From marble dyes to micropore functional fabrics passing through forensic traceable cotton and animal-friendly paddings, fashion is running after the next development,...hopefully incresing its environmental commitment, too...
Marble dyeing is the new cool
Fili Pari is an Italian Benefit Company and an innovative fashion-tech startup that aims to bring innovation to the textile sector. The company designs innovative materials and clothing starting from stone, a typical element of the Italian territory.
During the last edition of Filo, the Italian trade show focused on the yarn manufacturing industry, Fili Pari has launched its new Mineral Dye technology, a yarn dyeing process that uses precious mineral powder as a pigment and drastically reduces the use of water during the process.
The new Mineral Dye technology was born from the passion and cross-research between Fili Pari and Dyeberg Spa, a third way parties yarn dyehouse with in-house spooling that operates since the 1900s expert I dying cotton, linen, wool, cashmere and manmade fibers.
The result from this partnership is an innovative technology that dyes yarns with marble and mineral powder using a low component content water.
Thanks to this new technology, the textile industry can reduce a highly polluting process into an innovative, more natural and sustainable technology.
Fili Pari aims to provide alternative solutions to traditional products already sold in the market, combining innovation, sustainability and Made in Italy. This startup is focused on the values of circular economy.
Fili Pari has also introduced marble into the textile sector by launching Marm/More, a coating for fabrics made with real marble dust, a surface treatment that combines technical performance with aesthetic characteristics.
Marm/More is a waterproof, windproof and abrasion-resistant coating for fabrics that obtained from 100% natural colors derived from the selected type of marble.
Monobi is a brand of Beste, an Italian company that offers essential highly functional and design apparel that has been just acquired by the investment company Hind (Holding Industriale).
Its name Monobi comes from Japanese and means "beautiful thing” and stands for expressing functionality, urban style, and high-performance design.
Recently the brand introduced Traceabili-Tee, a line of seamless T-shirts made with Biofusion, a traceable organic cotton yarn produced by ICA Yarns, a spin-off division of shirting fabric manufacturer Albini Group.
This yarn is the result of careful research and selection of the best raw materials in the world as well as from Albini’s long experience gained from establishing partnerships with cotton farmers in Egypt, Barbados and the United States.
Thanks to a highly innovative method developed by Oritain, a world leader in forensic science, Biofusion is the highest quality cotton scientifically traceable from the field of cultivation to the fabric.
Moreover, the Monobi brand allows consumers buying one of its garments to know all the information about that item, its components and their origins thanks to a QR-code applied on each piece.
The Japanese textile brand Ecosensor by Asahi Kasei Advance has recently launched its new f/w 2024/2025 and s/s 2025 collections at Performance Days, the sustainable sourcing fair for functional fabrics and accessories held in Munich on 15 and 16 March 2023.
Part of the Ecosensor collection are 65 high-performance materials catering to the functional requirements of high-intensity sports and urban challenges.
Within this selection, all fabrics are produced by using recycled and certified materials and combine active climate control properties with exquisite touch, lightness and comfort qualities. Moreover, their dying and finishing processes are guaranteed by Oekotex Standard 100 or Bluesign.
Part of the collection, among others, are 40 materials of the Sport Wovens group coated with a unique membrane such as Respigard by Polypore.
This membrane’s innovative pore structure guarantees airflow and moisture evaporation toward the outside, although it is water-repellent as its pores are too small for water droplets to penetrate. Along with that, the material is naturally lightweight due to its high porosity.
Moreover, the membrane is PFC-free and produced using a solvent-free manufacturing process, therefore its carbon-footprint is low, and being polypropylene-based, it is recyclable.
Primaloft, a specialized manufacturer of technological materials, has created Thermo Plume, a padding consisting of synthetic fiber feathers especially designed to create light warmth, softness and compressibility very similar to the one of natural goose down.
For f/w 2022-2023, brands such as Nike, ALO Yoga, FP Movement, Helly Hansen, Montane, Vuori, Ecoalf, and others have used Primaloft's padding in products for various uses such as hiking, dance, running, and all intermediate workouts.
Using such material, each designer can create garments that can be a vegan and animal-friendly alternative while maintaining the style and appearance of classic down, with the features and performance of Primaloft synthetic insulation.
This construction allows the product to be blown using traditional down blowing equipment simplifying the production process for brands and allowing designers more freedom to create innovative garments.
“Thermo Plume is the ethical answer for companies who want to achieve a sophisticated voluminous look in garments without having to make many changes to the internal production processes already underway," explained Tara Maurer-Mackay, SVP Product at Primaloft. "Our material helps simplify the supply chain, combats the volatility of low prices, and offers peace of mind to users about ethical sourcing of materials,” Maurer-Mackay continued.
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