It ain't fashion, if it ain't sustainable
texfash.com
 
LATEST UPDATE
Functional Clothing / Knit Textiles

29 July 2026

Shape-Shifting Knitted Textiles Can Count Steps and Control Lights, New Research Shows

The researchers used highly elastic yarns to create dense textiles that snap into different configurations.

Machine-knitted fabrics that snap between stable shapes can now act as soft, stretchable switches and sensors, with working prototypes already demonstrated for step counting and lighting control. The breakthrough uses standard industrial weft knitting and elastic yarns, requiring no polymer moulding, and the machines involved are comparable to standard equipment already used in garment factories.

  • Staff Writer
Research
Other Updates
Top Stories
Event Roundup / IT Shenzhen Interview
The textile industry's pivot toward digital tools and sustainable materials represents not a single transition but a layered negotiation between commercial reality and environmental imperative

Old Fibres and New Intelligence Compete for the Soul of Textile Manufacturing

  • Subir Ghosh

21 July 2026
Event Roundup / Brussels 2026 Analysis
Decades of quiet infrastructure built around collection, grading and international redistribution now underpin any credible circular textile economy, though the sector rarely receives comparable attention in policy design.

Brussels Proved Circularity Has Grown up; Now Industry Needs to Catch up

  • Mohammed Patel

14 July 2026
 
ITMA 2027
CIRCULARITY / RECYCLING / SECONDS / WASTE
A new NIST research-grade test material is part of an effort to help the textile industry better identify and sort textiles and fabrics.

Fabric Identification Standards Get a Boost as NIST Releases Test Material for Fibre Sorting Methods

A new test material developed by the National Institute of Standards and Technology aims to strengthen fibre identification in textile recycling, addressing a gap that limits sorting accuracy and domestic supply chain recovery. The material supports AI-enabled sorting tools and gives labs a shared benchmark, with more than half of all textiles currently suitable for recycling but most going unrecovered.

Staff Writer
 
FLASHPOINT: CLIMATE
Material Innovation / Bezos Fund
The funding signals a research-led push to make alternative materials commercially usable, not merely experimental answers to fashion’s environmental footprint or laboratory curiosity.

The Race to Reinvent What We Wear Gets $34 Million from Bezos Earth Fund

  • Staff Writer
 Update

27 April 2026

Breakthrough textile materials have received $34 million in new Bezos Earth Fund grants, backing research into bacterial fibres, spider-silk-inspired biodegradable materials, coloured cotton and cotton seedbank restoration. The funding targets materials that can match rayon, silk and cotton while improving cost, performance and environmental outcomes across fashion and textile supply chains.

Climate Action / Ethiopia Project
Ethiopia's garment sector is entering a new phase, where climate resilience, cleaner production and worker advancement are becoming central to industrial strategy.

Climate Resilience and Workplace Safety Drive New ILO-Japan Programme for Ethiopian Garment Factories

  • Staff Writer
 Update

1 April 2026

Climate resilience, productivity and workplace safety are being advanced across Ethiopia's leather, textile and garment sector through a new ILO-Japan joint initiative. The one-year programme targets 40 factories across five cities, integrating Japanese expertise, digitalised safety tools and a women's leadership development programme to drive sustainable and inclusive industrial growth.

 
Saudi Fashion Tex 2026
Intex Sri Lanka
Inmac Sri Lanka
COLUMNS
 
EXCLUSIVES
 
FOCUS: COTTON
Resilience in agriculture often begins with small, repeated decisions made under uncertain conditions and constrained resources. This caption explores how incremental change accumulates into structural transformation across a working landscape shaped by necessity.

Climate Pressure Forces a Reckoning Across Pakistan's Cotton Belt

Fragmented pilot projects have long defined regenerative agriculture efforts in Pakistan's cotton sector, but mounting climate and market pressures are exposing the limits of that approach. Drawing on a recent industry roundtable, Abou Bakar, Country Representative – Pakistan, CottonConnect, explains what a coordinated national framework would look like, and why farmer incentives and traceability now sit at the centre of that conversation.

Richa Bansal
 
 
SPOTLIGHT ARTICLES: MOST READ
 
SPOTLIGHT EDITIONS: SELECT 4
State of Leather 2024 21 Oct 2024
Has to be Leather All the Way!
 

Highlights: Sea Change

"Quote Unquote"

Abou Bakar
Abou Bakar
Country Representative – Pakistan
CottonConnect
In Pakistan, as with many other cotton-growing regions, climate-related disruptions are currently the strongest driver of regenerative agriculture adoption, as farmers face more extreme weather events, water scarcity, declining soil health, and fluctuating yields. However, these challenges are directly linked to declining competitiveness. Reduced productivity and inconsistent cotton quality can impact farmers' profitability and the sector's ability to meet market demand.
MORE: Climate Pressure Forces a Reckoning Across Pakistan's Cotton Belt

"Quote Unquote"

Julie Cerenzia
Julie Cerenzia
Director
Cascadia Consulting Group
The overall systems change will be shaped by many complex, inter-related systems dynamics. Municipal regulatory variability was a very salient risk factor for California textile collectors. It is also relatively straightforward to address, particularly if recognized early by municipal policymakers, and the availability of model ordinances helps make this a good area for communities to take early action.
MORE: Evidence, Assumptions and Uncertainty Shape California’s Textile EPR Debate
 
 
FOCUS: LEATHER
The new organisational structure is completed by a strongly product- and project-oriented operational model, with three event managers.

Major Reorganisation Positions Fierecongressi as a More Competitive Force in Global Exhibition Markets

A major internal reorganisation, aligned with a growth strategy and a substantial infrastructure investment programme, has reshaped Fierecongressi's operational model. The restructuring establishes a dedicated Internationalisation Area, merges two business units into a single Fairs Business Unit, and introduces a product-oriented structure to strengthen the company's competitive position in the global exhibition and congress market.

Staff Writer
Lineapelle 2025 demonstrated that the industry is ready to communicate in a different way. The collaboration between UNIC, Lineapelle, La Conceria, Is It Leather?, and voices like Volkan’s marks the beginning of a more open, consumer-connected era. But collaboration must extend to influencers, educators, and storytellers, people who can speak the language of the next generation of consumers.

The Power of Storytelling, Community and Leather’s Next Chapter

  • Blake Garavaglia
 Commentary

14 October 2025
 
ATTENTION: DENIM
 
COMPANY NEWS / PRESS RELEASES
 
 
Young India Fashion Survey 2025