So supposedly, a goal of U.S. tariffs on products imported from other countries, including textiles, apparel, and footwear, was to incentivize bringing manufacturing back to the States. Of course, setting up a new factory takes time and money; it doesn’t happen overnight. But it seems that producers had other ideas…the results may surprise you. Read More
Nothing better demonstrates the turmoil the textiles and apparel industry is going through than two news items I received in my inbox, basically back to back, stating that the U.S. is holding its own while Europe is losing steam. What else is going on in the industry today? We dive into that here. Read More
How does a fashion brand founded in 1951 leverage its legacy as a springboard for growth, innovation, and responsible production, without ever diluting what makes it? This great story, compliments of textiles expert and WhatTheyThink contributor Debbie McKeegan, is worth a read! Read More
A recent article in Apparel DECODED caught Cary Sherburne's attention. It notes that the second-hand apparel market is growing, and highlighted Vinted as an example. In this article, she takes a look at the market, recent changes, and projections for growth among key players. Read More
So supposedly, a goal of U.S. tariffs on products imported from other countries, including textiles, apparel, and footwear, was to incentivize bringing manufacturing back to the States. Of course, setting up a new factory takes time and money; it doesn’t happen overnight. But it seems that producers had other ideas…the results may surprise you. Read More
Nothing better demonstrates the turmoil the textiles and apparel industry is going through than two news items I received in my inbox, basically back to back, stating that the U.S. is holding its own while Europe is losing steam. What else is going on in the industry today? We dive into that here. Read More
How does a fashion brand founded in 1951 leverage its legacy as a springboard for growth, innovation, and responsible production, without ever diluting what makes it? This great story, compliments of textiles expert and WhatTheyThink contributor Debbie McKeegan, is worth a read! Read More
A recent article in Apparel DECODED caught Cary Sherburne's attention. It notes that the second-hand apparel market is growing, and highlighted Vinted as an example. In this article, she takes a look at the market, recent changes, and projections for growth among key players. Read More
About a year ago, we provided an update on Digital Product Passports. While the news on this topic has been somewhat quiet, a recent article published by GlobalData caught my eye—the launch of the world’s first China-EU Digital Product Passport (DPP) for a textile product! Read More
According to textiles expert and WhatTheyThink contributor Debbie McKeegan, we are currently witnessing the single greatest shift in information retrieval since the invention of the search engine. The internet, once a library of blue links, is rapidly transforming into an oracle of direct answers. The challenge now is not how to use AI to do more—but to use AI to matter more. Read More
The Graphene Council, now renamed as The Advanced Carbons Council, has been a key source of information about graphene, often called a miracle material. As graphene, which was discovered in 2004, has matured and is less of a niche material, this expansion of the group’s focus signified by its renaming creates a unique entity, as explained by its Executive Director, Terrance Barkan, in this interview. Read More
The water footprint of a single pair of jeans is surprisingly high, primarily because of the "thirsty" nature of cotton and the intensive chemical washes required to get that classic denim look. Plus cotton growing requires a lot of pesticides and herbicides. Is hemp a possible cotton replacement? Fashion for Good believes so. Read More
Focus on textile recycling has increased around the globe. More than 80% of clothing waste is discarded in landfills. Reju, a leader in textile recycling, is opening a plant in Rochester, N.Y. Is this the start of scaling up textile recycling in North America, which has lagged behind Europe and other parts of the world? Read More
Upstream file problems, standards-based appearance governance, and what can go wrong between design and installation across materials, processes, sites, and seasons. Read More
We’ve been following the progress of wearables since beginning our formal coverage of textiles and apparel in 2018, and it is amazing the progress that is being made. This article highlights two examples that demonstrate that progress. Read More
Have you ever wondered if your interior is toxic? The industry is known for its use of toxic chemicals, unfortunately. Perhaps there's a way to create healthier homes while eliminating toxic chemicals from interior design. This article, provided compliments of Texintel CEO Debbie McKeegan tackles that possibility. Read More
Can the fashion industry make the move from disposable to durable, reducing volumes but maintaining profitability? A recent Sourcing Journal fireside chat made the case that it is not only possible, but necessary. Read More
One of the issues holding back further development of direct-to-film (DtF) textile printing is that current solutions rely on applying a powder on top of the still wet ink. In this article from the Printing & Manufacturing Journal, Nessan Cleary explains how vendors are working on powderless solutions—with Matsui ahead of the pack at this stage. Read More
Efforts to return apparel manufacturing back to the U.S. at scale has been stymied by the lack of sewing talent at scale. CreateMe’s Founder and CEO Cam Myers explains how bonding technology—using adhesives—can replace thread for some garment applications. This could be a game-changer for reshoring. Read More
In a recent masterclass hosted by The Fashion Network, leading experts discussed the critical changes required in fashion-related supply chains, noting that in a post-pandemic world, it’s no longer a question of if your supply chain will face disruption, but when, Provided compliments of Debbie McKeegan, CEO of Texintel, the discussion provides actionable strategies to future proof operations. Read More
At the Impressions Expo in Long Beach CA, Epson announced an addition to its G-Series family of Direct-to-Film printers, the SureColor® G9070. WhatTheyThink spoke with product manager Paul Morales to get all the details. Read More
As the apparel manufacturing industry left the United States in the 70s and 80s in search of cheaper labor, it left the sewing talent we had in search of new careers, or moving on to retirement. Now we are trying to reclaim that talent pool in order to bring at least some of that manufacturing back here. Michael McDonald, President of SPESA, shares his thoughts on this challenge from the perspective of the suppliers to the industry. Read More
David Williamson of Modern Meadow provides insight on an important topic in this article, provided compliments of Debbie McKeegan, CEO of Texintel. While the textile and apparel industry has traditionally had a heavy reliance on traditional materials like polyester and cotton, these fibers come with a significant environmental cost. He discusses how bio-based fibers could mitigate these problems. Read More
In what world does it make sense to send 30% of the products you produce directly to the landfill? I think most readers would agree that it doesn’t, but that’s exactly what’s happening in apparel—not only in the U.S., but around the globe. What’s the solution for the industry? Jennifer Guarino, President and CEO of the Industrial Sewing and Innovation Center (ISAIC), has some strong opinions! Read More
In this article penned by Shivam Gusain, founder at Decypher, he asks a good question: Is the fashion ecosystem really making significant environmental progress? What work has been done and what has not, the simplest and most important question which almost no one asks. The article is provided compliments of WhatTheyThink contributor Debbie McKeegan, CEO of Texintel. Read More
Patagonia published its first-ever sustainability report! Yes, the poster child for corporate sustainability has never published one before, and could be a playbook for others to follow. We’ll also discuss new developments that might bring true sustainability within reach for other corporations. Read More
No, not that kind of magic! Rather, this article is about mushrooms as a magical replacement for traditional leather—more sustainable, and more flexible in terms of products and decoration. It’s been a while since we’ve written about this, and now for a significant update… Read More
Or maybe, Size Really Does Matter! The apparel industry is fragmented in many ways, not the least of which is sizing. Inconsistent sizing of apparel accounts for almost 20% of returned items, equating to $890 billion in costs to brands and retailers. In this article, textiles expert and WhatTheyThink contributor Debbie McKeegan explains the staggering cost of a poor fit and suggests what might be done about it. Read More
Due to the prevalence of fast fashion, many articles of clothing are mass produced but soon end up in landfills or incinerators. Fortunately, some of today’s brands are experimenting with more environmentally friendly practices. This article discusses the sustainability challenges that persist in the fashion industry and explores how modern printing and scanning techniques may help lead us to a more eco-friendly future. Read More
Cheezy Snack is a cool retro typeface. The art and artistry of gyotaku, or fish printing. Don’t tell Prince: purple doesn’t exist. Next week’s NYC Zig Zag Festival is designed to be a “visual bridge between Italy and the United States.” A supposedly independent, locally owned news publication was actually all AI-generated. Some once-essential analog technologies that have been replaced by digital alternatives. Periodic Table D120 is a 120-sided die that contains all the known elements of the periodic table. A graphene-based cooling headband. Amazon’s AI shopping tool lets you search for items that don’t exist, for some reason. A unique folding chair design. Tips for how to win a tuna-throwing contest. Engineered algae could help solve our microplastics problem. Welcome to WhatTheyThink’s weekly miscellany. Read More
