The market for polymer sorbents, used in diapers, feminine napkins and incontinence products, is expected to increase from $4.2 to $7 billion by 2013, according to a recent technical market report. BCC Research, Wellesley, Mass., estimates that life sciences applications will be the second largest market segment in 2008 with 13.3 percent of the total [...]

China shut down emission-intensive industries prior to the Olympic Games to reduce air pollution in Beijing, and the silence was heard throughout the Indian cotton and textile industry. Chemicals and dyes used in India’s textile manufacturing shot up 25 percent in the two weeks following the shutdown. “Polyester and cotton dyes are some of the [...]

Appreciation of the yuan, less plentiful cotton raw material and rising wages are all factors in a Chinese textile industry slump. The General Administration of Customs of China reported that textile and garment exports fell 11 percent in the first half of 2008, and China posted negative growth in U.S. exports for the first time [...]

Japanese companies have introduced three intriguing specialty fabric products that combine once-incompatible features. By Kikuko Tagawa Cool Cargo helps save lives in Africa Cool Cargo FZ,” collaboratively developed and produced by Twinbird and Taiyo Kogyo, and the 2007 Award of Excellence winner in the industrial applications category of ATA’s International Achievement Awards, is a refrigerated [...]

Going green helps event companies gain both conscience and capital. By Shelby Gonzalez What does a green tented wedding look like? Just ask Alison Hotchkiss of Alison Events LLC in San Francisco, Calif. In 2007, she planned two weddings that included some of the same eco-friendly elements. Yet they couldn’t have been more different. The [...]

The European committee for textile associations, CEMATEX, has incorporated the product piracy prevention regulation introduced by VDMA Textile Machinery Association in Munich (for the ITMA 2007 exhibition) into the exhibition regulations for the ITMA Asia + CITME 2008 show. “The work of the Intellectual Property Rights office at ITMA Asia + CITME 2008, existing at [...]

The American Association of Textile Chemists and Colorists has announced its Fourth Annual Materials Design Competition for graduate and undergraduate students, with the goal of promoting innovative product development from a materials standpoint. Focus areas for this year’s competition: industrial/technical, sports materials, medical/biomedical/protective materials and devices, and smart/electronic/optoelectronic and nanomaterials. Preliminary design proposals must be [...]

The third edition of the “Worldwide Outlook for the Nonwovens Industry 2007–2012” will be released this fall by INDA, Association of the Nonwoven Fabrics Industry, in cooperation with its European counterpart EDANA. The report covers worldwide industry statistics, including size of regional markets and projections for growth in all major nonwovens markets and technologies, and [...]

Enlivening building facades and streetscapes to create welcoming places for people. By Paula Rees It’s time that designers take a breath of responsibility and think creatively. Fabric architecture’s uses, new materials and technological advances offer endless options and incredible design possibilities. As an environmental designer, the main focus of my work is with how places [...]

When disaster strikes, flexible fabric products offer aid. By Meleah Maynard Whether it’s flooding in Iowa or earthquakes in China, disasters in today’s global society seem to touch everyone. Victims need clean water, shelter and fuel quickly, but the traditional means of supplying these things have long been cumbersome and costly—if it was possible to [...]