A program builder and orchestrator help brands build and run multi-step workflows such as vendor onboarding and continuous supplier monitoring, automating assessments, evidence requests, follow-ups and corrective actions across the supplier base. 
• One connected compliance platform: TrusTrace brings supplier requirements, regulatory obligations, and product compliance together on one platform, powered by the same supply chain data and evidence foundation. Information can be reused across requirements and programs, reducing duplication for both brands and suppliers. 

AI runs throughout the platform, from data extraction and validation to natural-language access to supply chain information and the automation of multi-step programs, so both brands and their suppliers spend less time on manual work and more time acting on insights they can stand behind. 
 
A new program can go live in as little as three days, with the first supplier data request sent in week one. TrusTrace's data foundation spans more than 120,000 suppliers across more than 80 countries. 
 
The new platform is designed for brands of every size, from global enterprises to mid-sized companies scaling compliance programs with lean teams, with further intelligence and automation capabilities to follow as the rollout continues. 
 

INDA, the Association of the Nonwoven Fabrics Industry, announced today that Ben Muller has joined the association as executive director. Mr. Muller brings more than 20 years of progressive leadership experience spanning nonprofit organizations, corporations and trade associations.

Most recently, Mr. Muller served on the senior executive team of the High Point Market Authority, where he led marketing, public relations and educational programming for one of the world’s largest trade shows. Previously, he held senior brand and marketing leadership positions with Hanesbrands and Kayser-Roth, gaining extensive experience in textile and apparel supply chains. He began his career serving mission-driven organizations, including the American Cancer Society and the National Multiple Sclerosis Society.

Tony Fragnito, INDA’s current president and CEO, will transition to an executive consultant role in January 2027 to support the leadership transition and focus on projects and initiatives designed to expand the reach and participation of the Global Nonwovens Alliance (GNA). His planned retirement will occur in December 2027.

The creation of the executive director position follows the formation of the GNA by INDA and EDANA and represents the next step in the evolution of INDA’s staff leadership to support the alliance. Mr. Muller’s broad leadership experience, strategic marketing expertise and deep understanding of member and industry engagement will be valuable as he leads INDA’s strategic initiatives, oversees operations and represents the interests of the nonwovens industry across the Americas.

“I am honored to join INDA at such a pivotal moment for the industry,” said Mr. Muller. “The formation of the Global Nonwovens Alliance creates an exciting opportunity to strengthen collaboration and expand the value we provide to members. I look forward to listening to our members, learning from their expertise and ensuring INDA continues to be a strong advocate and resource for the industry throughout the Americas.”

“Tony has provided outstanding leadership to INDA during a transformational period for both the association and the global nonwovens industry,” said Mark A. Thornton, chair of the INDA Board of Directors and vice president, Baby Care, Fem Care and Family Care Quality Assurance, The Procter & Gamble Company. “The Board is deeply appreciative of his leadership, commitment to our members and role in helping establish the Global Nonwovens Alliance. As we look ahead, we are confident Ben brings the strategic thinking, industry experience and collaborative leadership needed to build on that strong foundation and guide INDA into its next chapter.”

“Ben’s appointment represents an important step in bringing the vision of the Global Nonwovens Alliance to life,” said Murat Dogru, CEO, GNA. “The strength of the Alliance will depend on combining a truly global perspective with strong regional leadership that understands the priorities of its members. I am very pleased to welcome him and look forward to working closely together as we build the next chapter of the Alliance.”

“Leading INDA has been one of the most rewarding experiences of my career, and I am grateful for the opportunity to work with such a dedicated staff, Board, and membership,” said Fragnito. “It has been a meaningful way to cap off my career, and I look forward to working closely with Ben to ensure a seamless transition of INDA’s business operations and member relationships. I am excited to support him as he helps lead INDA and a partner with Murat as he leads the Global Nonwovens Alliance.”

Intertextile Shanghai Home Textiles – Autumn Edition reports more than 900 exhibitors from 19 countries and regions and nearly 36,000 visitors representing 113 markets. The show covered more than 100,000 square metres and included bedding, upholstery fabrics, curtains, carpets and design-led collections.

Messe Frankfurt says sustainability, new technologies and supply-chain transparency were increasingly visible in buying discussions. Exhibitors presented established sourcing categories alongside functional textiles, more sustainable materials and technology-enabled solutions. Buyer representation was especially strong from Greater China and Southeast Asia, with growing participation from Central Asia.

The fringe programme also moved beyond trend forecasting into operational questions. Sessions covered AI implementation in the home-textile sector, urban renewal, product development, changing lifestyles and opportunities in Latin America. The mix suggests that home-textile sourcing is becoming more closely linked to material innovation, digital tools and verifiable sustainability requirements.

Editorial relevance: Medium – a current brand-positioning and retail story supported by a product capsule.
s.Oliver has launched a new hero campaign, “Casual Since Forever,” featuring Heidi Klum meeting a younger version of herself from the 1990s. The concept uses the time shift to reinforce the brand’s positioning around enduring casual style.

The campaign is accompanied by a limited-edition vintage capsule that reinterprets 1990s references through casual basics and vintage-inspired designs. The pieces are being sold online and in selected s.Oliver stores, turning the campaign narrative into an immediate product and retail activation.

The editorial relevance lies in the combination of heritage storytelling and merchandising. Established fashion brands increasingly use archive aesthetics and cultural nostalgia not only for communication but as a direct product-development and traffic-driving mechanism.

A new German research project is exploring how Lusatia can build a regional natural-fibre economy as the former lignite region undergoes structural transformation. Over three years, IÖW and Zittau/Görlitz University of Applied Sciences will examine value chains based on flax, industrial hemp, fibre nettle, miscanthus and residues such as straw and municipal leaves.

The focus is explicitly on industrial applications rather than conventional apparel textiles. Potential outlets include natural-fibre-reinforced plastics, specialty papers, lightweight panels, composites, automotive components and new packaging materials. A regionally resolved material-flow model will map feedstock availability, processing routes, land-use conflicts and possible bottlenecks.

The project is relevant to technical textiles and composites because it treats raw-material availability and industrialisation as one system. Workshops with farmers, processors, manufacturers, municipalities and economic-development actors are intended to produce practical transformation pathways for a circular bioeconomy.

Indorama Ventures is supplying fabrics woven with deja™ recycled polyester yarn to Thai label KH Editions. Two looks and accessories from the ten-look Spring/Summer 2027 collection will be shown in New York on 15 September during New York Fashion Week.

The collaboration builds on Indorama Ventures’ RECO programme, launched in 2011 and expanded into RECO Collective in 2023. The initiative combines recycled materials and industry support with emerging designers, aiming to demonstrate that circular inputs can meet the quality and aesthetic requirements of internationally presented fashion.

For the wider value chain, the project is a useful example of material innovation being connected to design, brand building and market access rather than remaining a stand-alone recycling story. Commercial scaling will ultimately depend on consistent quality, available volumes and the ability of recycled yarns to work within established fabric and garment production.

bluesign has set out how its bluepass certification scheme is intended to meet the EU Empowering Consumers for the Green Transition Directive, which becomes enforceable on 27 September 2026. The rules tighten the conditions for environmental and social claims and for certification schemes behind consumer-facing sustainability labels.

According to bluesign, bluepass separates standard setting, assessment and product certification. Consumer-facing products are certified by an independent conformity-assessment body accredited to ISO/IEC 17065. The system also includes publicly available requirements, annual surveillance with product testing, equal access conditions and structured stakeholder consultation.

For existing System Partners, bluesign says current certifications remain valid. Existing bluesign PRODUCT and APPROVED labels do not need to be withdrawn immediately; the move to bluepass can take place with the next label-production cycle. The key compliance point remains that legal responsibility for a claim rests with the company placing the product on the EU market.

Hamburg Textile Week will present 14 projects from Germany, the Netherlands and Sweden from 1 to 11 October 2026 under the theme “Stoffe mit Zukunft” – Fabrics with a Future. The program focuses on new materials, processes and technologies, including textile energy systems, bio-based materials and interactive fabrics.

Projects range from SkySails kites that generate electricity from high-altitude wind and revoltech’s hemp-residue-based LOVR material to “Talking Textiles,” which translates touch into sound in real time. A Stühmer|Scholz exoskeleton uses textile components as the interface between body and technology. Other exhibits include a curtain woven with thin-film solar cells and work on bio-based dyeing.

Design Zentrum Hamburg is joined by the FABRIC – Future Fashion Lab for talks and workshops, with HAW Hamburg, AMD Akademie Mode & Design, Made auf Veddel and Greenpeace also participating. The format brings research, design, production and circular-design questions into one city-wide textile program.

Heimtextil Trends 27/28 place the tension between optimization and respite at the center of the coming interior-textile season. Under the theme “Home-Maxxing – The Performance of Everyday Living,” Heimtextil and Milan design platform Alcova explore how technology, functionality and sensory material qualities are reshaping homes, hospitality, workplaces and healthcare environments.

Textiles are framed explicitly as functional components: they can regulate light, absorb sound or filter air. At the same time, tactility, durability and understandable construction are gaining importance. The three directions, Staged Competence, Inside, Out and Hyper Presence, range from visibly engineered performance and exposed connections to natural fibers and surfaces whose physical qualities take priority.

The trends will be presented in the Trend Space at Heimtextil from 12 to 15 January 2027. For home and contract-textile suppliers, the key message is that technical performance is no longer expected to disappear into the background; it increasingly becomes part of the visual and material language of a product.