Updates

Materials science company Pangaia has launched its first denim product — an oversized jacket — made entirely from cotton textile waste.

The second edition of the 2023 Corporate Climate Responsibility Monitor has rapped fashion and retail giants for "hiding climate inaction behind a fig leaf of net zero plans."

The VF Foundation has announced grants to the tune of $8.3 million for 60 equitable and sustainable future projects that are aimed at ensuring a more diverse representation in the apparel, footwear and outdoor industries.

Urging larger number of brands and retailers to hasten their switch to converged schemes, the Standard Convergence Initiative (SCI) has said that a lot more can be done to further reduce the burden on suppliers and manufacturers.

Algorithmic intelligence with digital projection will now help sewists to make patterns paperless, customisable, and adaptable to specific body measurements — all in real time. Specialty craft retailer Joann and sewing machine major Singer collaborated with sewists throughout the three-year development process.

Waking up to the potential adverse health impacts associated with PFAS exposure, the American Apparel & Footwear Association (AAFA) has for the first time included per- and polyfluoroalkyl Substances (PFAS) as a class of chemicals in its latest Restricted Substance List (RSL).

In sync with the UNEP Ecosystem Restoration narrative, removing the “and/or” approach, global nonprofit Textile Exchange has updated the term “Preferred” to include a fibre or raw material that delivers consistently reduced impacts and increased benefits for climate, nature, and people, through a holistic approach to transforming production systems.

After developing an enzyme technology to reduce single use plastics, researchers are now working on creating a similar process for polyester textiles.

Sorting and recycling could be more effective if a tag made of photonic fibres is woven into the fabric. A team of researchers has done just that and is now evaluating ways to move forward with the commercialisation of the technology.

Researchers have found that the annual release of 6,860–17,847 tonnes of microfibre from UK's washing is a relatively small problem in comparison to the fashion industry's waste problem, with 365,000 tonnes of clothing going to landfill every year.