Sustainability – Page 3 – Specialty Fabrics Review

Sustainability metrics and certifications

October 1, 2013 | Feature, Industry News, Sustainability

The Oeko-Tex® STeP Certification for the textile industry. By Samuel D. Moore, Ph.D. The globalization of the textile industry has created enormous pressure for textile brands, factories and supply chains to demonstrate their ability to manage and continuously improve the sustainability of their…

First U.S. offshore grid-connected wind turbine

September 1, 2013 | Projects, Sustainability

The University of Maine, leading the DeepCwind Consortium, deployed the first grid-connected offshore wind turbine in U.S. waters, the VolturnUS 1:8, near Brewer, Maine, on May 31. The approximately 65-foot-tall wind turbine prototype includes a tower constructed of fiberglass-reinforced composite m…

S.M.A.R.T. clothing recycling

September 1, 2013 | Industry News, Sustainability

Helping communities manage clothing and textile recycling; NCTO welcomes new president. The Secondary Materials and Recycled Textiles Association (SMART), Bel Air, Md., is taking several positive steps focusing on the issues surrounding clothing collection bins, as part of its continuing effort to p…

PET fibers get a second life

August 1, 2013 | Industry News, Sustainability

Recycled PET fibers are gaining a significant foothold in the U.S. nonwovens industry. By Adrian Wilson The well-known U.K. environmental journalist George Monbiot has little time for recycling. In a recent column entitled “Let’s Stop Hiding Behind Recycling and Be Honest about Consumpti…

Low-grade cotton better at oil pick-up

July 1, 2013 | Advanced Textiles, Industry News, Sustainability

A pound of low-micronaire cotton, a cotton of lesser value in the fiber market, can pick up more than 30 pounds of crude oil, making it an effective absorbent for cleaning up spills. Researchers at Texas Tech University, Lubbock, Texas, published their findings in the journal Industrial & En…

Advanced roofing overcomes technical hurdles to generate electricty

July 1, 2013 | Fabric Structures, Projects, Sustainability

A city carport in Munich—and a prototype for efficiency and sustainability. By Lynn Keillor It’s not always easy being green: that’s what Wika Pösl discovered when attempting to build a ground-breaking carport roof for a public works building in Munich, Germany. The project, w…

Flint Industries turbidity barrier breakthrough

July 1, 2013 | Geosynthetics, Projects, Sustainability

[Flint Industries] Metter, Ga., U.S.A. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers used 5,500 linear feet of TITANBoom® turbidity barrier for a major restoration of Ship Island near Gulfport, Miss. The barrier not only endured through the 12-month project, it withstood the impact of a Category I hurricane …

TenCate Geotube transforms a wasteland

July 1, 2013 | Geosynthetics, Projects, Sustainability

[TenCate Geosynthetics] Pendergrass, Calif., U.S.A. TenCate Geotube® dewatering technology contributed to the transformation of what was once a “wasteland” into an ecologically friendly wetland and recreational lake for the Sino-Singapore Tianjin Eco-City development. The new Qingjin…

Techtera launches 2013 innovation initiatives

July 1, 2013 | Industry News, Projects, Sustainability

Three projects will focus on eco-design for environment and human health. Eco-design, environmental protection, recycling and public health are the themes that underlie the Techtera Technical Textiles Rhone-Alps cluster’s latest R & D projects. ECOSILAC, REVAMED and TECHNYMAT, funded throu…

Underwater tenting helps advance marine science

June 1, 2013 | Marine, Sustainability

Clear vinyl pyramids are proving to be a valuable tool for checking reef health. By Lynn Keillor It may seem that Dr. Nichole Price has a job in paradise: cruising between remote tropical, often deserted, islands in the South Pacific, doing a bit of diving and pitching tents. As a postdoctoral resea…

Category: Sustainability