University of Rhode Island To Host 2014 URI Cotton Summit In September

KINGSTON, R.I. — July 23, 2014 — The University of Rhode Island has announced it will host the 2014 URI Cotton Summit: the 21st Century Global Apparel Value Chain and Implications for US Cotton in the World Marketplace on Sept. 22, 2014.
 
The summit intends to raise public awareness of the importance of the cotton and related textile and apparel industry in the 21st century global economy. Specific issues to be discussed at the summit include:
 

  • Is textile and apparel manufacturing coming back to the United States?
  • What trade policy do we need to promote the export of U.S. cotton and related textile and apparel products in the 21st century global economy?
  • What is the global journey of a cotton T-shirt before it reaches the retail shop?
  •  Why is “Made in China” gradually replaced by “Made for China”? What does the change mean for US fashion companies?
  • What is the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) and what is the Trans-Atlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (T-TIP)? Why should everyone working in the U.S. textile and apparel industry care about TPP and T-TIP?
  • What are the latest trends in the global textile and apparel industry?

 
Summit speakers will include:

  • Maria D’Andrea, Supervisory International Trade Specialist of Office of Textiles and Apparel, U.S. Department of Commerce
  • Julia Hughes, President, U.S. Fashion Industry Association
  • Augustine Tantillo, President & CEO, National Council of Textile Organizations
  • Nate Herman, Vice President, American Apparel and Footwear Association
  • Erin Ennis, Vice President, US-China Business Council
  • Jon Devine, Senior Economist, Cotton Incorporated
  • Dr. Kitty Dickerson, Consultant & Professor Emerita, University of Missouri
  • Dr. Stacey Frederick, Research Scientist, Center on Globalization, Governance & Competitiveness at Duke University
  • Robert Antoshak, Managing Director, Olah Inc.
  • David Trumbull, Principal, Agathon Associates  

 
This event is free and open to the public, thanks to the sponsorship of the Importer Support Program of the Cotton Board and Cotton Incorporated. Advance registration is required at http://uricotton2014.wordpress.com.

Posted July 29, 2014
 
Source: University of Rhode Island
 

Mohawk Flooring And Atlanta Habitat Celebrate Five Years Of Partnership And Mohawk’s 150th Home

CALHOUN, Ga. July 29, 2014 — On August 2, 2014, Mohawk Flooring and Atlanta Habitat for Humanity will celebrate the fifth year of their mutual ongoing commitment to affordable housing in Atlanta with the installation of flooring in Mohawk’s 150th Habitat House.

Mohawk began its partnership with the nonprofit in 2009 when a Mohawk retailer— who continues to help Habitat with its installations—reached out to Mohawk for assistance with an Atlanta Habitat project. Mohawk donated carpet and pad for several homes that first year, and the retailer’s request ultimately led to the current relationship between the two organizations. Today, Mohawk provides carpet, padding and resilient products for the many homes Habitat builds or refurbishes annually.

Mohawk’s involvement with Habitat is multi-faceted. Mohawk Group, the commercial division of the company, contributed all the carpet used throughout Habitat Atlanta’s new headquarters this year. Additionally, Mohawk employees have participated in numerous Atlanta Habitat projects, including the Lofton family home—Mohawk’s 150th. Finally, at the owners’ closing, Mohawk Home present new Habitat homeowners with “Welcome Home” kits containing bath and floor mats.

“Our commitment to Habitat and actively helping our local communities permeates our entire organization,” said Michel Vermette, senior vice president of commercial and international for Mohawk. “Our corporate contributions meet specific Habitat material needs, and our employees donate their time and labor in other areas where assistance is needed. In fact, Habitat projects serve as excellent team-building events for our business.”

“People at all levels of the company connect with Habitat, share its vision and support its mission,” adds Tom Lape, president of Mohawk residential. “For years, our employees from both Mohawk commercial and residential divisions have arrived at work sites ready to help with anything from building and raising the walls to landscaping. They consistently participate wherever and however they can to make every project a success.”

Because Atlanta Habitat homes are designed to be affordable, well-built and environmentally friendly, Mohawk furnishes them with EverStrand carpet containing up to 100 percent recycled content. In addition to its affordability and green advantages, EverStrand is inherently stain-free and easy to clean, giving homeowners the perfect balance of value, beauty and sustainability.

“We feel that Mohawk’s core strengths—developing and using the right products to make homes more beautiful, comfortable and livable—naturally tie in with Atlanta Habitat’s goal of building quality affordable housing for local families and promoting successful home ownership,” Vermette said.

“Aligning our values and philanthropic initiatives with those of neighboring groups maximizes our effectiveness in our community and we look forward to continuing our partnership with Habitat to better the areas in which we all live and work.”

Posted July 29, 2014

Source: Mohawk

 

RevoLaze To Expand Laser Technology Center In Cleveland

Westlake, Ohio-based RevoLaze LLC — a developer and manufacturer of laser technology and processing machinery for the denim apparel industry — has announced plans to expand its Laser Technology Center. The center will be equipped with the company’s newest Linear Processing machine, which offers 5,000 watts of laser power; as well as a new delivery system for finished apparel. The center will enable the company and its customers to collaborate on product design and process improvements for denim garment production.
 
RevoLaze has been developing laser technology for denim applications for more than 20 years and holds 29 worldwide patents for laser scribing methods used in textile and denim processing.
 
“Our technologies help denim mills, denim laundries, denim manufacturers and apparel brands realize significant cost reductions, throughput enhancement and design flexibility,” said Darryl Costin, Ph.D., CEO, RevoLaze. “Importantly, our processes also result in significant environmental and health benefits via reduced water and chemical usage.” He also noted that laser technology replaces sandblasting and hand-sanding processes for finishing denim, thereby eliminating associated health hazards.
 
The new Linear Processing machine is expected to go on-line in September 2014.
 
July 22, 2014
 

Hyosung Debuts creora® easy scour Spandex

South Korea-based creora® spandex producer Hyosung Corp. reports its new creora easy scour spandex enables mills to reduce water consumption and improve quality, and also enhances a fabric’s color appearance. According to the company, creora easy scour’s proprietary finish makes it suitable for fine-gauge knitting and fine yarns used in delicate fabrics.
 
“This new creora® easy scour spandex has environmental and quality benefits as the reduced residual oil on fabric surface after scouring will allow mills to dye and finish more effectively,” said Hyosung President CH Kim. “This is important as we see color, softness, compression, shaping, fit and function continuing to drive consumer demand as illustrated in our 2016 trends.”
 
Among the company’s Spring/Summer 2016 trends is “Dalliance” for intimate apparel, which features creora easy scour and Hyosung’s matte/bright Mipan® fine nylon soft-touch yarns in colorful, lightweight, decorative sheer warp and circular knit fabrics.
 
July 22, 2014
 

James Heal Debuts Maxi-Martindale

James Heal, United Kingdom, reports its Maxi-Martindale nine-station abrasion and pilling tester is the only Martindale tester that features a hinged top plate to offer easy access to all testing stations. Its intuitive user interface allows simple, quick setup. A full range of accessories allows testing of different specimen types.

The Maxi-Martindale is included in the company’s 1300 Martindale series, which also includes the two-station Mini-Martindale, the five-station Midi-Martindale and the Midi-Martindale (Carpet) modified for carpet testing.

James Heal is represented in North America by Advanced Testing Instruments (ATI), Greer, S.C.
 


Maxi-Martindale abrasion and pilling tester

July/August 2014

SDL Atlas Unveils ThermaRate™

SDL Atlas, Rock Hill, S.C., has introduced the ThermaRate™ Thermal Barrier Test Apparatus for measuring the burn injury protection provided by fabrics in protective clothing for first-responder, military and industrial applications. The instrument can replicate the effects of fabrics that are close to fires or extreme heat sources but not necessarily engulfed in a fire, as simulated by the Thermal Protective Test (TPT) described in National Fire Protection Association NFPA: 1971 Standard on Protective Ensembles for Structural Fire Fighting and Proximity Fire Fighting.

ThermaRate’s computer-controlled system features a closed-loop controlled infrared radiant heat source, shutter, fabric sample holder, heat flux gauge and skin simulant sensor. A PC-based data acquisition system includes burn injury algorithms. The user selects the radiant heat flux level at the fabric sample, the irradiation time, and the air gap between the fabric sample and sensors; and can choose to use a skin simulant tester or heat flux gauge output in the burn injury algorithm. The data acquisition system records and stores the temporal data and provides graphical outputs during and after the test. A green/red indicator on the computer screen indicates whether the fabric has passed or failed the test.

The instrument may be used for research and development as well as for repetitive use in quality assurance applications.

July/August 2014

Terrot Acquires Pilotelli

Terrot GmbH, Germany, has acquired circular knitting machinery manufacturer Pilotelli Macchine Tessili S.r.l., Italy.

Pilotelli is known for its single-jersey technology expertise, and has a strong presence in Turkey and South America. Its Cazzago San Martino site will continue production under the name Terrot Italy S.r.l. Group managers include Terrot managing directors Peter Schüring and Andreas von Bismarck, and members of Pilotelli management.

July/August 2014

Jacob Holm Acquires DuPont™ Sontara® Business

Jacob Holm & Sønner Holding A/S, Switzerland, has agreed to acquire the DuPont™ Sontara® business of DuPont Protection Technologies, Wilmington, Del. The sale, expected to be completed in the third quarter of this year, includes Sontara assets at DuPont sites in Old Hickory, Tenn., and Asturias, Spain; as well as some 240 employees, mostly in the United States and Spain.

Jacob Holm currently has production facilities in Candler, N.C., and France; and employs some 230 workers in the production of spunlaced nonwovens for home care, hygiene and industrial applications. Sontara produces spunlaced nonwovens for medical and wipes applications.

July/August 2014

Quality Fabric Of The Month: Comfort & Safety In The Extreme

By Janet Bealer Rodie, Contributing Editor

Workers involved in hazardous activities such as oil and gas exploration and drilling and utility work in extreme weather environments like those found in Alaska, Canada or North Dakota now have a new outerwear solution that provides protection from the elements as well as from hazards associated with electrical arc flash and flash fire. According to Brian Schmidt, senior category manager for Dearborn, Mich.-based workwear manufacturer Carhartt, the company spent more than two years developing its Carhartt Extremes® Arctic outerwear line comprising a parka, coat, biberall and hood — all meeting NFPA 70E Hazard/ Risk Category 4 (PPE Level 4) requirements and able to shield workers from high winds and temperatures well below zero — even as low as -60°F. The line features Carhartt’s proprietary Wind Shield® wind-resistant technology applied to Mount Vernon Mills’ 9-ounce AMTEX™ PLUS cotton/high-tenacity nylon flame-resistant (FR) canvas fabric, woven by the Mount Vernon FR division in Trion, Ga.



Carhartt’s Extremes® Arctic parka and coat feature special pockets inside and outside to hold tools, and an innovative pass-through port for a radio microphone and cord.

“We did some research with end users in Alaska and determined that their outerwear needed to be warm, comfortable, nonrestrictive and lighter-weight than what’s currently on the market,” Schmidt said. “It also needed to have a great amount of functionality, with pockets to hold tools — specifically, a gas monitor and a radio including microphone and cord.

“The combination of the Amtex Plus canvas with our Windshield technology makes for a really good outerwear fabric,” Schmidt said. “It has a nice drape, moves easily, is not as stiff as comparable fabrics, and yet still feels and looks like what you would expect from Carhartt.”

The FR performance of Amtex Plus is guaranteed for the life of garment. “We use an FR process, not a finish,” explained Craig Tutterow, FR technical director, Mount Vernon FR,. “We saturate the fabric with a monomer that will be polymerized when treated with nitrogen delivered in an ammonia gas, so you get a 3-D polymer chain formed within the fabric. It can’t be washed off, scraped off or blown off — it’s inside, outside and within the fabric.”

The quilted lining in the garments is comprised of lightweight 3M™ FR Thinsulate™ 200-gram platinum insulation and a 6-ounce Amtex Plus twill. There is moisture-wicking Polartec® FR grid fleece on the inside of the coat collar. To further keep the core of the body warm, Carhartt’s FR Sherpa lining helps insulate the wearer’s back.

“A lot of heat is exhausted across the shoulders and down the back,’ Schmidt said, noting that keeping the core of the body warm will help keep the extremities warm. “The Sherpa lining on top of the quilt package provides an additional layer that keeps the back warmer.”

The Carhartt Extremes Arctic line is produced for the North American market in Carhartt’s factory in Mexico.


For more information about Carhartt’s Extremes® Arctic outerwear, contact carhartt.com or mvmfr.com


July/August 2014

Bulletin Board

The Association of Italian Textile Machinery Manufacturers (ACIMIT), Milan, has released a video on its Sustainable Technologies project. The video may be viewed on YouTube.

The Association of the Nonwoven Fabrics Industry (INDA), Cary, N.C., has published “INDA Impact 2014,” its inaugural annual report analyzing industry-wide events that impact the nonwovens industry.

AATCC, the Association of Textile,  Apparel & Materials Professionals, Research Triangle Park, N.C., has released four AATCC Test Method Online Training Videos including Color Evaluation, Colorfastness to Crocking, Colorfastness to Perspiration & Water, and Water Resistance and Repellency.

SGS Consumer Testing Services, Geneva, has released its RAPEX Annual Report 2013 covering notifications on dangerous products in Europe.

Textile Rental Services Association of America (TRSA), Alexandria, Va., has certified 11 textile services plants Hygienically Clean in the quarter ending May 31, 2014.

GSD (Corporate) Ltd., United Kingdom, is offering free practitioner card replacement to GSD Practitioners who have previously been GSD certified and lost their certification credentials. Card holders may initiate a card replacement request by contacting gsdhq.com/contact-us/.

Midland, Mich.-based The Dow Chemical Company’s Dow Microbial Control business unit has launched a Certified Mill Program to recognize textile manufacturers who have successfully completed a training program and demonstrated their proficiency in applying  SILVADUR™ Antimicrobial in their production processes.

The International Oeko-Tex Association, Switzerland, has developed an Application Programming Interface (API) that enables verification of certification data via external online portals and company databases/software.

The Technical Association for the Pulp, Paper, Packaging and Converting Industries (TAPPI), Peachtree Corners, Ga., is accepting nominations through August 1 for the TAPPI 2015 awards.

July/August 2014

Sponsors