From 21st – 24th March 2012, the Bremen Cotton Exchange and the Fibre Institute Bremen hosted the 31st International Cotton Conference in Bremen/Germany. More than 500 visitors from 42 countries visited the conference, which is traditionally held in the hanseatic city’s historic Town Hall. Continue reading Bremen 2012 – 31st International Cotton Conference in Bremen →

The ALLWIN High Temperature Package Dyeing Machine offers an unprecedented liquor ratio as low as 1:4 with its integrated design of REV-pump, heat exchanger and the flow reversing system (patent granted). The newly designed integrated circulating system results in space saving by approx. 30% as compared with conventional machine arrangements.

Continue reading Fong’s ALLWIN High Temperature Package Dyeing Machine →

More than 500 participants informed at Aachen-Dresden International Textile Conference in Aachen (November 24-25, 2011) about new materials and technology.

Being in Aachen or Dresden at the end of November is already a fixed point in the calendar of textile experts from materials & finishing and machinery & processes. The 5th Aachen-Dresden International Textile Conference took place in Aachen on November 24 and 25 provided a dense and versatile programme to the 500 participants – 20% of which were international guests from 25 different countries: plenary lectures, 46 technical papers, more than 80 poster contributions, four excursions to textile companies, and a special presentation of this year’s partner countries Australia and New Zealand. Continue reading The 5th Aachen-Dresden International Textile Conference →

European DEPHOTEX-Project Development of flexible textile solar cells

Deutsches Textilforschungszentrum Nord-West e.V., Krefeld

Solar energy conversion is an object of continuous research, focusing on improving the energy efficiency as well as the structure of photovoltaic cells. With efficiencies continuously increasing, state of the art PV cells offer a good solution to harvest solar energy.

However, they are still lacking the flexibility and conformability to integrate them into common objects or clothing. Moreover, many sun-exposed surface areas are textile-based such as garments, tents, truck coverings, boat sails, and home or outdoor textiles.

The research project DEPHOTEX, co-funded by the European Commission (FP7-NMP) and 14 partners from 7 European countries, fills the gap by developing photovoltaic textiles with properties inherent to fabrics: flexibility, low weight, durability, water/dust resistance.

The innovative approach of the work presented here is to build up flexible photovoltaic cells layer by layer taking fabrics as new carrier materials, which is of high scientific and, moreover, commercial relevance.

Activities were focused on the deposition of metallic and non-metallic conductive films on textile materials by different chemical and physical techniques. Finally, we obtained flexible textile-based solar cells with efficiencies in the range of 2 %.

Contact details :

Deutsches Textilforschungszentrum Nord-West e.V., Adlerstr.1, D-47798 Krefeld Continue reading Abstracts of the Papers Presented During the 5th Aachen-Dresden International Textile Conference →

Walter Wilhelm and Barbara Zeins

Walter Wilhelm from Walter Wilhelm Associates and Barbara Zeins from Gerson & Gerson analyse the advantages and challenges of sourcing from countries in the Western world compared to Asia. Continue reading Apparel Contracting in the Western Hemisphere Vs. Asia →

European parliamentarians have voted overwhelmingly to reject the reduction of textile tariffs for Uzbekistan until the International Labor Organization (ILO) is given access to the country to examine extensive reports of forced child labor. Continue reading Uzbekistan: European Parliament Rejects Textile Tariff Reduction →

• Womens wear – unique. feminine. and high quality to mainstream production quality.
• Menswear – niche brands are in demand by local creative stylish peoples.
• Traditional menswear – is not as exciting as it is more European influenced yet it is the lucrative for the traditional market. Continue reading Thai Fashion →

Charline Ducas
Sustainable Materials Specialist, Textile Exchange

Textile Exchange (TE) is a nonprofit, membership-based organization that inspires and equips people to accelerate sustainable practices in the textile value chain. We focus on minimizing the harmful impacts of the global textile industry and maximizing its positive effects by building capacity, interpreting and disseminating information, and sharing best practices across the entire value chain – from farmers and raw material providers to brands, retailers, and consumers. Continue reading Recycled Synthetic Fibers : TE Guidelines →

Kate Fletcher
From Fashion and Sustainability DK’s Lab
(Sustainable Fashion – Issues to be addressed)

Most of us know what fashion is. Many of us know what sustainability is. But when it comes to exploring the relationship between the two, we can very quickly find ourselves on new ground. For the relationship between fashion and sustainability is active and complex and each time we look at the key ideas or issues at stake, different aspects seem to come to light. Sometimes what is emphasized is technical information about toxic chemicals or working conditions in mills and factories on the other side of the world. At other times, the fashion and sustainability relationship seems best understood by looking at what goes on locally: networks of handcrafters; dyes made from species of plant found only in local hedgerows; our individual laundering practices. Continue reading Fashion and Sustainability →

Braskem Profile

Braskem is the largest manufacturer of thermoplastic resins in the Americas. With 35 industrialplants in Brazil, the United States and Germany, the company produces more than 16 milliontons of thermoplastic resins and other petrochemical products annually. Headquartered in Philadelphia, Braskem America, a wholly owned subsidiary of Braskem S.A.,has five production facilities, including three in Texas, one in Pennsylvania and one in WestVirginia, as well as its Technology and Innovation Center in Pittsburgh. Braskem Europe GmbH,a wholly owned subsidiary of Braskem S.A., operates two production facilities in SchkopauGermany and Wesseling Germany. The company recently completed its acquisition of The Dow Chemical Company Polypropylene Business; builds its global polypropylene capacity to four (4)million tons per year. The assets involved in the deal include two manufacturing plants in the U.S. and two inGermany, with a total annual polypropylene production capacity of 1.05 million tons.The two US manufacturing plants located in Freeport, Texas and Seadrift, Texas will befully integrated into Braskem America, Inc. The two German plants located inWesseling and Schkopau will operate under Braskem Europe GmbH. Continue reading Braskem : the largest manufacturer of thermoplastic resins in the Americas →