LATEST UPDATE

New Fabric Design Allows Clothing to Deliver Powerful Mechanical Assistance Without Rigid Components

Researchers at a Swiss engineering university have developed a textile-based actuator that combines high mechanical strength with garment-level flexibility. Using shape memory alloy fibres arranged in a precise X-crossing geometry, the fabric contracts powerfully when electrically activated. The design overcomes long-standing limitations of knitted actuators and opens pathways for practical, comfortable wearable robotics.

Top Stories
 
CIRCULARITY / RECYCLING / SECONDS / WASTE

Researchers Use Textile Waste Ash to Produce Stronger Cement for Lower-Carbon Construction Industry Applications

Lithuanian researchers have developed methods to convert textile waste into alternative fuel and cement additives. Their work showed that textile-derived ash could partially replace conventional cement while improving compressive strength. The approach addressed mounting textile waste volumes, reduced carbon emissions from cement production and supported circular economy goals across two highly resource-intensive industries.

 
FLASHPOINT: CLIMATE
GHG Emissions / Localisation

Locally produced circular sportswear could have a smaller environmental footprint than a conventional polyester garment reference, a new lifecycle and microfibre assessment has modelled. Renewable-energy use, shorter transport routes, and circular design choices together could reduce climate impacts and microplastic emissions, the researchers have contended.

Climate Action / WRAP Roadmap

Climate action NGO WRAP has unveiled a new UK Textiles Pact Roadmap to fast-track circularity and environmental progress across the industry. Despite per-tonne cuts in carbon and water use, soaring production volumes and linear business models threaten to erase those gains. The Roadmap strengthens collaboration, targets upstream emissions, and supports policy reforms for a resilient circular future.

 
 
 
FOCUS: COTTON

‘MSP Isn’t Distorting Prices’: CCI Head on Imports, Yields, and the Road to Cotton Stability

The single largest cotton trading company and a public sector undertaking under the Union Ministry of Textiles, the Cotton Corporation of India (CCI), established in 1970, undertakes price support and commercial purchase operations to safeguard the economic interest of farmers in the cotton growing regions and to ensure its smooth supply to the textile industry. A Q&A with its Chairman-Cum-Managing Director, Lalit Kumar Gupta.

 
 
 
SPOTLIGHT EDITIONS: SELECT 4
 

"Quote Unquote"

Swapneshu Baser
Swapneshu Baser
Managing Director
Deven Supercriticals Pvt Ltd
The central engineering challenge was not making an existing dyeing process faster but eliminating the fundamental reasons why both conventional and prior-art CO₂ dyeing processes are slow. In conventional water-based dyeing, time is consumed by diffusion-limited exhaustion, repeated baths, fixation, washing, and multiple auxiliary chemical steps.

"Quote Unquote"

Annemiek Smits
Annemiek Smits
Corporate Engagement Manager, Fashion
Solidaridad
We push brands by changing the rules of the game. We are moving the goalposts from a narrow focus on certified materials to a holistic vision of sustainability where a prosperous farmer is the key performance indicator. It’s a slow and deliberate process, but by publicly measuring what truly matters, we make it impossible for brands to ignore the 70% of people who form the foundation of their entire industry.
 
 
FOCUS: LEATHER

India’s Leather Industry Repositions as Global Buyers Converge on Kolkata

Kolkata’s hosting of AILPA 2025 represented more than an industry event—it symbolised India’s recalibration within shifting global trade currents. Amid market disruptions and evolving tariff landscapes, the city emerged as a key platform connecting manufacturers and international buyers, highlighting the sector’s growing capability, design sophistication, and readiness for the premium export market.