Editorial: Can e-textiles survive Europe's planned Green Deal?

8 pages, published in Issue 118, October 2020   Report price: Euro 305.00; US$ 400.00

Ambitious legislative measures aimed at improving environmental sustainability in the EU formed the main theme at the 2020 virtual Dornbirn Global Fiber Congress (Dornbirn-GFC). Under the European Green Deal, the EU will pump Euro750 mn into industrial and manufacturing projects to make the EU climate-neutral by 2050. Also, a new circular economy action plan will aim to stimulate the development of climate-neutral and circular products. Extended producer responsibility (EPR) will be strengthened, there will be separate collections for waste clothing, the Single-Use Plastics Directive will put pressure on nonwovens manufacturers to use alternatives to synthetic fibres, and a Waste Framework Directive will make separate textile waste collections obligatory by January 2025. The new measures will create difficulties for European fibre and textile producers, and even more difficulties for the burgeoning e-textiles industry as the latter marries together the textile industry and the electronics industry and this makes recycling difficult. Nonetheless, the EU is continuing to fund new e-textile based products—via the Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme and the European Smart Textiles Accelerator (SmartX) programme. The first nine projects to be funded, involving 16 different companies from eight European countries, are the Airbag Jeans project, the Sweat Monitoring T-shirt project, the Dynaback T-shirt project, a textile electrocardiogram (ECG) solution for long-term monitoring, the Bodee baby monitoring project, the Seat Mat project for preventing pressure ulcers, a baby carrycot able to monitor the physiological parameters of babies and infants, smart airbag belts worn around the hips, and the Moca-Ba textile sensor for integrating into clothing.

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Four times a year, Technical Textile Markets provides an overview of the global man-made fibre, nonwoven and technical textile industries. It provides market data and analysis of new and established markets for technical textiles, and is essential reading for senior executives in (or supplying) the man-made fibre, nonwoven and technical textile sectors ? as well as for those who are not involved in the industry on a day-to-day basis, but who need an authoritative source which helps them to quickly gain an understanding of the key issues facing the companies which are actively involved in this fast-growing sector.
Reports in Technical Textile Markets include:
	company and country profiles ? giving you the opportunity to learn from strategies employed by others, in terms of production, sourcing, import/export, infrastructure and development, and plans for the future.
	profiles of the world's top 40 producers of nonwovens ? updated each year with details of developments from each of the leading producers, including acquisitions, investments and divestments, and analyses of trends which the "rising stars" are using to their advantage.
	statistical reports ? including consumption data, by fibre and end-use applications. Regular updates are published for fibre consumption in Japan, the rest of Asia, the USA, and Western Europe.
	market sector information ? analyses of important commercial end-user applications, and profiles of both established and emerging markets which take into account such innovations and developments as nanotechnology and intelligent textiles.
	regular updates on innovations in fibres, technical textiles, apparel and machinery ? including developments in the following categories: fibres and yarns; technical textile fabrics for industrial applications; machinery; technical textiles for apparel; composites; other technical textile products; and technical textile treatments and finishes.
	reports on new technological developments and other topical issues ? with clear, authoritative comments on their economic and commercial significance. The reports bring to your attention the key issues which you can use to develop your business, and provides contact details of useful organisations.
So whether you are involved in man-made fibres, nonwovens or technical textiles ? in manufacturing, converting, import/export, or end use ? or if you are in education or consultancy or investment or finance ? a subscription to Technical Textile Markets will tell you what you need to know about the key trends in the industry.
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