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VOLUME 32 ISSUE TWO 2026

A stretch for plant-based Performance beyond exercise Enter the enzymes A magnificent mile

SPORTSTEXTILES CONTENTS

Contents 02

Global news

VOLUME 32 ISSUE TWO 2026

04 Natural appeal Fibre producers are investing heavily in new facilities for producing plantderived chemicals and ingredients for biopolymers in anticipation of an increase in demand.

10 Up close and personal Seamless knitting and wearable technology are opening up new markets for producers of baselayers, sleepwear and intimate apparel as performance goes “beyond exercise”.

A stretch for plant-based Performance beyond exercise Enter the enzymes A magnificent mile

Renewable Lycra fibre is an example of what manufacturers are able to achieve now using plantbased content derived from renewable feedstock.

12 Enter the enzymes Fabric and apparel manufacturers, as well as research institutes and universities in Portugal are working together to take the country’s textile industry into the bioeconomy.

IMAGE: THE LYCRA COMPANY

Editor Stephen Tierney Deputy editor Clare Grainger Consultant technical editor Sophie Bramel Publisher Simon Yarwood

16 Newcomers: Footwear recycling Postconsumer waste is making a comeback in shoe initiatives, including rubber recycled from old footwear and used tennis balls.

Design Tim Button Company secretary John Collins Editorial enquiries stephen@worldtrades.co.uk

SPORTSTEXTILES ISSUE TWO 2026

CONTENTS

20 Rise to the Challenge: Recco reflector technology

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Advertisers Index

Safety tools long in use among winter sports brands and search and rescue teams are increasingly in demand for yearround activities, including trailrunning, hiking and biking.

24 Footwear technology: Magnificent mile A personalised carbonplate system and oneofakind upper are among the special features of the shoes that helped Josh Kerr smash a record that had stood for 27 years.

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Sales offices Head office World Trades Publishing The Old Stone House, Teeton, Northampton NN6 8LH Tel: +44 151 928 9288

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26 Sustainability: Water management

Australia’s cotton industry wants the government to stick with its current watermanagement strategy, but to find ways to get better results from it.

30 Dialogue: Samantha Fernando, Keela Outdoors Finding a use for surplus fabric, championing repairs and recovering materials from endoflife garments are all part of Scottish outdoor brand Keela’s circular strategy.

SPORTSTEXTILES SERVING THE PERFORMANCE TEXTILE INDUSTRY SINCE 1995

World Trades Publishing 2026 Contributions: The editor welcomes news items, articles and photographs for consideration and possible publication but no responsibility can be accepted for the loss or non-publication of such material. Opinions expressed by individual contributors do not necessarily reflect the view of the editor or publisher. Whilst every effort is made to ensure accuracy in reproduction, no responsibility can be accepted for the technical content or for claims made by manufacturers for product performance that are published. Publication in Sportstextiles cannot be construed as an endorsement for a claim or product by the publisher. UK Price £90 / ROW £150. Credit cards will be charged in GB Pounds converted at the daily bank rate. Your credit card company may charge you for this service. Graphic origination by WTP Printed by Bishops Printers, Walton Road, Portsmouth, Hampshire PO6 1TR All rights reserved.Sportstextiles (Print) ISSN 2976-9833 (Online) ISSN 2976-9841 World Trades Publishing 2026. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any form or by any means mechanical, electronic, recording, photocopying or otherwise, without the written permission of the publisher. Sportstextiles (ISSN 2976-9833) is published two times a year by World Trades Publishing, The Old Stone House, Teeton, Northampton NN6 8LH, UK.

SPORTSTEXTILES GLOBAL NEWS

Global news Belgium After several years of “sustained difficulty”, the wool

Sweden Swedish outdoor brand Haglöfs has launched its first product dyed in Standard Issue Black – the Buteo Mid II Jacket. Each year, outdoor brands independently produce tens of thousands of fleece garments in nearidentical shades of black. Each shade requires its own dye batch, chemical mix and minimum order quantity. To reduce these impacts, Haglöfs and Polartec created Standard Issue Black: a shared black, predyed at scale, and openly available to the whole industry.

sector has reason to be “cautiously optimistic”, with merino prices rising 25% in the second half of 2025, according to the International Wool Textile Organisation (ITWO). Global sheep numbers fell in 2025, constrained by competition from cropping, sheep meat and changing land use. Natural fibre volumes are steady but polyester continues to increase. Added to the geopolitical backdrop, this means the industry’s investment in transparency and traceability is all the more important, it said. Italy Eurojersey’s latest range proposes to rethink fabric selection through a new lens, Spain Londonbased biotech company “where fabrics are no longer defined by a Epoch Biodesign has bought a nylon 6.6 single discipline, but by the performance they production site in Blanes, Spain, which was are designed to deliver”. It is phasing out its most recently the property of DOMO Sensitive Fabric brand and presenting its first chemicals. This vertical integration marks the fabrics made from cotton. The goal here, the first industrial scale facility, with a capacity to company said, is to “bring together the natural produce 52,000 tonnes yearly, that will be character of cotton with Eurojersey’s making recycled polyamide derived from the technological knowhow”. company’s enzymebased technology. This recycling method is said to yield virginquality recycled monomers, thanks to AIdesigned enzymes.

Netherlands The ZDHC Foundation’s 2025 Impact Report has revealed a 19% growth in registered chemical formulators, 15% growth in suppliers registered on the ZDHC Gateway and supplier platform, and 27% growth in chemical products published on the Gateway during the year. There are now 166,915 chemical products on the Gateway, up 105% since 2022; and average ZDHC MRSL (manufacturing restricted substances list) conformance climbed to 79% in 2025, up from 72% in 2023.

Mongolia Italy’s expertise in cashmere Guatemala Apparel group VF Corporation has invested in a project to help women garment workers achieve greater workplace equality and career advancement. VF said women in the country’s garment sector often face limited access to higherpaying job opportunities. They also risk sexual harassment and genderbased violence. A pilot programme reached four garment factories and around 3,000 workers.

Portugal Cellulose fibre supplier Spinnova has bought Portuguese yarn manufacturer Tearfil for an initial purchase valuation of €500,000. This will allow Spinnova to secure “dedicated yarn development and spinning capabilities” and will help it shorten development cycles.

and wool processing is being harnessed in Mongolia and has led to a growing demand for advanced machinery, according to Italian textile machinery association ACIMIT. The biggest demand is for spinning machines, it said, accounting for 35% of the sector’s exports to the country, followed by laundry machinery (21%), accessories (19%), finishing equipment (14%) and weaving machinery (11%).

Africa In 2025, around 715,000 smallscale farmers in 10 African countries cultivated cotton in accordance with the Cotton made in Africa or Cotton made in Africa Organic standards. As a result, 36.4% of all cotton produced in Africa is now verified under these two standards. Some 43,000 smallholders in four African countries benefit from Cotton made in Africa Organic, which is 32% more than in the previous year.

SPORTSTEXTILES ISSUE TWO 2026

GLOBAL NEWS

US Nonprofit organisation the Apparel Impact Institute (AII) has estimated the fashion industry’s emissions for 2024 at just over 1 gigatonne, an increase of 6.3% compared with the year before. According to AII, this increase was mainly driven by an increase in the amount of fibre used to produce apparel, particularly polyester. Tiertwo activity, which is textile processing, has the largest share of the apparel sector’s emissions, with 51% of the total. Raw material production is next, with a 26% share. • The Textile Exchange’s newly published annual report for 2025 shows more than 100,000 sites around the world are certified to its material sustainability standards. The company said its standards collectively grew 12% year on year, more than 30 million hectares of land are certified to its Responsible Wool Standard and a record 423 brands and retailers reported into its Materials Benchmark. However, the fashion industry remains off track to meet the goal of reducing greenhouse gas emissions from fibre and raw material production by 45% by 2030, in line with the Paris Agreement.

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Canada Canadian outdoor brand Arc'teryx Equipment has unveiled its circular design strategy, System 0, which prioritises durability, repairability and disassembly at end of life. The first product in the range is the Sperro SV jacket, built with GoreTex Pro Fabric featuring an ePE membrane. The nylon face fabric and backer are designed for recyclability in partnership with Aquafil. Stuart Haselden, CEO of Arc'teryx, said System 0 represents a fundamental shift in how it builds the business.

Japan Japanbased IST Corporation is launching a new platform for its PlatinumWool, a technology for merino wool that is said to enhance the natural properties of the fibre. Members of the PlatinumWorld network include Woolmark, Südwolle Group’s GTI division, Mister Joe, part of Italy’s A ZETA Group, and Biellabased CM Tessuti, which was one of the first European companies to use IST PlatinumWool in commercial fabrics.

Pakistan The Organic Cotton Accelerator’s Organic Seed Commercialisation project in Pakistan, launched in 2024, now has 100 acres under seed multiplication, with expected production of around 40 tonnes of nonGM cotton seed. This progress marks an important transition from testing to commercialisation, allowing OCA to make pure seed available to farmers in its programme.

India AltMat is developing a biomassderived fibre that transforms agroindustry biomass from banana, hemp and flax crops through an enzymatic process that extracts the cellulose fibres, without modifying them. The company has been scaling up production from lab stage in 2019 to pilot scale and it now operates a 500 to 1,000tonne per year factory in Ahmedabad. Altag fibres are akin to cotton or linen, and are not regenerated manmade cellulosic fibres like viscose. SPORTSTEXTILES SERVING THE PERFORMANCE TEXTILE INDUSTRY SINCE 1995

Hong Kong The Hong Kong Research Institute of Textiles and Apparel (HKRITA) has signed a Memorandum of Understanding with technology provider Jeanologia and textiles recycler Looptworks to accelerate the largescale recycling of blended textiles through its new Green Machine Circular Textile Ecosystem. At the centre of the system is HKRITA’s Green Machine 4.0, the newest iteration of its pioneering hydrothermal recycling technology, which recovers polyester at 98% or higher purity from cottonpolyester textiles. Vietnam Fibre producer Hyosung has begun commercial production of its 50,000tonperyear BioBDO plant in Ho Chi Minh City, which will enable it to reduce the carbon footprint of its elastane. Backed by a total investment of $1 billion, the project is equipped with the infrastructure to expand its production capacity to 200,000 tonnes annually in line with market growth.

Sri Lanka Japan’s Asahi Dyes and Chemicals and Sri Lankan manufacturer Asons have opened the Asahi Innovation Hub in Sri Lanka. Italy’s Tonello has supplied some machinery and described it as “a place where Japanese chemical excellence, Italian technological innovation and Sri Lankan industrial expertise combine”. The Biyagama facility will manufacture textile dyes, printing chemicals and finishing chemicals for the textile industry.

SPORTSTEXTILES WHEN SYNTHETICS BET ON RENEWABLE OVER FOSSIL

Occupying a middle ground between natural and petrochemical, synthetic fibres made from renewable resources may hit the right chord with brands looking to lighten their environmental footprint. But these biopolymers also come with their fair share of issues, related to land use, price competitiveness, and the term ‘bio’ itself, which can have many meanings.

When synthetics bet on renewable over fossil

iopolymers come in many forms. The cellulose in cotton is a natural biopolymer, whereas that of manmade cellulosic fibres has been modified, or regenerated, to use an industry term. Not entirely natural. Biosynthetic fibres, derived from renewable rather than fossil resources, are yet another category. Their building blocks, or monomers, come from industrial sugars, such as glucose, or from oils, such as castor bean oil. They combine the performance characteristics of synthetics with the draw of a lighter, biogenic carbon footprint. While this sounds like the best of both worlds, biopolymers have largely remained marginal players in the market. The complex chemistry of converting biomass into chemicals makes them more expensive than petrochemical synthetics. They also face competition on the sustainability front, as ‘recycled’ is considered an easier sell than ‘bio’. Although brands claim to be looking to reduce their emissions, biopolymers do not seem to benefit from these (often halfhearted) efforts. In its latest, 2026 materials report, Textile Exchange estimates that the market share of biobased polyester was 0.01% of global production in 2025. Ahead by a slim margin, biopolyamides are said to make up around 0.5% of the total market for nylon. Anticipating that demand will eventually materialise, fibre producers have been investing heavily in technologies and factories to produce plantderived chemicals and ingredients. Korean fibre producer Hyosung has launched production at a brandnew factory in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam, with the capacity to produce 50,000 tonnes of biobased butanediol (BioBDO) per year. A $1 billion investment. The site was chosen for its proximity to a Hyosung elastane facility, further lightening the footprint of its regen Bio Elastane. The company says it is prepared to increase capacity to 200,000 tonnes annually if market demand follows. The Lycra Company is also betting that brands will switch to its bioderived elastane and has 04

been actively campaigning for the adoption of its Renewable Lycra fibre. Its launch was made possible by the construction of a 66,000tonne peryear bioBDO factory in Eddyville, Iowa. A $300 million investment by Qore, jointly owned by US group Cargill and Germanybased HELM, it sources corn within a 100mile radius. Describing the company’s strategy, Alistair Williamson, The Lycra Company’s head of sustainability, tells Sportstextiles that “the strongest appeal is that Renewable Lycra fibre helps brands and mills move away from fossilbased resources without asking them to compromise on the performance consumers expect from Lycra fibre. It delivers the same stretch, recovery, comfort, fit and durability, while offering 70% plantbased content derived from annually renewable feedstock”.

Renewable Lycra fibre is said to deliver the same stretch, recovery, comfort, fit and durability of conventional Lycra, while offering 70% plant-based content derived from annually renewable feedstock. CREDIT: THE LYCRA COMPANY

Scaling up CovationBio, a DuPont spinoff now owned by Chinese textile group Huafon, was the first to industrialise production of a biopolyester, a polytrimethylene terephthalate (PTT), with 37% renewable content. The launch of Sorona goes back to the early 2000s. Huafon is now investing in a new biobased platform, bioPTMEG, to which it has applied the brand name Xatryx. It recently sold its stake in Primient Covation, which produces bioBDO, to Primient while securing sourcing rights. It has announced it is investing RMB 10 billion (or €1.2 billion) in a 50,000tonneperyear bioPTMEG plant in Qidong, Jiangsu Province, referring to it as its new C4 Platform because the factory will convert C4 chemicals (those with four carbon atoms), including BDO, into bioPTMEG. “The C4 Platform facility utilises a new process called Advanced ThermoChemical technology that was developed inhouse by CovationBio to create Xatryx products,” says Mosha H. Zhao, marketing director for the C4 Platform. “The first phase of the Qidong plant achieved mechanical completion in April 2026 and has officially initiated production of its first commercial batches of Xatryx, which is designed as a dropin replacement for fossilbased PTMEG.” This compound can be used to make SPORTSTEXTILES ISSUE TWO 2026

WHEN SYNTHETICS BET ON RENEWABLE OVER FOSSIL

SPORTSTEXTILES SERVING THE PERFORMANCE TEXTILE INDUSTRY SINCE 1995

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SPORTSTEXTILES WHEN SYNTHETICS BET ON RENEWABLE OVER FOSSIL

Production of Hyosung’s regen Bio Elastane has begun in a new factory in Vietnam that is part of an integrated supply chain, contributing to lower carbon emissions and speed to market. CREDIT: HYOSUNG

elastane, polyurethanes and thermoplastic elastomers. Huafon plans to launch its own a bioelastane. UPM Biochemicals is a newer name in the fibre industry. The Finnish company converts wood into sugar and produces bioMEG, a building block for polyester, among other nonfossil chemicals. It has invested €550 million to build an industrialscale biorefinery in Leuna, west of Leipzig, in Germany. With an announced capacity of 220,000 tonnes per year, the company claims that it is the largest such facility in Europe. Production of bioMEG, bioMPG and ligninbased renewable functional fillers began late last year. The company can also deliver a renewable naphtha from its biorefinery in Lappeenranta, Finland. “Together, these renewable carbon sources enable pathways towards polyester with significantly reduced fossil carbon content and ultimately even 100% woodbased polyester solutions,” says Holger John, sales manager for glycols at a division the company calls UPM Next Generation Renewables. “More broadly, our analysis of future textile pathways shows that the industry’s key challenge is not synthetic fibres themselves, but the fossil carbon on which they currently depend. When comparing different pathways for the textile sector, a key conclusion is that renewable and recycled carbon should not be viewed as competing solutions. The strongest outcomes are achieved when both are allowed to scale together.”

Better biomass Derived from renewable resources, and major agricultural crops such as corn and sugarcane, choosing to use biosynthetics inevitably raises questions about land use, and the long running foodversusfuel debate. As seen earlier, they make up a small portion of textile fibres, and an even smaller part of farming. In its latest report, ‘Biobased Building Blocks and Polymers’ published in February 2026, the Nova Institute in

Germany pegs global demand for biomass (for all uses) at 13.7 million tonnes per year. Feed production makes up the majority (57%), and some 0.026% are used to make biopolymers. With regards to land use, it says that the production of 4.5 million tonnes of biobased polymers in 2025 required 3.6 million tonnes of biomass, grown on 0.016% of agricultural land. This, the report notes, is due to the high area efficiency of sugarcane and maize crops, which are the main feedstocks used in the production of biobased polymers. While this data helps clear the confusion on land usage, the issue continues to haunt the biofuels, bioplastics and biopolymers industries. Food sovereignty is a sensitive issue, and many brands and corporations prefer to steer clear of the topic. Biomass is ranked in three categories: food, nonfood and nonagricultural. Firstgeneration feedstocks are derived from maize, sugarcane and sugar beets. Agricultural waste (corn stover, wheat straw) and wood residues make up what are called secondgeneration feedstock. Thirdgeneration ones are those that avoid terrestrial agriculture, the most commonly cited example is algae. Carbon extracted from flue gases is another thirdgeneration, nonfood and nonagricultural source of carbon. Earlier this year, Hyosung announced it had switched from corn to sugarcane, which it sources from Brazil, a country with an overcapacity for sugar production, says Simon WhitmarshKnight, marketing and sustainability director for Hyosung Textiles. This change also “removes one step in the production process as there is no need to convert corn into sugar,” he adds. The resulting bioelastane can now claim 70% biobased content. The company also offers a version that is 98% biomassderived. “It is a combination of 70% from sugarcane and 28% mass balance plantbased biomass,” he says. Other companies are switching from food to

SPORTSTEXTILES ISSUE ONE 2026

WHEN SYNTHETICS BET ON RENEWABLE OVER FOSSIL

UPM and Vaude launched a prototype fleece jacket made from wood-based polyester that was first revealed at ispo in 2023. CREDIT: VAUDE

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also sees “exciting opportunities in combining Sorona with natural fibres to enhance their performance while maintaining their natural comfort and aesthetics. Sorona helps bring together the best of nature and performance.” It is a key macro trend for Mr WhitmarshKnight, at Hyosung: “Personal wellness drives demand for biobased elastane, and it is particularly important in nexttoskin applications.” With elastane’s biggest producers investing in biopolymers, could bioelastanes be more prevalent than plantderived polyesters or nylons? Maybe not, as the stretch fibre makes up a small portion of a fabric’s composition. Others argue that recycled is easier to sell. For elastane, present only in blends, this is a formidable challenge. Finally, biopolymers suffer from the double meaning of the prefix ‘bio’ in many languages. At a panel talk at Première Vision in September, René Bethmann, senior innovation manager for Vaude, highlighted this point: “Germans are sceptical of biobased polymers, due in part to the double meaning of bio, which also refers to organic. No one questions the technology, but rather the impact on land use and farming. We need to be able to explain this better because consumers have many questions about biobased.” Recycled, he also noted, is an endoflife solution, whereas biobased is a beginningoflife solution. Could this be a first, smart step in helping biosynthetics grow?

nonfood biomass. CovationBio now uses corn cobs to make its Xatryx bioPTMEG. In Italy, Fulgar has reduced corn in favour of castor bean oil in the production of its EVO biopolyamide. A solution that offers better performance, as Daniela Antunes, marketing manager tells Sportstextiles. At a panel talk at Future Fabrics Expo in Brussels last June, Jerry Luo, the cofounder of the Chinese PEF producer LeafBio, said the company had switched to agricultural straw waste in 2025. “In our process, we turn cellulose into glucose to make PEF. We can use cellulose from textiles and cardboard, but textile waste is 50% more expensive than agricultural waste,” he told the audience.

Matching nature All producers of biopolymers claim that their plantbased solutions are dropin replacements for fossilderived chemicals. Biosynthetics are thus virtually indistinguishable from conventional manmade fibres. This is a good point, but not an easy sell. To emphasise their renewable plantbased origins, they are often paired with natural fibres. This trend has been gaining traction amid growing concerns about microplastic pollution and the added pull of a polyester backlash on social media. “In activewear, Renewable Lycra fibre can strengthen the overall materials story, particularly when combined with natural or manmade cellulosic fibres,” says Mr Williamson. At CovationBio, Kiki Chen, in charge of marketing communications for Sorona Apparel,

SPORTSTEXTILES SERVING THE PERFORMANCE TEXTILE INDUSTRY SINCE 1995

In its seamless activewear collection for AW 2027, innovative lifestyle and B Corp-certified brand Pangaia chose Fulgar’s 100% biobased Evo polyamide yarn. CREDIT: PANGAIA

SPORTSTEXTILES SPONSORED CONTENT: 3M

3M expands Thinsulate and Scotchgard into performance fabrics

nveiled during UTMB MontBlanc in Chamonix, the two new platforms represent a significant development for a materials developer traditionally associated with insulation and fabric protection. The move sees 3M extend both Thinsulate and Scotchgard into functional fabrics designed to combine several performance characteristics within a single textile construction, targeting the evolving requirements of outdoor and active apparel. Rather than focusing on a single performance attribute, the new platforms have been developed around the idea that outdoor garments increasingly need to respond to different conditions and levels of activity. For apparel developers, this means balancing properties such as thermal performance, breathability, moisture management, weather protection and weight within the same garment.

Thinsulate moves into multifunctional fabrics 3M Thinsulate Outdoor Comfort has been developed as a dualfunction fabric combining thermal performance, breathability and moisture management. The construction uses a waterrepellent outer surface designed to protect against splashes and light rain, while its inner surface provides moisturewicking performance to move perspiration away from the wearer. A fleece structure is intended to balance two potentially conflicting requirements in active outdoor apparel: allowing heat to escape during periods of activity while providing warmth as temperatures fall or activity levels decrease. This combination positions the platform for garments required to perform across changing temperatures, weather conditions and levels of physical exertion rather than being designed around a single end use.

SPONSORED CONTENT: CORDURA

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From trail runs to climbing sessions to cold‑weather treks, CORDURA Adventurer™ fabrics deliver the versatile, rugged performance outdoor apparel demands. CREDIT: CORDURA

Rather than approaching material selection simply by fibre or construction, organising the collection around finished applications allows development teams to begin with the performance requirements of the product they are creating.

Building a mill partnership Atextile was announced as the first official CORDURA Adventurer™ mill partner during Intertextile Shanghai Apparel Fabrics in August. The Xiamenbased textile manufacturer specialises in performance woven and laminated fabrics for outdoor, sports and workwear markets, with capabilities spanning lamination, coating and functional finishing. The partnership combines Atextile's manufacturing and technical development capabilities with the material expertise, global network and ingredientbrand platform of CORDURA® Advanced Fabrics. “This partnership is about working together to solve real market needs,” says Ryan Castanet, director of business development at CORDURA® Advanced Fabrics. “By collaborating closely with mill partners like Atextile, we can deliver meaningful innovation faster, pairing material performance with a trusted brand platform that helps designers and brands move forward with confidence.” For Atextile, the collaboration also provides a platform through which it can expand its presence within the international outdoor market. “As a strategic partner, CORDURA® brand's empowerment and implementation of products will help us gain a stronger market share, and CORDURA® brand will also bring added endorsement to many brands,” says Figo Wu, CEO of Atextile.

Taking the story through to the finished product The programme extends beyond the fabric itself. Brands selecting qualifying fabrics from the CORDURA Adventurer™ collection will also have access to CORDURA Adventurer™ hangtags and sewin labels, allowing the material technology and ingredientbrand story to remain visible through to the finished garment.

For designers and product developers, the combination of a curated fabric collection, defined application categories and onproduct branding is intended to create a more connected route from initial material selection through to the consumerfacing product. The Performance Days presentation will give European designers, developers and sourcing teams their first opportunity to explore the expanded collection and examine the individual fabric constructions firsthand. Atextile will showcase the 50fabric CORDURA Adventurer™ collection at booth U14 at Performance Days, Munich, October 13–14. The collection will subsequently be presented by CORDURA® at booth 644 at Functional Fabric Fair, Portland, Oregon, October 27–28. For more information about CORDURA Adventurer™, visit CORDURA.com/adventurer.

SPORTSTEXTILES SERVING THE PERFORMANCE TEXTILE INDUSTRY SINCE 1995

SPORTSTEXTILES POOLED THINKING ON FOOTWEAR RECYCLING

Pooled thinking on footwear recycling

utch sustainability hub Fashion for Good does a great job at uniting brands and the supply chain. It organises pilots addressing various challenges, helping to scale up, increase adoption or support with data novel materials and processes. Following seven years of focusing on textiles, in 2024 it announced a series of projects that would apply the research and collaborative development blueprint to the footwear sector, under a banner called Pioneering the Future of Footwear One of the biggest topics taking up headspace in the fashion industry is circularity – how can we keep materials in use longer and recycle elements when they no longer serve their purpose? With an estimated 23.8 billion pairs of shoes produced annually, the vast majority of these ending up in landfill and less than 1% recycled, this is a question that needs some answers, compounded by incoming regulation such as Extended Producer Responsibility schemes, Digital Product Passports and stronger circularity requirements. This is a sticking point for shoe companies – not least because of the multitude of materials, glues and components that they work with. But also in a practical sense. How can shoes be collected and sorted in a way that makes both economic and environmental sense?

CREDIT: VIVOBAREFOOT

NEWCOMERS

Leading brands have supported Fashion for Good pilots to pool knowledge on circular thinking and search for solutions to the complex problems holding footwear recycling back. Collaborative working is the only way, Fashion for Good has concluded. At the start of last year, it launched Closing the Footwear Loop, which brings together 15 brands and four innovators to test ideas and pool resources, orchestrated by Dutch nonprofit Circle Economy. It addresses the lack of endoflife infrastructure, complex multimaterial designs and the need for unified circularity approaches. Fashion for Good describes its findings as the first largescale, productlevel dataset on nonrewearable shoes. “The footwear industry stands at a critical turning point,” says its managing director, Katrin Ley. “With billions of shoes produced annually and 90% ending up in landfills, 'Closing the Footwear Loop' represents our most ambitious effort yet to reimagine how we design, use and dispose of shoes.”

SPORTSTEXTILES ISSUE TWO 2026

POOLED THINKING ON FOOTWEAR RECYCLING

Adidas, Inditex, Otto Group, On, PVH Corp, Reformation, Target, Zalando, Arc'teryx Equipment, Coach, Dr Martens, Decathlon, Deichmann, Deckers Brands, Footwear Distributors and Retailers of America, Lululemon, Puma Group and Vivobarefoot are partners demonstrating a healthy appetite from brands to gain some clarity.

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Picvisa’s ECOFLAKE optical sorting systems are equipped with high-resolution RGB cameras, NIR technology and a belt feed system, allowing for the separation of different types of materials and colours, with purity rates of over 90%. CREDIT: PICVISA

Wheat from the chaff The first phase of the study was conducted through research, stakeholder interviews and an onground analysis. Recycler Modare in Barcelona sorted 7,200 post consumer shoes, finding 4% cream [top] quality, 42% as Grade 2 quality rewearable, and 50% as nonrewearable. The best quality shoes are generally resold in Europe, with lower grades exported to countries such as Pakistan, UAE and India. The report noted the rise of peertopeer trading platforms means the most valuable shoes stay in that system, limiting the value for sorters. From this batch, 1,200 nonrewearable items were sent for analysis by CETIA, a French innovation centre dedicated to the recycling of fashion goods. It is common practice to first shred and later identify and separate footwear materials, meaning that purification and classification is only possible after shredding. However, the team enlisted UKbased Matoha, which adapted its handheld infrared spectroscopy devices from clothing for this project. These machines take a reading before the shoe is physically broken down. “In practical terms, this means shoes could be scanned at collection, sorting or disassembly stages to make faster decisions about reuse, resale, repair or recycling routes,” Chris Newton, Matoha’s chief commercial officer, tells Sportstextiles. “The benefit of rapid identification technology is speed and better decisionmaking. If operators can quickly understand what they are handling, they can sort materials more effectively, reduce contamination and potentially direct products into highervalue reuse or recycling streams.” However, these devices face constraints with footwear. NIR scanners could not recognise 40% of the soles’ makeup. One of the main reasons is the inability to recognise carbon black, which does not reflect light that can be read by spectrometers, and which made up a third of the soles in the sample. The scanners also have problems with leather, due to the way the tanning process alters the surface, as well as any material that is heavily coated, or with thick prints, or blends of certain materials. Adhesives and dirt can also impact readings. In many cases, scanning specific exposed components or partially disassembled sections gives the best results, says Newton. “We see the technology as a powerful decisionsupport tool rather than a ‘magic scanner’ that solves every challenge instantly.”

Flies in the ointment The complexity of shoes compounds the problem. A single running shoe can contain up to 65 parts assembled through more than 360 steps. In the sample, half of the shoes were bonded with

“

Closing the Footwear Loop represents our most ambitious eﬀort yet to reimagine how we design, use KATRIN LEY, FASHION FOR GOOD and dispose of shoes.

”

strong adhesives, which prevents the clean separation and identification required for highvalue closedloop recycling. Even seemingly simple shoes combine multiple polymers, foams, textiles, rubbers and glues. Only 10% had midsoles and outsoles made of the same material, and those made from SBR (styrene butadiene rubber) and vulcanised rubber cannot be broken down chemically due to the crosslinkers. SBS (styrenebutadienestyrene), TPU (thermoplastic polyurethane) and EVA (ethylenevinyl acetate) are technically capable of mechanical recycling but need to be isolated from adhesives and thermoset contaminants. All of these stages add time, energy and, crucially, cost. In terms of disassembly, another major problem was noted: around 90% of shoes had external disruptors such as logos, patches and trims, and 22% of the shoes had internal disruptors including adhesives, metals, hardpoints and blended materials.

Added insight To complement the study, Spanish sorter Picvisa and French company The 8 Impact also conducted trials. To meet the requirements for Picvisa’s optical sorting machinery, a footwear sample was mechanically shredded and separated by density through machinery made by Eldan Recycling. At

SPORTSTEXTILES SERVING THE PERFORMANCE TEXTILE INDUSTRY SINCE 1995

SPORTSTEXTILES POOLED THINKING ON FOOTWEAR RECYCLING

this stage, material loss varied depending on the type of shoe: for boots, around a quarter of the material was lost, but for performance shoes, this rose to 70%. The flakes were then sorted using Picvisa’s Ecoflake machine. Its study showed while high levels of efficiency can be achieved under controlled conditions, significant challenges remain when dealing with complex waste streams; the shoes need better preprocessing and separating to gain more acceptable results. Impact 8 gave a more positive verdict. The company is based near Lyon, and runs a successful line transforming old trainers and tennis balls into compounds for outsoles. Presorting is conducted by collectors and social enterprises, ensuring consistency and low variability. Impact 8 shreds then separates the materials, recovering the rubber at a rate of 99% purity. This is ground to a fine powder that forms the base of the new soles. The French company concludes “endtoend sneaker recycling is technically viable, industrially scalable and capable of delivering recycled materials that are functionally competitive with virgin materials”. Recycled rubber and EVA could achieve price parity through volume and margin control, it says, but this requires early collaboration with design and supply chain teams as well as offtake commitments from brands and manufacturers.

First findings At the start of this year, the Closing the Footwear Loop partners met at Adidas’ headquarters in Germany to discuss initial findings. Adidas, Decathlon, Footwear Innovation Foundation and Vivobarefoot shared their stories, and materials innovators pitched their products. The first report from the project, published in June, concludes gains can be made from making shoes with fewer blended materials, avoiding black, using fewer heavy coatings, and reducing decorative disruptors. Data collection throughout the manufacturing processes will be essential to enhance sorting accuracy, it says. There needs to be infrastructure and systemlevel improvements for feedstock accessibility, including preprocessing, to enable component separation, contaminant removal and refurbishment. With a quarter of the unwearable shoes found to have no damage, there also need to be more education on the consumer side, with quick wins including tying shoelaces together when they are disposed of, so the pair doesn’t separate in transit. Interviews are now being held regarding the design process to understand how visual guidance for stakeholders can be developed, and a pilot with disassembly specialist Idelam to separate out TPU/PU, EVA, leather and rubber using supercritical CO2 has been agreed. The teams want to work out how circularity can be designed in from the start, and how deeper connections can be made across the chain to enable collectors, sorters and recyclers to work more closely with brands. “The path forward involves strengthening circular design practices, promoting the rewear potential, improving sorting and preprocessing

capacity and technology, and establishing robust data systems,” concludes the report. “Transforming nonrewearable shoes from a complex waste challenge into a valuable material resource is challenging but possible through collaborative intervention. By grounding policy and innovation in evidence, the footwear sector can take decisive steps towards closing the loop.”

NATURE’S BOUNTY In a separate footwear pilot, Fashion for Good and its partners are analysing whether biobased polymers could replace petrobased plastics for soling. Commonly made from PU, TPU, EVA and rubber, soles are said to represent 40% of the total mass of a shoe, making a significant contribution to its carbon footprint. The Next Stride project unites Adidas, Target and Zalando with material innovators Algenesis Labs, Balena, Evoco, Kuori and Yulex, with UKbased SATRA testing the performance. Gudrun Messias, director of sustainability direction at adidas, said: “We will work with innovators to explore if biobased materials can potentially lower the environmental impact of footwear soles while at the same time meeting or even enhancing the highperformance standards our athletes and consumers expect from Adidas products.” The project will conclude this autumn.

THE 8 IMPACT LAUNCHES OKTARA French circular tech company The 8 Impact exhibited in the innovation section of Première Vision in September as one of the finalists of the ANDAM (National Association for the Development of Fashion Arts) prize for 2026. Founders Marie SoudréRichard and Hélène Guerret have developed and patented a fully mechanical recycling process for rubber found in postconsumer footwear and tennis balls. After a disassembly process, the rubber is decontaminated, achieving a purity rate of close to 100%, the company said. The regenerated rubber is then mixed with virgin material, and the final product, branded Oktara, has 30% recycled content. “This is a high proportion for postconsumer waste,” Marie SoudréRichard told Sportstextiles. The decontamination process is essential in working with postconsumer waste and guarantees that Oktara is REACh compliant and free of any toxic substances. Some of the coloured speckles are deliberately kept in in to show traces of the product’s former life. Oktara has already been used by a number of footwear manufacturers, including Veja, Eram and Decathlon. Outdoor brands and even companies in trail running are currently testing it. Earlier this year, the startup raised €2 million from a group of investors including Collateral Good, Bpifrance, Makesense, UI Investissement and Fashion for Good.

The Veja V-82 features a regenerated rubber outsole. CREDIT: VEJA

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SPORTSTEXTILES ‘SAFE ALL YEAR ROUND

A hiking jacket with a Recco reflector in the sleeve. If wearers encounter difficulty, a search and rescue team will be able to use a Recco detector to find them in the forest or in the mountains. CREDIT: RECCO

Safe all year round

n ingredient brand that has a strong reputation for enhancing safety for snowsports enthusiasts is now taking large strides in yearround apparel, footwear and equipment. Stockholmbased Recco has been supplying its twocomponent safety technology to winter sports brands and, crucially, to searchandrescue (SAR) teams since the 1980s. Since 2015, it has also been working with brands that want to use the technology in products for hiking, trekking, trailrunning, biking and other activities that help people enjoy the mountains all year round. “This part of the business is growing more and more,” says Recco’s head of brand and marketing, Julia Granhed. The part of the solution that goes into outdoor products is a reflector. Following application instructions from Recco, brands or their manufacturing partners incorporate these reflectors into their products as an integral component. There are several versions, in different sizes and constructions, but each “weighs nothing”, Ms Granhed says, and adds little expense.

Mirror images These reflectors are a passive technology, she explains. They require no battery or charge. They function like a mirror. The second part of the Recco system is a detector that, following the

RISE TO THE CHALLENGE

Safety system developer Recco is still snowsportsfocused but is encountering increasing brand demand for its reflectors in trekking, cycling and trailrunning collections too. same analogy, functions like a flashlight. Point a flashlight at a mirror and the light shines back. Point a Recco detector at one of the reflectors and it responds. This works using harmonic radar. The detector emits a radio frequency signal and the reflector sends a signal back. “It is important for us to keep working on both parts of the system,” Ms Granhed says. Brands have been able to incorporate the reflectors into yearround products without any special considerations. The system operates in exactly the same way. The reflectors are now in jackets, running vests and other garments in collections from brands including Arc’teryx, Helly Hansen, Scott, Rab, Patagonia and Mammut. They are in footwear from Scarpa, Zamberlan, Asolo and Hoka. They are also in mountainbiking backpacks from CamelBak and in cycling helmets as well as ski helmets from safety helmet specialist POC.

SPORTSTEXTILES ISSUE TWO 2026

SAFE ALL YEAR ROUND

SPORTSTEXTILES

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Walking and running may seem easy activities, but people need to know how to prepare, how to act and how to stay safe.

JULIA GRANHED, RECCO

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In season, out of season There are several reasons for this widening appeal. These activities are more popular than ever, Julia Granhed continues. And she makes it clear that the rescue community has also been pushing for yearlong options for using Recco detectors to find people. “Less snow and shorter winters are part of this,” she explains. “Resorts are having more visitors outside the ski season and brands think that there is a growing need for safety education in these environments. Walking and running may seem easy activities, but people need to know how to prepare, how to act and how to stay safe.” A tripplan and a charged phone are commonsense components of this. Recco reflectors can be too, plus making sure friends or family members know an intrepid trekker is Reccoequipped. The company has begun offering standalone reflectors that people can attach easily to a backpack or a helmet, but it is committed to continue working with brands and hopes more of them will integrate the unintrusive technology into gear for spring, summer, autumn and winter.

Lived experience Extensive testing and lived experience have helped Recco and rescue organisations work out the best ways to integrate the reflectors into products and the best way to receive a signal from them when the circumstances require. For example, the positioning of the reflectors matters. An ideal place to put them in a jacket, Julia Granhed explains, is in the brim of the hood, just above eyelevel, or at the nape of the neck, where there is a natural curve. Helly Hansen places reflectors in jackets and trousers that outdoor enthusiasts may wear together. In these cases, Recco’s suggestion is that the brand put the reflector near the right shoulder of the jacket but in the left leg of the trousers, or viceversa. The explanation for this brings us to the second part of the twocomponent solution. The setup needs to make the exchange with the detector as easy as possible to make finding a stricken person as likely as possible. The recommended placements of reflectors are based on extensive testing and research, in order to guarantee optimal performance of the system. Also, the Recco system does not work if the reflectors are under water,

but the handheld detector can pick up a return signal from up to 80 metres through the air or from 30 metres through snow. Attached to a helicopter, the SAR will pick up the signal at a height of 100 metres. It is this that makes it an efficient way to search large areas for lost people in the outdoors.

Since the 1980s, search and rescue teams have been using Recco technology to help them find avalanche victims. Now the technology’s appeal is widening. CREDIT: RECCO

Extra eyes One of the organisations that has built up long experience of testing and deploying the technology is pioneering Swiss rescue organisation Air Zermatt. This organisation has been using helicopters to find climbers and skiers on the Matterhorn and in the surrounding area for almost 60 years. It was an early supporter of the Recco system and continues to use the technology and to work with the developer on new ideas. There are handheld detectors now that weigh 900 grammes and are about the same size as a book, Ms Granhed says. This means members of a ski patrol and SAR team can carry the technology in a backpack. In the technology provider’s early years, its handheld detectors weighed 16 kilos. A detector that helicopter SAR crews can carry as a payload is heavier, weighing 80 kilos, to prevent it

SPORTSTEXTILES SERVING THE PERFORMANCE TEXTILE INDUSTRY SINCE 1995

Hiking shoes from Scarpa with integrated Recco reflectors. CREDIT: SCARPA

SPORTSTEXTILES SAFE ALL YEAR ROUND

Summer in the mountains. Rescue teams still have to be equipped to find and help people who meet with difficulties. CREDIT: RECCO/DIRK COLLINS

from swinging around too much. She explains that airborne and groundbased search teams work well together, each with their own detection technology. “If you fly over a field, say, it is striking how easy it is to spot bright colours. POC has helmets in bright pink, orange or yellow and other easytosee colours. This is a great idea. Looking for someone wearing black or dark green is not so easy, especially if there are trees in the area.” Harmonic radar’s superpower is that it can pick out targets in highclutter areas. SAR specialists have told Recco that the technology can serve as extra eyes for them, eyes that can see objects the human eye cannot. And if a signal does come through, it will often be faster to share the location with quick, mobile colleagues on the ground and let them reach the person in trouble.

A problem to solve It was Julia Granhed’s father, Magnus, who founded Recco. He had lost a friend in an avalanche in Åre in the early 1970s; and took part in the search and rescue. “The rescue team had dogs, but there was no real use of any electronic tools,” the founder’s daughter says. “Transceivers existed, but their use was very limited in those days. Magnus had a Master of Science in Engineering and his two passions are skiing and technology. So, he had knowledge and a big interest in solving this particular problem.” These days, backcountry skiers and others who go off the beaten track will carry avalanche transceivers, smart phones, GPS trackers, a power bank and other tools for staying safe and searchable. Having Recco reflectors in one or more component of their kit is a complement, not a replacement, Julia Granhed insists. She sees it very clearly: “You can argue that GPS is better or that an iPhone is better, but why compare? Why choose? All tools are good, but you never know if one will run out of battery or where and when the

signal may disappear. If you also add a Recco reflector, you optimise your chances.” Fresh from a discussion she took part in with cycling, ski and running brand Scott at the 2026 Ultra Trail of Mont Blanc event in Chamonix at the end of August, she says Recco reflectors are not about adding performance to a product. Instead, they add to safety. “This is like insurance,” she explains. “It is something you hope you will never need to use, but you know you should have it just in case.” She argues that what Recco offers can also help brands by giving them something important to include in their dialogue with consumers. She also thinks acting as a bridge between outdoor brands and the SAR community is an important service, one that could help save time and money when an incident occurs, one that can make the search process safer for rescuers, one that can save lives. Safety helmet specialist POC is among the brands that have begun fitting Recco reflectors into products for year-round use. CREDIT: RECCO

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SPORTSTEXTILES A MILE IN THESE SHOES

A mile in these shoes

cottish middledistance athlete Josh Kerr has broken the world record for the mile. He achieved the feat in July, running the distance (just over 1,600 metres) in 3 minutes, 42.6 seconds. This breaks the previous record, which had stood for 27 years, by half a second. He said afterwards that breaking the mile record had been his main goal for this year and that he had planned meticulously for his recordbreaking run, which came at a wider athletics event at the London Stadium. This preparation included working intensely with footwear brand Brooks Running to develop a pair of custom, raceday spikes. The Seattlebased company called the new shoe the Hyperion 222 because the whole project had a clear target from the start: for Josh Kerr to complete the distance in 3 minutes 42, working out at 222 seconds. Originally from Edinburgh, Josh Kerr became a Brooks athlete in 2018 after completing a highly successful college athletics career while studying at the University of New Mexico. He pitched Project 222 to the company in 2025 and serious work to make the dream come true began in March this year.

History rewritten The Hyperion 222 shoe is the result of what the company has called “rigorous testing”, which took into account the athlete’s individual biomechanics and racing rhythm. Features in the finished shoe include a finetuned carbon plate system and a oneofakind upper. Brooks also supplied a raceday speed suit featuring aerodynamic and temperatureregulating functionality. Josh Kerr was the sole tester of the suit, which Brooks said contained “our lightest materials ever” to allow the athlete to focus solely on his recordattempt. With the new record in the bag, Brooks said: “When preparation meets belief, history can be rewritten.”

Target date Josh Kerr went public with the Project 222 plans in March. He says now that committing this early to a specific date [the London Stadium event was already in the calendar for July 18] helped. “It meant there was no turning back,” he remarks. “Everything was built around that one day. It was a pressureday, but I think you have to have that pressure.” Pacemakers were part of the recordattempt, but it was still what the athlete refers to as “a real race”, and he thinks that helped too, as did having “a team of incredible, worldclass people” working with him. March to July is a long time to prepare for a run that you hope will last only 222 seconds. There was, immediately, a lot of publicity about it and many media demands. There were also lots of training sessions to work through, with

FOOTWEAR TECHNOLOGY

Meticulous detail went into a oneoff shoe that Brooks Running developed for one athlete in one race this summer. The result is a new world record for the mile. injuryavoidance one of the key objectives, and a strict diet to follow. “Then there were the mindset problems from the pressure I was under,” he says. “It all had to work together.” He makes the point that there are many opportunities when running, say, a twohour marathon to control the variables that can occur. You have time to make splits faster or slower if, say, the wind conditions change. There is time to work out the strategies other runners are deploying and decide how best to respond to them. “When you only have 3 minutes, 42 seconds’ worth of variables, there are not that many things you can do,” he observes.

Personal best This means preparation was almost everything and, clearly, this includes the shoes. The Hyperion 222 were completely custommade for this particular athlete to run a worldrecord time over this specific distance. They were built around his unique footstrike using a last moulded from his foot. Each shoe has “an extreme rocker geometry”, which meant the wearer could launch himself off the toe instantly, with this asymmetrical pushoff offering what the company has called “an ultraaggressive ride”. The shoe also features an optimised foam compound for cushioning. Brooks has not revealed the composition of the foam, but it was able to keep the weight of each shoe down to a reported 100 grammes by measuring exactly how much foam to use (to suit Josh Kerr’s body weight) and where in the shoe to put it. For example, the athlete’s landing pattern is forefootbiased, making less foam in the heel possible. The carbonfibre plate, which Brooks has described as the stiffest plate it has ever made, has integrated traction and titanium pins for what it terms “fulltilt racing”.

Technology waits for no one The new mile worldrecordholder says he is completely convinced that he could only have run the time he achieved in the specific shoes he developed with Brooks. He says technology will continue to advance and, as a consequence, record times for the mile, the marathon and most other distances will continue to come down. But running shoes have undergone countless iterations and

SPORTSTEXTILES ISSUE TWO 2026

A MILE IN THESE SHOES

improvements since previous worldrecord holder, Moroccan athlete Hicham El Guerrouj ran the mile in 3 minutes, 43.13 seconds. That was in Rome in 1999. All of the advances in footwear materials and construction that have taken place in the whole of the twentyfirst century so far were not enough to beat that time, until now. In general, one advantage today’s athletes have from recent footwear construction developments, according to Josh Kerr, is that lighter weights, greater spring, increased comfort and protection mean that training sessions, as well as races, are taking less toll on runners’ feet and bodies. This means recovery between training and events takes less time and no more “hobbling around on a Saturday” after a week’s work. The Hyperion 222 is special, though. There are unconfirmed reports that a very limitededition public version of the shoe may become available, but it is, essentially, a oneoff.

Head of sports marketing at Brooks, Garrett Heath, says the whole of Project 222 was historic, for the company, the athlete and for the sport. “Josh set out to chase one of the toughest records in athletics and succeeded through courage, preparation and belief. We are honoured to have supported him on this journey.” Immediately after his momentous run on July 18, Josh Kerr said the Brooks team, “the people who created the spikes”, were fundamental in creating the new record and that he got over the line in 222 seconds because of the job that they had done.

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Josh Kerr breaking the world record for the mile with a time of 3 minutes, 42.6 seconds. ALL CREDITS: BROOKS RUNNING

SPORTSTEXTILES WATER WORRIES

Water worries

otton Australia, the main representative body for cotton growers there, has contributed a detailed submission to a review of national water conservation strategies. Australia approved a farreaching programme through its Water Act 2007. Almost 20 years on, it is this act that is now subject to a formal, independent review. In its submission to the review, Cotton Australia has argued that the focus should be on “getting better results from the system we have”, rather than what it called “another round of major changes”. General manager of the organisation, Michael Murray, says the review offers an opportunity to take stock of what Australia has already achieved and focus on what will make the biggest difference now to farmers and to rural communities. “We need to focus on getting better outcomes from the system we have,” Mr Murray says, “while giving growers and regional communities the certainty they need to plan for the future.”

Millennium Drought Australia brought in the Water Act 2007 because the start of this century was a time of a severe lack of rainfall, especially in the south and southeast of the country. This period is now known as the Millennium Drought. This began in the late 1990s following a strong El Niño weather pattern in the winter (July and August) of 1995. By

SUSTAINABILITY

The representative body of cotton farmers in Australia has said an independent water review should focus on full implementation of current water management policies rather than try to develop new ones. 2003, reports were calling it the worst drought since Europeans first settled in Australia. It took until 2010 or 2011 for the drought to break. Cottonproducing regions were severely affected. Records show that cotton farmers in Menindee in New South Wales and Biloela in Queensland, for example, reported zero cotton production at times during this period. There are widespread reports of the El Niño weather pattern that is developing now being the strongest on record and this has led to speculation, in Australia and elsewhere, of important consequences, including conditions being hotter and drier than average in the southern hemisphere summer of 20262027. The official line from Australia’s Bureau of Meteorology is that no two El Niño patterns are the same and that a strong El Niño does not necessarily mean drought in Australia. There have been occasions when a

SPORTSTEXTILES ISSUE TWO 2026

WATER WORRIES

Australia’s department of agriculture, water and environment has said cotton farmers in Australia have water-efficiency levels that are three times better than the global average. CREDIT: COTTON AUSTRALIA

SPORTSTEXTILES

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We need to focus on getting better outcomes from the system we have while giving growers and regional communities the certainty they need to MICHAEL MURRAY, COTTON AUSTRALIA plan for the future.

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of water consumed) of cotton farmers in Australia has improved by more than 50% since 1997. Nevertheless, even in Australia, cotton production is a significant user of water resources. Cotton Australia estimates that its members will consume between 6 million and 7 million litres of water per hectare. Most of Australia’s cotton farms are in the Murray Darling Basin. This is an area that covers more than 1 million squarekilometres of landmass, with six of Australia’s seven longest rivers flowing through it. In addition to cotton, it is of critical importance to food production in Australia. The effects of the Millennium Drought there led to the government to form a specific MurrayDarling Basin Plan after the Water Act 2007 came into law. Tensions built up because the federal government pushed to take over the management of the river system from the states (Queensland, New South Wales, Victoria and South Australia) and territory (Australian Capital Territory) that share the basin’s land and water. Some of those tensions remain. strong El Niño has led to more, not less rain there. “El Niño is only one factor,” the bureau insists. In any case, this is not the reason for holding a review of the Water Act 2007 now. There was a stipulation in the 2007 act for a review to take place within 20 years; this is why the government has set up scrutiny of it now. The independent review launched in March 2026. There was indepth consultation with representatives of Australia’s first nations in May, followed by a public consultation exercise that finished in August. There will be a draft report in November, with a final report going to government ministers at the end of February 2027.

Better than average Setting the scene for the cotton sector’s contribution to the consultation, Michael Murray explains that the organisation he leads represents around 1,500 cotton growers. For context, the Indian government puts the number of cotton farms there at around 6 million. Australia’s cotton industry has been the subject of praise from the national government, specifically from the department of agriculture, water and environment, which has claimed producers of the fibre in Australia have achieved waterefficiency levels that are three times better than the global average. Official figures also show that the wateruse productivity (a reference to output for the volume

What the cotton industry has asked for Cotton Australia’s submission sets out 24 recommendations covering water entitlements, markets, environmental outcomes, planning, regulation and regional communities. The recommendations include an appeal to have market needs as the numberone priority when the authorities take decisions on reallocating water resources from one state to another. The list also includes a request that “genuine stakeholder consultation” take place before and after any new legislation on water is drafted. The cotton organisation also calls on the federal government of Australia to resist “tilting its focus” towards the environmental ambitions that the 2007 act lays out. Its fear is that this would come at the possible expense of social and economic outcomes, which Cotton Australia argues are just as important. Of course the environmental aims are important too. In some cases, Australia has obligations under international treaties to preserve wetlands, to protect migratory species and so on. “The Water Act remains fundamentally fit for purpose,” Cotton Australia insists. “The next phase should focus on practical implementation, evidencebased decision making, market confidence and longterm resilience. Continued investment in infrastructure, environmental delivery, community capacity and transparent governance will provide greater returns than further regulatory complexity.”

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SPORTSTEXTILES SPONSORED CONTENT: WARPSPEED

Warpspeed: Liebaert takes aerodynamic performance from fabric to finished garment

uilt on the company's Nanostitch platform, Warpspeed has been developed for brands seeking aerodynamic performance without compromising the fit and comfort required in closefitting sports apparel.

Built on the finest warp knitting machines in the world Warpspeed is produced on custommade warp knitting machines that Liebaert has spent decades refining — widely regarded as the finest in the world for this class of construction. The equipment enables Warpspeed's engineered jacquard geometries to be knitted directly into the fabric, achieving a level of surface uniformity and dimensional control that standard knitting machinery simply can't replicate. Rather than adding a separate aerodynamic treatment, the surface structure is integral to the textile itself. The same dense, precisely controlled knit also delivers the fourway stretch and secondskin hand feel for which Nanostitch is known.

Tested at the fabric level — and the garment level Windtunnel testing is standard practice in aerodynamic fabric development, but Liebaert's work on Warpspeed demonstrates how sensitive aerodynamic performance can be to changes in textile construction. Testing at Bike Valley in Belgium on a 110mm cylinder showed that CS 2915 WATT, a polyamidebased construction, recorded a 23.1% lower CdA than the naked reference at 10 m/s. The development programme also revealed that changing the yarn can change the aerodynamic characteristics of the fabric. Liebaert found that the polyamide (PA) version of WATT

Sportstextiles Issue Two 2026