It ain't fashion, if it ain't sustainable

United States

Climate Action / US Cotton

4 July 2023

2 minutes

A harvester in Mississippi. The Climate Smart Cotton Program brings together leaders and partners from supply chain outreach, academia and sustainability.

Cotton Growers Get Chance to Become Climate-Smart under US Cotton Trust Protocol Project

The US Cotton Trust Protocol has launched a five-year project which seeks to measure and improve the carbon footprint of the US cotton industry.

Staff Writer

Cotton Farming / Bioinformatics

4 July 2023

2 minutes

Gossypium herbaceum, commonly known as Levant cotton, is a species of cotton native to the semi-arid regions of sub-Saharan Africa and Arabia, where it still grows perennially in the wild as a shrub.

Computer Scientists Sequence Genome of Cotton Species 'Gossypium herbaceum'

Computer scientists have reconstructed one of the most complete genomes of a top cotton species, which now give scientists a more complete picture of how wild cotton was domesticated over time and may help to strengthen and protect the crop for farmers.

Special Correspondent

Fake Labels / Made in US

29 June 2023

2 minutes

The FTC’s Made in USA Labeling Rule went into effect on 13 August, 2021. Companies that violate the Rule from that date forward may be subject to civil penalties.

FTC Action Against Clothing Accessory Companies Claiming to “Made in US’

In yet another case of not “Made in US’, the Federal Trade Commission in the United States has penalised a group of companies and its owner.

Staff Writer

Tech Innovation / Try-Ons

20 June 2023

2 minutes

Working alongside its Shopping Graph, the world’s most comprehensive data set of products and sellers, this technology can scale to more brands and items over time. The ML-powered Shopping Graph houses more than 35 billion product listings.

New Disruption: Google Launches Virtual Try-Ons with AI Shopping Feature

Google’s new AI model powers its virtual try-on (VTO) feature through generative AI model to show what clothes look like on a wide range of people with different body shapes, sizes, and poses.

Staff Writer

Functional Clothing / Anti-mosquito

7 June 2023

Mosquito-borne diseases cause immense suffering for humans. Roughly 390 million people are infected each year with dengue, and hundreds of thousands more are affected by Zika, chikungunya and yellow fever. Common types of mosquito-borne diseases include malaria, dengue, West Nile virus, chikungunya, yellow fever and Zika.

US Entomologists Design Fabric to Block Mosquito Bites

Designing clothing to mechanically block a mosquito bite is tough engineering and entomologists at Auburn University have crafted just that unique interlock knit that can disarm arthropods including the buzzing mosquito by preventing its fascicle, a repertoire of six serrated blades, microneedles, and a bevelled needle, from piercing and drawing blood.

Staff Writer

Functional Fabrics / Funding Round

5 June 2023

2 minutes

brrr°’s patented technology combines natural cooling minerals, active wicking and rapid drying to instantly and continuously draw heat and moisture away from the skin.

Cotton Yarn Innovator brrr° Completes $6.3 million Capital Round with Designer David Chu

US-based performance ingredient tech enterprise brrr° has received a strategic investment $6.3 million from the Nautica Founder-Designer David Chu.

Staff Writer

Cotton Farming / Irrigation

5 June 2023

2 minutes

The results indicated that the extent and timing of water deficit stress in different cotton growth stages substantially affected seed cotton yield, irrigation water use and water-use efficiency.

Variable Deficit Irrigation in Cotton Can Help Improve Yields and Save Water, Finds Study

Research by scientists at the Texas A&M AgriLife Research could assist cotton producers struggling with drought and dropping water tables in maximising crop yields from limited water with some planning and implementation of variable deficit irrigation.

Staff Writer

Going Circular / Fashion Index 2023

1 June 2023

4 minutes

Except for Indian brands, which score significantly lower than the rest of the panel, the results from other countries are fairly aligned, with average scores ranging between 2.6 and 3.4, confirming that there is a lot to do everywhere across the globe.

Brands Going Around in Circles; Score Measly 2.97 on 10 in Circularity; Indian Brands Cut Sorry Figure

The just released 2023 Circular Fashion Index (CFX) by Kearney rues that the needle has barely moved since last year's report, with the 200 global brands analysed barely reaching an average of 2.97 on a circularity scale of 10.

Special Correspondent

Innovation / Beyond Fossil Fuels

1 June 2023

2 minutes

Through the collaboration of Checkerspot and BST, miDori microalgae oil is now going into a variety of apparel brands’ supply chains, giving an entire industry the opportunity to reduce their reliance on petroleum in their supply chain.

WNDR Alpine Launches Algae-Powered Activewear Line

Using biotechnology to design performance products, a US-based enterprise has launched a line of activewear using 100% petroleum-free wicking technology derived from microalgae instead of fossil fuels.

Staff Writer

Recycling Textiles / Battery Prospects

27 May 2023

The Mattress Recycling Council operates statewide mattress recycling programmes in California, Connecticut and Rhode Island in the US. Collectively, these programmes have recycled over 12 million mattresses till date.

Recycled Mattress Textiles Can Be Used in New Batteries for EVs

A successful three-year study conducted at the Pittsburgh State University in the US has found that recycled mattress materials, specifically non-woven textiles, be used for rechargeable energy storage devices such as supercapacitors and batteries.

Staff Writer