Last year, Agion Technologies, a Wakefield, Mass., leader in silver-based antimicrobial technology, received a Silver Cradle-to-Cradle certification, which recognizes achievement in environmental design, processes and standards throughout the lifecycle of a company’s product. This year, Agion went for the Gold certification and received it. The certifications signal that companies adopt renewable energy, use energy efficiently, [...]

Genesis Plastics Welding, the new name for the combined companies Genesis Manufacturing and Plastics Welding Technology, launched a new logo and web presence in August. The company’s proprietary radio frequency (RF) heat sealing technology helps customers reduce use of polyvinyl chloride (PVC). Its ecoGenesis processes can be used to engineer products from polyethylene, polypropylene and [...]

As the owner of Tavern Hill, a custom drapery workroom, Susan Schurz has hands-on experience working with fabrics and textile technologies. Now she’ll expand that expertise to a wider audience as brand experience manager for Rowley Company, Gastonia, N.C. Schurz has published educational videos and a book of original window treatment designs, and holds a [...]

Scott Frisch, former president of a textile and mattress industry consulting firm, has been named sales and merchandising manager for the specialty fabrics division of Springs Creative Products Group (SCPG) LLC, Rock Hill, S.C. Frisch’s new division provides unfinished fabrics and components to manufacturers of mattresses and furniture. He brings 10 years experience in fabric [...]

A new report, “Geographical Proximity May No Longer Be a Critical Factor in Textile and Apparel Sourcing,” is now available from Research and Markets, Dublin, Ireland. The report, developed by Textiles Intelligence, discusses the importance of proximity between the source and seller as fashion cycles have become shorter, lead times compressed and complications during transportation [...]

The Skin Cancer Awareness Foundation wants children across the nation to have shade structures in outdoor play spaces—and will help raise money for shade projects through an online auction. The goal of the auction concept is to help schools, organizations and community groups raise the funding for shade structures. Exposure to ultraviolet rays is considered [...]

Saint-Gobain Technical Fabrics, manufacturer of industrial fabrics for construction, packaging and building materials, received ISO 14001:2004 certification for its facility in Tlaxcala, Mexico, and plans to seek certification for all five of its North American manufacturing facilities by 2011. Established by the International Organization for Standardization, ISO 14001:2004 certification demonstrates that a facility has identified [...]

U.S. Trade Representative Ron Kirk selected Gail Strickler, an experienced former textile company CEO and associate director at Philadelphia University’s College of Textiles and Sciences, as the U.S. lead negotiator for textiles. She will supervise negotiations on textile and apparel products, advise Kirk on textile policy and work to expand access to foreign markets. Strickler, [...]

President Barack Obama imposed tariffs of up to 35 percent on illegally subsidized tire imports from China, a move celebrated by textile manufacturers and blasted by the Chinese. The action follows a determination by the U.S. International Trade Commission that a harmful surge of Chinese tires disrupted the U.S. market. The action, taken under Section [...]

China Nonwovens & Industrial Textiles Association Industry adjustments, government action and product innovation kept China’s textile industry solvent in the first half of 2009, in spite of a decline in exports due to the global economic crisis. While the outlook for China’s textile industry for all of 2009 is not a cause for wholesale optimism, [...]