Hot Topics
‘There is no AWAY’ – How do we minimize plastic waste in the environment?
The source of the phrase “There is no AWAY” is the NGO Better Alternatives Now (BAN): “Plastic – a material invented to last forever – can no longer be used to make products intended to be thrown away. There is no AWAY.” As the director of education and technical affairs at INDA, Association of the Nonwoven Fabrics Industry, part of my mission is to look at issues affecting our members and determine what we can do. One of the big issues we are examining now is plastics in the environment with an emphasis on single use.
Fiber industry faces economic headwinds
The world economy started off on an optimistic note in 2018, following growth in manufacturing and trade the previous year. But optimism gave way to a downturn from midyear, as the International Monetary Fund revised down its 2018 projections for most advanced economies and predicted significantly lower growth expectations for 2019.
Taking steps toward a sustainable bio-based textile economy
The past decade has seen a surge in demand for bio-based and environmentally sustainable products, motivated primarily by global challenges, such as marine litter and microplastic contamination and growing environmental
Resilient flooring to grow nearly 4% annually through 2022
Global demand for resilient flooring is forecast to rise 3.9% per year to 3.7 billion square meters in 2022, outpacing growth for nonresilient flooring. Vinyl products – particularly LVT – …
Upcycling for the Circular Economy – the Next Big Venture for Indorama?
As reported in the review of the Dornbirn Global Fiber Congress 2018 by Geoff Fisher in the October issue of International Fiber Journal, the push towards the circular economy is very much animating manufacturers at present.
Among notable moves in this direction is the joint venture signed recently between Indorama Ventures and a fast-rising new chemicals company – Loop Industries, based in Montréal, Quebec, Canada.
There was little indication back in 1994, when Indorama Holdings became Thailand’s first worsted wool yarn producer, that in under a quarter of a century it would rise to become one of the biggest – and certainly the most diversified – synthetic fiber and fiber feedstocks producers in the world.