Peppermint odor-free treatments, sustainable cover nets at Dubai Expo and biodegradable synthetics are the latest sustainable innovation from the fiber and textile world.
When fabric stability makes a difference
Calik Denim has developed its new E-Last concept, a solution that aims to minimize the sample production process. Since the weft shrinkage of each product is different, diverse values occur in different lots of the same fabric within the processes of garment making. To solve the problem, E-Last, a fabric in which the weft shrinkage rate is reduced to reach almost 0%, can guarantee dimensional stability. Therefore, garment makers can lay the template, cut, sew and wash their garments without experiencing major problems.
Photo: Calik Denim-KOI
Jeans made with Calik E-Last denim
Hyosung speeds up on circularity
Fiber producer Hyosung will launch a selection of sustainable fibers during its "Hyosung Denim Days" presentation to be held at WeWork showrooms in New York City, Los Angeles and London on select dates in November 2021.
According to Ellen MacArthur Foundation’s Jeans Redesign guidelines a denim can be considered recyclable if it’s made with a minimum of 98% cellulosic material leaving 2% of the content for stretch or synthetic material. Hyosung aims to help fit the program’s criteria with its Creora 3D Max Spandex. This selection offers a solution that can help achieve a balance of stretch, recyclability and recovery. More specifically for jeans made with 100% recycled materials, it is launching Creora Regen Spandex, which is made of 100% reclaimed waste and has a 67% lower carbon footprint than conventional spandex.
For jeans made with renewable resources it is offering Creora Bio-Based spandex, a product that replaces 30% of chemicals with ones derived from dent corn, so when the corn is growing it consumes carbon dioxide, thus reducing greenhouse gases (according to documentation from SAC’s HIGG index).
For jeans offering added performance it has developed GRS-Certified 100% recycled multifunction fibers and will also present its portfolio of 100% recycled Mipan Regen nylon and Regen polyester yarns with multifunctional properties such as cooling and drying, in lightweight, cotton-touch and comfort stretch variants.
Photo: Creora
Denim made with Hyosung's Creora Denim Spandex
Isko’s next reactive fabrics
Isko has recently developed Rheact, a fabric characterized by a woven, gradual compression technology that helps boost the energy of the wearer through improved blood flow.
The new material also provides a micro massaging effect and has a superior compression capacity than knit as it works for up to 12 hours. It can be used for different activities such as long-haul flights, lounging at home, or during or after a workout as it also helps with warming up before exercise and improves post-workout recovery. From a consumer standpoint, it provides wearers the feeling of a second skin and it is durable and supposed to help concentration and energize the body.
This new development is certified by the independent Hohenstein Institute from Bönnigheim, Germany and has received the endorsement of physicians for its health and wellbeing benefits.
Protecting health
An international team of scientists and engineers from the University of Cambridge, the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, Res Innova Labs and Ascend Performance Materials have found out that a 6.6 nylon fabric embedded with zinc ions successfully inactivates 99% of the viruses that cause Covid-19 and the common flu.
The special fabric produced by Ascend Materials guarantees a 99% reduction of virus particles in one hour and outperforms the widely used cotton and polypropylene materials at virus absorption and inactivation.
The research team also was able to demonstrate that nylon with active zinc ions remains stable over time, keeping its virus-inactivating properties after 50 washes.
Photo: CELC
Jean Paul Gaultier cage dress on linen background by CELC - Lemaitre Demeestere, Libeco, Nelen & Delbeke
Linen is protagonist of “Une Histoire de la Mode. Collectionner, exposer au Palais Galliera,” a new exhibition held at the Palais Galliera in Paris inaugurated at the beginning of October and running until June 26, 2022.
The exhibition, which consists of two parts that narrate the history of fashion from the 18th century to the modern day, highlights the universal and timeless character of this sustainable fiber, European Linen, and its ability to embrace other cultures and their diversity through the eras.
This exhibit was supported by the European Confederation of Flax and Hemp/CELC within a three-year partnership with the Paris Fashion Museum, started in 2018, through the exhibit Margiela/Galliera, 1989-2009.
YKK bets on garment recycling
Trims can make a difference in garment recycling, according to YKK. For this reason the global closure specialist has developed new products focused on this aim. Among them, there is Vislon Nylon, a zipper whose components including the slider are made with nylon. This model is designed to be used for monomaterial garments that can be recycled at the end of their life. The zipper can be used in certain monomaterial sportswear pieces to help in automated recycling processes.
Finding diamond-heads in traceability
Haelixa, a DNA traceability solution provider, and Diamond Denim, a denim mill and garment maker part of Sapphire Group from Pakistan, have started collaborating to promote transparency within the denim supply chain.
Haelixa works with brands and manufacturers, providing forensic proof for product origin and authenticity from source to retail. It can develop a unique DNA marker to identify a specific brand, supplier or collection including production lot and material type (like, for instance, recycled vs non-recycled). Unlike in paper-based chain of custody or in blockchains, the product information is never separated from the product, but safely embedded in it all time and cannot be tampered with.
Haelixa markers are proven to be harmless for humans and the environment, GMO-free, vegan, GOTS and OekoTex 100 compliant.
Photo: Polartec
Polartec Power Dry fabric treated with peppermint oil
How peppermint keeps you fresh
As part of Polartec’s Eco-Engineering initiative, the innovative textile company has developed some new projects that meets quality, performance and sustainability standards.
To block odor growth and bacteria proliferation in its materials, Polartec developed a treatment based on peppermint oil, a substance which effectively inhibits the growth of odor-causing microbes in the fabric.
During R&D trials, the odorless peppermint oil-based treatment proved to achieve a 99% microbial reduction, even after 50 wash cycles, which, according to those results, the treatment is effectively permanent.
All Polartec Power Dry, Polartec Power Grid, and Polartec Delta fabrics will have permanent odor resistance. The production of this treatment will start from Italy and China in the late fall, with the United States to follow in 12 months.
Photo: Madeira
Madeira Green sustainable threads
Madeira goes green
Madeira, a German embroidery thread manufacturer, has just launched its new Madeira Green selection of sustainable threads.
Available since summer 2021, its two Polyneon Green and Sensa Green threads were created using processes designed to reduce energy input and water usage, minimize waste and recycle or biodegrade wherever possible.
Polyneon Green is a strong, shiny thread made of 100% recycled polyester. Derived from post-consumer waste, it can be used for workwear, sportswear, jeans, shoes and other uses. This yarn meets the Standard100 by Oeko-Tex Class I, annex 6, and it reduces waste as it is produced by reusing plastic bottles, melted down and spun into a strong, trilobal thread.
Sensa Green is made of 100% Tencel lyocell fibers and has a unique look and soft touch. These threads are made of sustainable wood and pulp from renewable forest sources grown with a remarkably less water than cotton and are produced using a closed-loop process that reclaims 99% of the organic solvents and water used in the process.
Photo: Technow
A jacket made with Technow Sustek biodegradable synthetic fibers
Speeding up synthetic fiber biodegradation
Polyester and polyamide fabrics consumptions are among most used materials today, although it takes more than 200 years for them to biodegrade, creating a tremendous amount of textile waste. Some companies have tried to overcome this problem.
Thanks to a series of collaborations with research centers and universities, the Italian chemical specialist Radici Group has started the Ulisse project and created an industrial scale-production of polyamides, (commonly know as nylon) starting from bio adipic acid obtained from renewable raw materials, including waste oil and byproducts of the oil industry. Potential application sectors for this process and products include textile and fashion, automotive, design, electrical and electronics.
Likewise, by carefully selecting a series of innovative yarns, Swiss high-tech fiber manufacturer Technow has developed the project Susteck offering a synthetic fabric collection able to decompose in less than five years (according to the norm ASTM D5511). Thanks to specific additives, Susteck's fabrics are able to decompose much faster than normal synthetic fibers without producing toxic substances during the degradation process and thus ensuring a reduced impact on the environment preserving pollution and overcrowding of landfills.
This fabric collection can biodegrade faster thanks to special additives that in conditions of anaerobic landfill, facilitate the access of bacteria in the microscopic structures of the fiber, swelling it when exposed to high humidity and activating the biofilm formation process through a biological mechanism.
These fabrics are mostly used for lining, down filled comforters and ultralight down jackets, then treated with exclusive organic GOTS certified dyeing and finishing in order not to compromise the biodegrading properties of the fiber. To produce these fibers, Technow collaborates with Fulgar, a specialized Italian manmade fiber manufacturer.
Photo: Tintex
Tintex fabrics
How cotton materials hype ecofriendliness
Circular Systems, a company focused on innovative circular and regenerative technologies by transforming waste into valuable fiber, yarn, and textile fabrics, has partnered with a Tintex, a Portugal-based sustainable textile company, to launch a premium knits collection using Tintex Colorau Natural Dye Processing, low-impact materials and processing available on the market. The collaboration is using an innovative patented process that replaces synthetic dyes with natural extracts and uses yarns made with up to 50% recycled cotton.
Photo: Italian Converter
Italian Converter material
Converting to sustainability
Italian Converter, an Italian manufacturer of fashion and high-tech materials, has just launched Ambassador Eco Egitto, a transparent, tear-resistant and soft-hand fabric that was usually made with polyester and nylon, and now is also available in RCS certified recycled materials.
Photo: i-Mesh
I-Mesh Expo 2020 Dubai pergola
Dubai Expo bets on soft technology
The Expo 2020 Dubai is making various records. Among others, the global event’s promenade cover is made of a sustainable Made in Italy material from the I-Mesh start-up founded by Alberto Fiorenzi. The cover of the show consists of 2.7 kilometers of a special technical fabric for architecture that covers a total area of 52,500 sq. meters designed according to a project by German architecture studio Werner Sobek.
This high-tech textile material is highly performing, versatile for the local climate and cares for the environment. I-Mesh was devised within a sandstorm resistance test, remaining intact without ripping thanks to the strength and flexibility of its soft-touch, well-calibrated weight fibers.
Thanks to a special weave the mesh does not block the view of the sky nor the passage of air, but, instead, repels solar radiation, provides a feeling of comfort while maintaining a pleasant microclimate.
The fiber is composed of six types of fibers (including four minerals) and a thermoplastic polymer whose properties remain intact during the industrial process and that can be separated from the fibers during recycling operations.
This patented, light, extremely resistant technical fabric can be produced exclusively in custom-made panels, according to a zero waste logic. It can be installed, stored and disassembled easily and can also be reused several times in various ways.
Photo: i-Mesh
I-Mesh fabric used for Expo 2020 Dubai pergola
READ ALSO:
