Methods available immediately as downloadable PDFs. The Association of Textile, Apparel & Materials Professionals (AATCC) has published two new ways to measure the light-blocking effect of window coverings. AATCC Research Committee RA36, Color Measurement Test Methods, is responsible for the creation of test methods 148-2014, Light Blocking Effect of Textiles and Related Materials: Photodetector Method, [...]

At first glance, a power napster wearing the Studio Banana® Ostrich Pillow® while reclining on an airport bench might be mistaken for a sleeping masked burglar, a space alien or an escaped prisoner. Relax, say Ostrich Pillow designers Key Portilla-Kawamura and Ali Ganjavian (Studio KG), and try one on for size. The pillow, which fits [...]

The introduction by Protecht LLC, Edmond, Okla., of the Bodyguard Blanket, a bullet-resistant backpack-type blanket, struck a chord with media outlets worldwide that have covered school-shooting tragedies such as the Newtown, Conn., massacre and the murder of 67 campers on an island near Oslo, Norway, by a lone gunman. While school shootings occur infrequently (thank [...]

A 10-year partnership between Phifer Inc. and World Vision has provided immediate and long-term aid to families in need all over the world—in the form of sleeping cots and hammocks to dividing walls in homes to fabric “canvas” for school children’s art activities, as well as on windows for insect and sun protection. A global [...]

The Apparel Innovation Consortium (AIC) arose from an urgent need to upgrade the textile and garment industry infrastructure in emerging markets worldwide. News media coverage of factories with frequent strikes, egregious pollution violations, deadly fires and building collapses serves to illuminate the sweatshop conditions of many facilities in developing nations. The AIC touts a practical, [...]

The Secondary Materials and Recycled Textiles Association (SMART) is working state-by-state to promote the adoption of an EPA rule that clarifies the handling and disposal of solvent-contaminated industrial wiping cloths. To date, nine states—Alaska, Florida, Iowa, Illinois, Louisiana, North Carolina, New Jersey, Pennsylvania and Virginia—have implemented it. Officials in the majority of other states indicate [...]

As more fashion, interior design and automotive industry brands seek to lower the environmental impact of their products, Stahl now offers a complete EVO range, the next generation polyurethane coatings for shoes, bags, upholstery and automotive interiors. The Netherlands-based producer of chemicals for leather products and performance coatings offers 100 percent water-based EVO topcoat and [...]

Smart textile and wearable intelligence prototypes for all kinds of applications with the potential to alter people’s lives are increasingly being seen at major trade shows. Safety and intervention, (home) care and medical, military, sports and leisure applications are believed to be the major growth markets for these products. To greater understand the technology and [...]

Certain reusable textile products are better for the environment than their disposable counterparts, according to a recent study commissioned by TRSA, an international commercial textile services trade organization located in Alexandria, Va. The research showed that mid-priced or upscale restaurant napkins, shoulder-to-shin gowns to protect clothing in a hospital and industrial wipers for cleaning up [...]

Five companies are finalists for the International Textile Machinery Association (ITMA) Innovator of the Year award, and another five were named finalists for Launch of the Year. More than 50 companies are nominated in 10 “best innovation” categories, and three will be cited as “company of the year.” Nominees for Innovator of the year include [...]