Dornbirn Congress continues to communicate fiber innovation
With global fiber production now exceeding 100 million tons – and growing at 3-4% a year – non-governmental organizations (NGOs), which focus on all parts of the textile value chain, are increasingly drawing attention to the fiber industry and producing unfavorable, critical reports. Textile products are placing huge pressures on the Earth’s resources and polluting the environment.
New industries will secure continuous growth for nonwoven filter media
By Adrian Wilson, International Correspondent
Mega-trends are ensuring the continued expansion of the filtration industry, which is estimated by the American Filtration Society (AFS) to have an annual value of around $80 billion globally. The demands for purer air and cleaner water are the biggest, and both are the subject of ever-more stringent legislation.
Automation tops the Atlanta agenda
By Adrian Wilson, International Correspondent
The combined Techtextil North America and Texprocess Americas shows, which took place at the Georgia World Congress Center in Atlanta from May 22-24, drew together some 536 exhibitors from 32 countries, setting new records for both exhibitors (up 26%) and square meters of space sold (up 14%).
The event was dominated by Germany’s 1,300-square meter High-Tex showcase featuring the technical textile technologies
Winning Combinations
By Adrian Wilson, International Correspondent
While not generally a field characterized by frequent innovation, a potentially disruptive new technology is being introduced to the North American geotextiles market by Greer, South Carolina-based Haydale Technologies.
Haydale is an advanced materials group with a focus on the integration of nanomaterials into next-generation commercial technologies and industrial materials, with six facilities in the USA, Europe and the Far East.
Flushable wipes: a perfect technological contradiction
By Adrian Wilson, International Correspondent
Flushable nonwoven wipes have become the unlikely subject of a legal debate on consumer rights and corporate responsibility.
In December, a Washington DC federal judge temporarily barred the District from enforcing part of its recently passed law requiring cautionary labels on Kimberly-Clark’s flushable products, saying the city’s approach probably violates the First Amendment.