4 minute read
VIEWPOINT New Places with a Great View
“My destination is no longer a place, rather a new way of seeing.”
– Marcel Proust
As I started the year, my calendar was full of destinations that had me meeting with the industry through large and small events, for both fiber and filtration. From Techtextil to ITMA to Index, and others, I travelled with an agenda to gather business intelligence, meet with progressive industry suppliers, and discover emerging trends. Instead of checking these things off my list, what I found more of was a deeper understanding on the inner workings of the industry and an excitement of knowing we are standing at a crossroads of change. I came away from each event more excited about the potential of what can be, and a desire to reveal a pathway to achieve it inside our pages.
I am sure for some of you, pivotal times of change have come and gone in your careers. Yet, for some of us, this is the first time through a significant shift. From my perspective, I realized that change in the industry is not a destination, but a mindset. To become sustainable will require a new vision for the future, and embracing ideological change for a greater purpose –such as preservation of natural resources.
This demand for a new vision may have some worried. But in “Resetting the Global Supply Chain,” in Geoff Fisher’s report from Dornbirn Global Fiber Congress 2023 on page 24, he says, “Stephan Sielaff, chief executive officer (CEO) of Lenzing, noted that while the global fiber market has seen many challenges since the 1960s, it has always recovered. It continues to show a healthy growth potential, with an average annual increase of 2.4% predicted by 2030, which means an additional demand of 27 million tonnes a year of fibers.”
The article also quotes Robert van de Kerkhof, chief sustainability officer of Austriabased cellulosic fibers producer Lenzing and president of the Dornbirn GFC:
“The challenges currently facing the fiber industry require fundamental changes in the value chains. We see new strategic partnerships being formed to take advantage of new opportunities around innovation, the circular economy and new business models.”
Part of the conversation at every event I attended was biobased materials. On page 12, Hafiz Muhammad Kaleem Ullah and Javier Vera Sorroche from the Centre Européen des Textiles Innovants (CETI) discuss the viability of biobased sources in polymers. This article is based on CETI’s presentation at Dornbirn GFC, and spells out what the industry must know to embrace a new vision for polymer-based fiber production.
They emphasize that quality must be a key component: “First and foremost, industries must meticulously evaluate whether the properties of these biobased materials align with the specific functional requirements of their intended applications. Factors such as tensile strength, flexibility, durability, and resistance to various environmental conditions must be scrutinized to ensure that they meet industry standards.”
On page 20, Adrian Wilson shares about France’s “Extended Producer Responsibility in Action,” highlighting the country’s complex and productive system of recycling textiles in operation since 2008. Wilson notes, “France is now setting the pace in establishing a fiber-to-fiber ecosystem for other nations to follow.”
There is much to be achieved in this current shift in textile and fiber manufacturing and handling, End-of-life systems are still being developed and emerging technologies are announced weekly. It is an exciting time to be reporting on this industry. We will have much more to share with you in 2024. Keep reading!
Sustaining Leaders in the Fiber Industry
What is Your Contribution?
As I have travelled to shows and events, it is easy to see that industry contributors are everywhere. Can I suggest that you can consider yourself a key contributor! You make contributions every day in your work life to advance your company mission and vision. No matter where you are in your fiber journey, what you do matters. You are researchers, scientists, developers, manufacturers, process & product specialists, inventors, engineers, administrators, sales personnel, site managers, and more. Maybe you presented a research paper or a keynote address at an industry event. Possibly you applied new technology or processes to your fiber endeavors. Or you installed a new line of machinery to increase productivity. You may even have documented new or improved scientific data.
Where do you fit in?
Join Us!
Our mission in 2024 is sustain leaders in the industry –through education, inspiration and information. By sharing interesting stories, valuable trends, worthy advancements – and even notable advertising – I hope that we inspire you to think differently about solutions to problems and to connect industry colleagues to collaborate. But I need your help to accomplish this!
Consider this your invitation to contribute to IFJ. I welcome participation through new story ideas and thought leadership. Review the Editorial Calendar below for issue themes. Then, send an email to csmith@inda.org to receive the IFJ Editorial Submission Guidelines. While I can’t promise all ideas presented will be accepted, I welcome the opportunity to explore them with you.
— Caryn Smith, IFJ Chief Content Officer & Publisher
See page 8 for details ISSUE 1
Editorial:
Materials:
ISSUE 2
Editorial:
Ad
Materials:
JEC World, Mar. 5-7, Paris Nord Villepinte France Cellulose Fibres Conference, Mar. 13-14, Cologne, Germany
TechTextil, Apr. 23-26, Frankfurt, Germany ANEX, May 22-24, Taipei, Taiwan
Smart Fabrics May 14-15, Raleigh, NC World of Wipes (WOW) June 17-20, Minneapolis, MN
Textiles & Technology Supply Chain Traceability
• New Special Section for 2024! Nonwovens: Fabrics
• AI/Machine Learning in Composites
• ERP (Enterprise Resource Planning)
• Technology
• Nonwovens Special Section: Equipment
• Finishing, Dyeing & Printing
• Spinning & Winding
• Converting
• Cutting & Crimping Systems
• Natural & Cellulose Fiber Composites
Mechanical vs. Chemical Recycling Refining, Recycling and Repurposing
• Bicomponent Fiber
• Apparel/Fast Fashion
• Weaving & Knitting
• Nonwovens Special Section: Drylaid, Spunlaid, Meltblown & Wetlaid
Solution Center: Automation & Digitalization
Showfloor Showcases: JEC World, Cellulose Fibres Conference, TechTextil (Germany), ANEX
Solution Center: Bio-Based Fiber & Yarns
Solution Center: Cutting & Crimping Systems
Showfloor Showcases:
Smart Fabrics, WOW
Solution Center: Recycling Equipment
Showfloor Showcases:
TechTextil NA, CAMX, Dornbirn GFC 2024
Automotive, Transportation & Marine Applications Technical Textiles
