Textile Insight

I n this season's swirl of sustainability developments, companies are taking impactful action to accelerate change. A collective push to reduce, recycle and repurpose using innovative textiles and technologies complements a determined outlook among company execs that going forward together is the path to decarbonization. It's clear that when it comes to creating a new model built on circular production and consumption, the textile industry means business. "If you want to drive transformative change, then you have to shi the goal of the system," stated Sally Uren, chief executive of Forum for the Future, who spoke recently in conversation with Dr. Andrew Dent, executive director of the Material Connexion. Uren highlighted her belief that a regenerative ecosystem is possible, but stressed that it requires "systems thinking." According to Uren, if the textile business is serious about delivering advancements of environmental standards, for example, a re- focusing of the current system is needed that includes recognition and collaborating with other systems to create holistic change. "It's important to remember that everything is connected — energy, agriculture, health, etc. — which makes designing for change more complex," said Uren, noting that things are easier when there is clarity of goals. "As it is now, textile companies can do things, but you'll hit a limit to scale unless other systems are in sync." Uren advocates that companies get "hyper- collaborative" and harmonize an approach to standards. By doing this the industry will continue its progress from the "starter phase" of collecting scientific data, to its current "accelerator phase," and transition to a "stabilization phase" of legislation and societal acceptance to bring new tech to scale and have price parity with established technology. If all this sounds daunting, Uren offers this advice, "If you can't change the system, you can dance with the system." Innovation & Initiatives A recent study revealed that each of us might be consuming a credit card's worth of small plastic particles every week! While plastic and other waste is the main culprit in this alarming statistic, microfiber fragmentation certainly contributes to the problem — a problem the textile community is committed to tackling. Polartec Shed Less Fleece is a good example. Shed Less is a process that combines yarn construction, knitting, chemistry, and manufacturing to reduce home laundry fiber fragment shedding significantly. e first fabric to receive this new technology is the iconic Polartec 200 Series Fleece; the Polartec Series 200 with Shed Less is 100 percent recycled polyester. e Shed Less process works by engineering the loed fibers that give fleece its so hand the ability to resist breaking and rubbing off during home laundering. Polartec used the AATCC (American Association of Textile Chemists and Colorists) TM212-2021 test method for fiber fragment release during home laundering. e test was conducted with large sample sizes to account for variability. e testing concluded that Shed Less Fleece reduced fiber fragment shedding by an average of 85 percent compared to the baseline fabric. "In 2016 we began looking into how we might test for fiber loss because there wasn't a lot of research on the issue," said Aimee LaValley, Polartec textile development, dye and chemistry manager. "is led to new products like Polartec Power Air, new manufacturing processes, as well as our participation in the TextileMission workgroup to study the issue on an interdisciplinary basis." Polartec's Karen Beattie, explained, "Polartec Shed Less technology and Polartec Power Air share the same EcoEngineering motivation at Polartec — to provide textiles that help to reduce microfiber shedding in home laundering. textileinsight.com Spring 2023 ~ Textile Insight • 27 BY EMILY WALZER COVER STORY / SUSTAINABILITY CHASING CIRCULARITY

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