In 2009, the Department of Textiles at the University of Ghent, Belgium, celebrates 80 years of textile leadership with an anniversary event, the 6th International Conference on Textile and Polymer Biotechnology and Smart Textiles Salon, an exhibition of smart textile prototypes scheduled for September 23–26, 2009. The University continues its research success as coordinator of [...]

George Mendoza was a promising high-school athlete when macular degeneration, a retinal disorder that leaves blind spots and distortions in the central vision, made him legally blind. Mendoza used his disability to fuel a passion for athletics, writing and painting, becoming the subject of two PBS documentaries and an exhibitor at galleries around the country. [...]

Tent and awning fabricators such as Takada Soubi Co. Ltd., Gifu, Japan, can count on leftovers—bits and scraps of mesh, cotton and polyester that pile up and increase waste disposal costs. Company president Akihiro Kondo sent eight employees with sewing expertise on a mission to recycle the fabric. The results: 20 types of one-of-a-kind “tent [...]

When the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) held a contest to name the Node 3 wing on the International Space Station, Comedy Central’s faux newscaster/comedian Stephen Colbert urged fans to deluge NASA with write-in votes. He won, but had to be content with a consolation prize: a treadmill with a bungee cord harness that [...]

Textile engineering students at North Carolina State University (NCSU) have the next manned moon landing covered with a blanket that protects lunar outposts from radiation while storing energy for astronauts’ use. The project, one of 10 finalists in the Revolutionary Aerospace Systems Concepts Academic Linkage competition, tackles one of NASA’s key concerns about moon missions [...]

There’s no better place for scientists to seek eco-friendly, high-strength materials than in nature, and researchers at the University of Guelph, Guelph, Ontario, Canada, reeled in the hagfish for fiber research. The hagfish (Class Myxini) is an ugly eel-like sea creature with four hearts, two brains and the ability to generate a fibrous slime when [...]

When disaster strikes—be it fire, flood, hurricane or tornado—tents often provide temporary shelter for displaced victims. German designer Felix Stark of Formstark designed the Sphere Refugee Tent to provide tent occupants with a sense of community as well as physical shelter. “The concept behind ‘sphere’ not only considers taking shelter from extreme weather conditions but [...]

Tent dresses, made popular in the 1960s with A-line shapes and unstructured fabrics, wafted around flower children for a few scant years and disappeared into fashion history. A completely different tent dress concept, designed by Angelika Werth, Nelson, B.C., Canada, may have a more durable lifecycle. Werth's hand-sewn dresses are fabricated of recycled tents, from [...]

Problem: Traditional bungee cords lack a safety clip and can slide off and cause injury, especially while being installed or released. Solution: Tarpline shock cords, using the Hippo Clip, can be installed loose and securely adjusted to the desired tension while out of harm’s way. The shock cord is made of natural rubber and wrapped [...]

A Restricted Substance List (RSL) is an essential first step in any serious textile safety program. A retailer, manufacturer, association or regulatory body develops an RSL to identify the chemical substances that will be limited or prohibited in its products or industry. To be an effective tool for textile safety, the RSL must have the [...]