Strength in Numbers

The Textile Industry Shows Up in Abundance & Innovation Abounds Proving Sector Strength

By Caryn Smith, Chief Content Officer, IFJ

The textile industry is seeing signs of growth as established and start-up players jockey for position in an instable world full of unknowns. Companies are up and down, focused on managing current offerings – and holding onto market share earnings – while carefully balancing rising costs to do business. Plus, some are investing heavily in farreaching research and development on “sustainable” growth initiatives.

What is painfully consistent industrywide, however, is the inconsistent use of the words sustainable, circular, biobased, and green – varying with interpretations and swayed by the light of unfolding perspectives on the future expectations on the industry. This, however, is not stopping the fast-moving sustainability train, engineered currently by the European Union’s Digital Product Passport initiative, among other EU initiatives.

The Numbers Count

Techtextil and Texprocess 2024 in Frankfurt, Germany is a leading trade fair for the apparel and textile processing industry hosted by Messe Frankfurt. What stood out was how technology will play a key role in future manufacturing, the growth of sustainability measures, and the rise in the number of suppliers of downright beautiful bio-based textiles that rival any natural or synthetic high-end material.

Detlef Braun, member of the executive board of Messe Frankfurt, noted that 53 countries and 1,700 exhibitors were in attendance. “We are stronger than ever. Today, we are celebrating the 20th Jubilee of Techtextil. It is larger than ever, with an increase of about 29% on Techtextil in comparison to the last edition, and a 27% increase on Texprocess.”

He also announced a new Vietnam International Trade Fair for Apparel, Textiles and Textile Technologies (VIATT) show in 2025, the Cinte Techtextil China in Shanghai, September 19-21, 2024, and other niche shows, noting, “It’s about connecting people with ideas and people with opportunities.”

Technology Is Faster, Better and Different

In the next 10 years, artificial intelligence (AI) has the potential to revolutionize sustainability and industrialization, according to the opening panel talk, “From textile recycling to garment processing –the role of AI.” Panelists were Chloé Salmon Legagneur, Director, CETIA; Prof. Dr. Ingo Rollwagen, AMD Akademie Mode & Design/Hochschule Fresenius, Senior Advisor IMP Consulting; Elgar Straub, Managing Director, VDMA Textile Care, Fabrics and Leather Technologies; and Olaf Schmidt, Vice President Textiles &

Textile Technologies, Messe Frankfurt (pictured above).

They highlighted four key dynamics: acceleration, amplification, emulation, and sustainable industrialization. AI will enable faster, better, and more innovative solutions, leading to a significant reduction in waste and an increase in the reuse of materials. There was optimism about AI’s potential to contribute to the sustainable development goals and sustainable industrialization, and potential applications such as tailored textile solutions, aerospace technologies, and medical segment.

Development will not stop with the amplification and reusing materials much more than today. Sustainability is also about resilience, and we will see industry not only do things faster and better, but we will do completely different things. We will be seeing textile solutions, which are much more oriented in different qualities, as well as different pricing.

Data is AI currency. Companies will need to have theirs in order, especially when it comes to workflow, which is easier said than done. Building a successful AI environment takes time. But once you have your data and the principal product passport established, companies will also be more competitive and profitable with smarter use of resources.

Collaboration across the supply chain will become more critical as data, automation and transparency become keys to doing business, as will talent development within organizations.

The panel agreed that the high expense of technology is a worthy investment to improve quality, eliminate waste, elevate competence, and boost overall competitiveness.

Interestingly, one Texprocess Innovation Award given in the “Digitization and AI” category is to Valvan, a company focused on improving textile recycling with AI. Less than 1 percent of used garments are reprocessed into new clothing. Recycling is complicated because garments often contain parts such as zips, buttons, labels, or elastic bands. Removing them requires a thorough sorting process, often still carried out by hand today. The Belgian company has developed a machine that automatically recognizes and removes non-textile parts from old garments.

How the idea for Trimclean came about is quite curious: the inspiration apparently came from quality control in the production of Belgian fries. “We asked ourselves whether a technology that sorts out faulty fries would not also be able to recognize non-textile parts in textiles,” says Jean-François Gryspeert, Sales & Business Developer at Valvan. “We use AI in combination with a special camera to better separate fabric parts from nontextile parts,” and can even remove patches, seams, and prints. “The AI technology making Trimclean possible did not even exist a few years ago,” says Gryspeert.

Manufacturing Panel Focus on DPP

VDMA held an interesting “product passport – impact on the industry” panel, and included Andreas Schneider of Global Textile Scheme; Markus Reichwein of

Oerlikon

The integration of digitalization and sustainability in the textile industry was discussed, with a focus on the importance of differentiating between standardized communication and information sharing. The need for trustworthy data sources was emphasized, as well as the potential impact of the European Union’s proposed Digital Product Passport (DPP) system on the value chain, which aims to streamline data exchange and processing for AI development. The importance of standardization, data sharing, and cooperation between companies to prepare for industrial automation is essential to the DPP success.

“The elephant in the room is how much of the supply line is effected,” says Andreas Schneider, noting that there is no joint data language. “We would need to change that,” and it is quite an undertaking.

Overall, data sharing from the customer level seems to be a potential obstacle, too, as companies do not want to share proprietary information. Customers are hesitant to provide data for the DPP due to concerns about competition and data privacy, but may be willing to share data if it provides additional business value. Data requirements for sustainability are complex and time-consuming, but automating data exchange can ultimately save costs. Trust, as well as data quality and privacy, are essential for successful implementation.

Requirements are still unclear, but resources like the SURPASS Project[1] can provide guidance. Digitalization, data collection, and AI/machine learning can increase efficiency and sustainability in the textile industry if different stakeholders collaborate. Organizational structure within companies needs to support crossfunctional cooperation between departments like IT, sustainability, and supply chain management. And, the DPP represents both a regulatory challenge and opportunity – companies that can demonstrate sustainability leadership through data transparency may gain competitive advantages.

The panel agreed that DPP offers more opportunity not only for the supply chain, but for machinery manufacturers to provide new business models supporting systems designed for the digital product passport and to provide new services to make this system efficient.

Gems on the Show Floor

There was much innovation to be seen at Techtextil. These companies caught the eye for their advancements.

SENSIL® – The nylon fabric company NILIT® launched a new Nylon 6.6 stretch fabric yarn to their line. The new “Flow” yarn offers comfort without elastane or spandex, and can loop back into the beginning of the textile production process, unlike apparel made with these blended fibers. In performance tests, it is shown to have very similar results as its blended counterparts. The hand feel of Flow is soft, strong, and beautiful for next-tobody garments.

Recycled apparel made with SENSIL® Flow reduces consumption of virgin raw materials, natural resource consumption, and the buildup of apparel waste in Earth’s ecosystems. “According to industry experts, more than 90 million tons of apparel end up in landfills each year,” says Michelle Lea, NILIT’s Chief Marketing and Sustainability Officer. “Only about a fifth of discarded clothing is reused or recycled. The SENSIL® Flow approach eliminates waste throughout the production chain and enables brands to design apparel that lasts longer and, at the end of an extensive life, can be more easily recycled.”

Additionally, NILIT partners with recycling experts to facilitate the efficient recovery and recycling of fabric waste and post-consumer fabrics and clothing that would otherwise end up in a landfill or incinerator. These partners are expected to create high-quality recycled nylon chips that can be reintroduced into NILIT’s Nylon fiber spinning process, resulting in high-quality outputs, as well as other engineering plastics. Certificates will validate circularity and provide transparency and accountability for partners committed to building a circular textile economy.

Sensoptic – The newest technology, Sensoptic Vision, is the first system that allows you real-time detection and visualization of micrometric faults of round and flat targets with outstanding image quality. Its Profile Sensors PXL are mostly used in production machines of magnet wires, bare wires, fine cables, and extrusion lines of mono- and multifilament. Companies focused in delicate yarns, such as medical sutures, can benefit from this technology to pinpoint defects and act accordingly.

Archroma – With the launch of Cartaseal® OGB F10, those seeking a coating with superior oil resistance will also benefit from a bio-based chemistry, and the ability to take advantage of the recyclability and repulping processes. “We are excited to introduce our latest barrier solution that addresses key challenges in the packaging industry while upholding our commitment to sustainability,” said Sameer Singla, CEO PP&C at Archroma. “With its unmatched oil and grease resistance, exceptional foldability, and sustainability features, Cartaseal® OGB F10 represents a significant advancement in packaging technology, empowering businesses to meet evolving consumer demands while reducing their environmental footprint.” says Scheizer, naNea is novel synthetic textile material designed to replace conventional polyester. naNea performs like conventional PET, but its novel polymer structure renders biodegradability in the open environment. It is flame retardant, hydrophilic, and boasts amazing hand feel. naNea is currently used in outdoor fashion with G-LOFT®, and has broad applications in sportswear, functional apparel, home textiles, technical and automotive applications.

Andritz and Teknomelt – In 2021, the Andritz project was started to install a nonwovens production line supplied to Teknomelt Teknik Mensucat San. ve Tic. A.S., Kahramanmaras/Türkiye. The new state-of-the-art neXline wetlace CCP (carded-carded-pulp) line combines the benefits of two technologies – spunlace and wetlaid – and produces nonwoven roll goods for biodegradable, plastic-free wet wipes.

Production stalled due to a 7.8 magnitude earthquake in Türkiye on Feb. 6, 2023, at the center of the company’s production site. Tobias Schäfer, Vice President Sales, Nonwovens Division, Andritz, spoke about the respect he gained for the company’s resilient leadership as they continued the project in record time, all the while helping devastated employees find housing, food, supplies, and more in relief efforts.

Topp Textile – Believing hemp is the future, Topp set out to develop a hemp fiber knitting yarn suitable for automotive, garment, luxury and home goods. They found it difficult to purchase good quality hemp in China, and decided to cultivate their own raw materials.

Elvan Sentürk, Head of Application Projects, shared how Topp is co-founder and shareholder of Kender Cucc Kft, in Hungary, founded in 2022 to cultivate, grow and process small commercial scale hemp, in hopes to grow production for larger scale production. In 2022, 30 tonnes of hemp straw were spun into high-tenacity yarns. It is also investing to grow hemp in Germany to find the right business model.

The hemp yarn is strikingly whiter, unusual for the earthy hemp plant, and Topp’s hemp materials can also supply automotive interior composites, (seen in inset above), mattress toppers, and other goods to replace cotton, and provide the environmental benefits of hemp in manufacturing. Sentürk says, “We are confident it’s the right way for innovations,” as an alternative to cotton. The company is still far from commercialization, but is getting closer as it looks for new applications, with an eye on filtration at the moment.

SAFAK – Located in Istanbul since 1958, SAFAK is a family-owned third generation manufacturer of technical textiles. While they have strong textile roots, they are innovators at heart. The newest offering is Corium™ that rivals any true luxury leather for a plethora of applications, from shoe uppers to book covering to upholstery to jewelry. The materials are made up of recycled man-made fibers combined with water-based PU. It is a never-beforeseen textile with material qualities similar to both technical fabrics and synthetic leather – yet entirely unlike anything currently on the market.

OceanSafe – Manual Scheizer, founder and CEO, shared about his high-grade recycled feedstock for polyester. As a Cradle to Cradle Certified® Gold yarn, “The first and only one in the world,”

Produced using a unique process developed by SAFAK, Corium™ is a family of single-layer homogenous textiles that serves as an entirely new fabric and developed as a sustainable textile requiring significantly less water in production and avoiding the use of chemicals currently under regulatory scrutiny. Products made with Corium™ are water repellent, hydrophilic, and flame retardant.

Simon Papo, the company’s president, was the mastermind behind its development, and says, “As a synthetic leather, you cannot tell the difference. We designed and built a new production manufacturing line to produce it, which is waterless, and very unique in itself.”

[1] https://www.surpass-project.eu. The EUfunded SURPASS project will lead the transition towards more safe, sustainable, and recyclable by design (SSRbD) polymeric materials for Small and Middle Enterprises in building, transport and packaging sector.