Japan’s focus on Southeast Asia

Daiwabo, Shinwa and Unitika are the latest major Japanese nonwovens companies involved in capacity expansions in Southeast Asia to meet the rapidly escalating demand for hygienic disposables and medical materials in the region.

Read More

Hohenstein’s vehicle inspection

Germany’s Hohenstein Institute has established a range of test procedures for assessing the natural fibre-based textiles, nonwovens and composites that are increasingly being adopted by the automotive sector.

Read More

Sateri starts-up 200,000 ton viscose plant

Hong Kong-headquartered Sateri Holdings has started production at its new viscose staple fibre (VSF) plant for nonwovens and textiles in Fujian, China.

Read More

UK hits landfill diversion target early

The latest figures released by Carpet Recycling UK (CRUK) reveal that a record-breaking 107,000 tonnes of waste carpet were reused, recycled or recovered in the UK during 2013 – up 21% (22,000 tonnes) on the previous year.

Read More

Chasing the new baby boom

The US and Canada, West Europe and Japan accounted for only about 7.5% of the global infant population in 2012. By contrast, almost half of the infants currently in the world are in Asia and a third of them in just three countries – China, India and Indonesia.

It is hardly surprising then, that the manufacturers of baby diapers are intensely active in emerging markets where they see all the longer-term profitability.

Read More

Nonwovens from silk swarms

While the cocoons of silkworms can generate filaments that can be made into intricate and beautiful fabrics, 3D printing is a more recent scientific development.Now scientists at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology have combined the two to create the Silk Pavilion.

Read More

Future harmony or a pseudo solution?

The adoption by the European Commission of a ‘product environmental footprint’ (PEF) approach to comparing products continues to cause controversy.

Read More

Breaking down drapes in landfill

Ecolab Global Healthcare, headquartered in St Paul, Minnesota, USA, is introducing the Genesys range of surgical drapes and waste bags which incorporate a technology that speeds up their breakdown into primary organic matter when disposed of in biologically active landfills.

Read More

Wanhua to enter SAP market

Shanghai-headquartered China Wanhua Chemical Group – which has reported sales of $2.5 billion for the first nine months of 2013, up 35% on 2012 – plans to open a new superabsorbent polymer (SAP) plant in Yantai, Shandong.

Read More

Carbon nonwovens at STFI

The Saxon Textile Research Institute (STFI) held its 11th re4tex recycling conference in December, after claiming the 2013 German Resource Efficiency Award for its CarbonWasteCycle research project.

Read More

 Elemental extremes with Dupont Nomex

A collaboration between DuPont and CG Power Systems has resulted in greater efficiencies in wind turbine transformers, with the development of ultra-compact equipment which is able to operate under extreme conditions without impact on its lifetime.

 Biomass partners attract DOE funding

The US Department of Energt has awarded Novozymes and Michigan-based MBI up to $2.5 million to develop new enzyme-based technologies to convert corn stover into sugars for subsequent conversion into biofuels and plastics. 

Read More

 Blankets for frozen smoke

The Aeroclad blanket is a flexible new high-temperature insulation material being introduced by Cabot Corporation, of Boston, Massachusetts, for use in a wide range of industrial applications such as pipelines, refineries, steam lines, tanks and other equipment. 

 Read More

 Fifty nine dollars a square metre?

That’s pretty good going for a nonwoven fabric – and its sustainable credentials are impeccable too.  Alcantara – or Ultrasuede as it is commonly known as manufactured by Toray Industries and Ecsaine in Japan, is based on ‘bicomponent fibres of around 60% polyester and 40% polyurethane. 

Read More

136 page Sustainable Cotton Guide

The Insiders Guide to Cotton and Sustainability, written by Simon Ferrigno and edited by John Mowbray, is now available. Published by MCL Global, producers of Sustainable Nonwovens, Ecotextile News and Knitting Trade Journal, the 136 page booklet covers the ecological impact of cotton production and the environmental challenges that this presents.

Read More

ADVERTISE with Sustainable Nonwovens
In the second decade of the 21st Century, it’s no longer a question of just ‘business as usual’ for the global nonwovens industry. Big changes are taking place, impacting on everything from the raw materials used and the processes developed, to the role nonwovens will play in existing and future end-use products for myriad markets.

SUSTAINABLE NONWOVENS will reflect these changes, and advertising in the new web-site and printed magazine combination will ensure that your company is seen as one of the pioneers in the fast moving sector of the industry.

Call David Jagger on: +44 1977 708488 or email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. for more details