ATA’s 2014 Outlook Conference speakers review current economic and industry trends. By Mary Hennessy When members of the United States Industrial Fabrics Institute (USIFI) and the Narrow Fabrics Institute (NFI), both divisions of the Advanced Textiles Association (ATA), gathered this May for the annual Outlook Conference, they enjoyed all the usual benefits: interesting speakers, the [...]

Johnson Controls, a global multi-industrial company, is working with the sportswear manufacturer adidas Group and other partners on a project to increase automation in the production of textiles. The project, known as SPEEDFACTORY, aims to combine the capabilities of humans and machines with the goal of creating a prototype in which people and robots work [...]

Two decades ago, Glen Raven Custom Fabrics, Glen Raven, N.C., was looking to expand its upholstery fabrics business. The company looked to Sunbury Textile Mills of Sunbury, Pa., for its access to decorative jobber markets. Today, the partnership, which combined the performance heritage of the Sunbrella® brand with Sunbury’s reputation for high-end design, remains strong. [...]

Milco Industries of Bloomsburg, Pa., a leading supplier of knitted fabrics, is combining with Fablock Mills, a Murray Hill, N.J. supplier of raschel and tricot fabrics to a variety of markets in North America. The new relationship will enable Milco to offer a more diversified product line targeted to automotive, health care and government end [...]

Carnegie, Rockville Centre, N.Y., has passed a rigorous third party assessment performed by the nonprofit organization B Lab to become the first textile and wall covering company to become a Certified B Corporation. The designation means the company meets rigorous standards of social and environmental performance, accountability and transparency. Carnegie joins such companies as Patagonia, [...]

Stahl, Waalwijk, the Netherlands, a specialist in high-quality chemicals leather and performance coatings for all kind of materials, has acquired Clariant’s leather services business, which includes manufacturing sites in Germany, Italy and India, as well as laboratories in several other locations. With this acquisition, Stahl now services the entire leather processing chain. With more than [...]

A comprehensive review of U.S. and Canadian geosynthetics markets compiled by the Geosynthetic Materials Association (GMA), a division of the Advanced Textiles Association (ATA), is available now at the ATA Bookstore. The Geosynthetics Market Report 2011-2012 provides quantities and values of the geosynthetic materials produced in the U.S. and Canada, reporting on five categories (geotextiles, [...]

INVISTA, owner of the LYCRA brand, has developed a bio-derived spandex available for use in a wide variety of apparel fabrics and garments. Approximately 70 percent by weight of the fiber comes from a renewable source made from dextrose derived from corn. Since this fiber is made using a renewable feedstock, the result is a [...]

Non-flushable baby wipes are one of those items increasingly found in the wastewater stream. To raise awareness about this problem, INDA, the Association of the Nonwoven Fabrics Industry, partnered with the Main Wastewater Control Association and Portland Water District to launch a public awareness campaign that successfully reduced the amount of non-flushable baby wipes in [...]

Intertek of Mumbai, India, has launched Indati, the first-ever mobile textile-testing lab. The lab-on-wheels brings the testing equipment right to the user, making textile testing convenient and cost efficient. It’s recommended for retailers, brands and manufacturers of adult apparel, children’s apparel, fashion accessories and household textiles. With Indati, ensuring that textile products meet safety, regulatory, [...]