Hexcel Corp, Stamford, Conn., used the recent JEC World trade show to officially launch its new HexTow® IM 24K continuous carbon fiber. This intermediate modulus (IM) fiber of 24,000 filaments features a 12-percent improvement in tensile strength compared to the baseline Hexcel IM7 fiber — used heavily in airline engine fan blades and aerospace applications. The IM9 fiber also has an average tow tensile strength of more than 6,300 mega-pascals, a modulus of 298 gigapascals and a strain of 9 percent.
“Hexcel developed HexTow IM9 24K to be a workhorse fiber that builds on the company’s proven legacy of intermediate modulus fibers,”said Imad Atallah, vice president, Product Management, Composite Materials. “We are excited to offer our customers a dependable carbon fiber solution for high-rate manufacturing and high-performance material designs.”
Kraig Biocraft Laboratories Inc.(Kraig Labs), Ann Arbor, Mich., has developed a yarn featuring its recombinant spider silk fiber blended with Pima cotton. The yarn is targeted at luxury dress wear and apparel markets to expand the technical applications for its spider silk materials. The company also is developing other blends that are suitable for formalwear segments.
“This is just the first of many new materials we have planned that incorporate our revolutionary spider silk,”said CEO and Founder Kim Thompson.“It seemed only fitting that our first composite yarns be blended with Pima cotton, a luxurious natural fiber that compliments the natural elegance of our recombinant spider silk. With our spring production trials quickly approaching, identifying these first end markets and applications for commercial volumes of silk is a key focus of our team.”
Stein Fibers, Albany, N.Y., has signed an agreement with Denmark-based Fiberpartner ApS for the distribution of environmentally-friendly fiber solutions.
“We are pleased about this collaboration with Fiberpartner ApS in promoting our supply chain solutions in conjunction with their innovative fiber solutions,”said Jaren Edwards, president at Stein Fibers.“This partnership aligns perfectly with our mission to provide cutting-edge fiber materials with a lower footprint to our customers. We believe that these innovative fibers will play a vital role in reducing the environmental impact of the industries we serve.”
Textile World recently interviewed Avery Dennison’s Michael Colarossi about RFID technologies and their potential to assist in garment recycling.
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Avery Dennison Corp., Mentor, Ohio, is a materials science and digital identification solutions company. It is a global operation with approximately 35,000 employees in more than 50 countries.The company’s products include labels and functional materials, radio-frequency identification (RFID) inlays and tags, software applications, and a variety of brand-enhancing packaging and display information. According to Avery Dennison, its products are used to optimize labor and supply chain efficiency; reduce waste; advance sustainability, circularity and transparency; and better connect brands and consumers. The company operates different divisions serving a variety of industries including its $2 billion Apparel Solutions division.
Recently, Textile World had the opportunity to talk to Michael Colarossi, Avery Dennison’s vice president of Innovation, Product Line Management and Sustainability, about the potential role of RFID technologies in textile recycling. Avery Dennison sees the tags as a potential game changer when it comes to identifying the fiber content of end-of-life apparel so it can be sorted and recycled. Colarossi leads a global technical innovation team that is focused on creating products and solutions in labeling and functional materials, RFID inlays and tags, software applications that connect the physical and digital, and data-driven solutions enhancing the customer experience while promoting circular business models. Prior to his position at Avery Dennison, Colarossi worked for the Netherlands-based AkzoNobel for 15 years in manufacturing and engineering roles. He holds a B.S. in Chemical Engineering, as well as an M.B.A.
TW: You mentioned that Avery Dennison envisions a future where every consumer-facing good will be assigned a unique digital ID. Can you explain more about that?
Colarossi: There is no end in sight for the trend of digitization. In line with that trend, at Avery Dennison, we believe that every physical item will eventually have a unique digital ID assigned to it, connecting the physical and digital worlds. Through that connection, we are seeking to solve our clients’ biggest challenges, including supply chain efficiency and waste, transparency and circularity, and connectivity between brands and consumers. It’s why we continue to invest in physical sensor technologies like RFID and have built a connected product cloud called atma.io.
TW: Please explain a little about Avery Dennison’s RFID capabilities.
Colarossi: Avery Dennison is the world’s largest producer of ultra-high frequency (UHF) RFID inlays. We have the capability to innovate, design and manufacture new RFID technologies for uses in multiple environments, including apparel, general retail, beauty, grocery and automotive.
TW: How do you see these RFID technologies driving sustainability in the textile and apparel industry? What is the potential?
Colarossi: Efficient sortation is one of the biggest challenges for recyclers. We can store information about a textile’s composition on an RFID chip, and a recycler with an RFID scanner can then immediately identify the composition of a garment and use that data to automatically sort garments. For that to happen, of course, RFID needs to be permanently attached or integrated into a garment. We’ve innovated a solution to do just that, while also ensuring that personal data is secure and not shared.
AD TexTrace™ is Avery Dennison’s portfolio of integrated RFID labels for connected textiles. RFID labels can communicate a variety of information about a garment to assist with care instructions and end-of life options, among other data.
TW: Are there additional technologies that could be blended with the RFID tags to enhance implementation and successful use in recycling programs?
Colarossi: Yes. In fact, because RFID is not a consumer-facing technology today, pairing RFID with other technologies is important for creating a complete recycling solution. Using a consumer facing digital sensor like a QR code, in conjunction with RFID, brands can commu-nicate care instructions to prolong a garment’s life, suggest resale or second-life options, and provide information on how and where to recycle clothing. And what’s exciting is that we’re already doing it today.
TW: What will it take for the industry to begin implementing these technologies and have them play a role in circularity?
Colarossi: There are likely two paths toward adoption. The first is for brands to recognize the value that adopting digital label technologies can bring to their businesses. Reducing waste, improving inventory visibility, creating post-sale connections with consumers, ensuring authenticity, enhancing the retail experience and establishing item level supply chain transparency all can be enabled through these technologies. The second is mandatory regulations. Pending legislation around the EU digital product passports, extended producer responsibility, and supply chain due diligence are all set to impact the industry.
But, we also need to remember that the technologies alone will not be sufficient. We also need to accelerate investments in collection and sortation infrastructure, and textile-to-textile recycling technologies like Circ, a company into which Avery Dennison has invested and continues to partner.
TW: How are the RFID tags attached to garments? Are there any downsides or issues that need to be addressed to ensure their longevity and efficacy as a tool for circularity?
Colarossi: Historically, RFID technologies have been integrated into branded hang tags or price tickets and attached to garments via fastener, or they have been integrated into fabric care and content labels and sewn into garments. More recently, Avery Dennison has innovated new technology that allows us to sew RFID directly into a garment. AD TexTrace™ is our solution portfolio of integrated RFID labels for Connected Textiles. They can be sewed in as visible brand labels or invisible inlays in the seam or overlock, meaning they remain in the product during its entire lifecycle.
To enable circularity, RFID technology needs to survive the life of a garment, including all of the wash cycles. And so, Avery Dennison continues to innovate technologies that enhance the durability of RFID inlays to ensure they are functional at a garment’s end of life.
TW: Are there regulation issues that need to be considered or that may impede the process?
Colarossi: I am not aware of any issues. I would actually argue that the current regulatory environment in Europe and the United States makes RFID even more critical.
TW: What intrigues you about RFID technology?
Colarossi: RFID technology adoption in the apparel industry was largely driven by inventory accuracy and visibility. But now that the technology is more widespread, we are starting to see the technology enable new use cases. From enabling self-check-out to enhancing brand protection and authenticity to enabling circularity, I’m excited to see these future use cases take flight.
REPREVE® fiber manufacturer Unifi Inc., Greensboro, N.C., recently released its Sustainability Snapshot for FY2023. The report includes a new commitment to transform 1.5 billion T-shirts worth of textile and yarn waste into new products by FY2030. Other goals noted in the report, which builds upon its FY2022 release, include a 30-percent reduction in Scopes 1 and 2 greenhouse gas emissions by FY2030, and a pledge to achieve zero non-compliant water discharges each year. The company also reiterated its intent to divert 50 billion landfill-bound plastic bottles from the waste stream by December 2025 and noted it had reached a milestone of 38 billion bottles in FY2023. The report also shared that Unifi reduced landfill waste by 93 percent at its Central America-based production site, and by 55 percent at a Brazil-based site.The Global Reporting Initiative and Sustainability Accounting Standards Board frameworks guided the snapshot report.
“Our fourth annual sustainability publication showcases UNIFI’s continu-ous progress and ongoing commitment to setting and exceeding new sustainability goals,” said Unifi CEO Eddie Ingle. “In 2023, we made significant strides in recycling volume, waste reduction, and strategy refinement. We look forward to building upon our goal of making waste useful at UNIFI.”
Syre — a new venture developed by Vargas and H&M Group, both based in Sweden — was recently launched with the objective to decarbonize and dewaste the textile industry. Beginning with polyester, the venture will focus on textile-to-textile recycling, with the opportunity to reduce carbon dioxide emissions by up to 85 percent compared to emissions created when producing oil-based virgin polyester. Syre is supported by an offtake supply agreement with H&M worth some $600 million over seven years to fulfill H&M’s long-term need for recycled polyester in an increasingly competitive bottle-to-fiber marketplace. Syre’s first production facility for textile-to-textile circular polyester (cPET) recycling will be built in North Carolina and is expected to be operational in 2024.The company plans a rapid scale up with 12 gigascale plants in operation within 10 years generating more than 3 million metric tons of cPET. The platform also may be expanded into other fibers in the future.
“Syre marks the start of the great textile shift. We envision a world where every textile fiber sees a new day. By implementing true textile-to-textile recycling at hyperscale, we want to drive the transition from a linear to a circular value chain by putting textile waste to use, over and over again,” said Dennis Nobelius, Syre CEO.
“The new venture Syre is an important next step on H&M Group’s journey to integrate circularity across our business.With this solution to rapidly scale textile-to-textile recycling, we want to continue to drive and inspire more industry players to join us in closing the loop and accelerating the shift towards a more sustainable future,” said Daniel Ervér, H&M Group CEO.
Milliken & Company was named to the list of America’s Best Midsize Employers for the sixth year running.The list — compiled by Forbes magazine and data company Statista after a survey of more than 170,000 employers — honored 400 U.S.-based organizations employing between 1,000 and 4,000 people. Milliken is the only organization headquartered in South Carolina to make the list, and one of only 17 manufacturing and engineering companies. Milliken notes that it has introduced a number of employee-centric education and development programs over the past year, as well as continued to invest in its diversity and inclusion initiative.
“At Milliken, we know that success is rooted in the engagement of our people. Together, we’re creating a culture that encourages teamwork and promotes respect,”said Milliken President and CEO Halsey Cook.“We’re thrilled to be recognized for our efforts to make a positive impact in the lives of our people, and on the world around us.”
San Francisco-based Gap Inc. has announced that beginning in 2026, it will use cycora® fiber at scale in its Athleta apparel. Cycora is a regenerated polyester produced by Ambercycle, Los Angeles. Ambercycle’s technology uses end-of-life textiles as feedstock for the molecular regeneration process to produce new fiber that is on par with virgin polyester with regards to quality.
“As a mission-driven, B Corp-certified brand, Athleta is committed to reducing our environmental footprint by using recycled materials like cycora, which not only aligns with our values but also meets our uncompromising quality standards,” said Athleta CEO Chris Blakeslee.
“As the demand for circular materials rises, we are delighted to collaborate with like-minded brands in the performance sector, such as Athleta. Together, we are not only creating high-quality garments but also driving forward the circular fashion movement,” said Shay Sethi, CEO of Ambercycle.
The Jones Family of Companies, Humboldt, Tenn., reports Ralph Jones III, CEO and chairman of the board, is now the company’s majority shareholder. Jones represents the third generation of family leadership for the company and is excited to reinvest in the company. “Jones has been in my family for nearly nine decades,” Jones said. “It is important not just to me but to the employees and customers of this company to show my dedication to helping our Jones Family of Companies to remain industry leaders for the next generations.”
In addition, the company has expanded production capacity at a facility in Charlotte, N.C., and acquired Cades Consulting, a mechanical and engineering company providing consulting and maintenance services to the textile industry.
“Bringing Cades on board will dramatically increase our services to the nonwovens industry,” Jones noted.“We now have the ability to not only grow our own business, but also provide support services to other nonwovens manufacturers across the U.S.”
Patagonia provided 8,000 pounds of unusable apparel — comprised of pre- and post-consumer textile waste — to Eastman, Kingsport, Tenn., to recycle using its molecular recycling technology.
“We know apparel waste is a major problem, and consumers increasingly want better, more sustainable solutions when their most loved clothing reaches the end of its life,” said Natalie Banakis, materials innovation engineer for Patagonia.
“Our collaborations show the world what’s possible when it comes to sustainability,”said Carolina Sister Cohn, global marketing lead for Eastman textiles.“We have the technology to make the textiles industry circular, and we know it requires collaboration with innovative brands to make circular fashion possible. This is only the beginning, and we look forward to more collaborations throughout 2024.”
