#ITMA 2019

2019-06-20

Denim maker Candiani SpA clinches itma 2019 sustainable innovation award

One of Europe’s largest denim producer, Candiani SpA has won the ITMA Sustainable Innovation Award, held in conjunction with ITMA 2019. Its innovative product, Candiani Re-Gen is a ‘circular denim’ fabric created from regenerated and recycled raw materials.

Fifty per cent of the Re-Gen fabric comprises Tencel x Refibra Lyocell made of pulp from cotton scraps and wood pulp using Lenzing’s efficient closed-loop process; the other 50% consists of post-industrial recycled Candiani fibres. Candiani’s fabrics are also dyed using green technologies, resulting in substantial reduction in the use of water and chemicals in the fabric production and jean washing process.

According to Mr Alberto Candiani, President of Candiani SpA, the fabric was created to commemorate Candiani’s 80th anniversary. He said, “We are a strong believer in sustainability. In creating the Re-Gen fabric, we leveraged Lenzing’s Tencel Lyocell fibres with Refibra technology, and combined it with our inhouse expertise to create an innovative product that is fashionable and environmentally friendly at the same time.”

Nominated for the award by ITMA 2019 exhibitor Lenzing Ag, Candiani SpA received the trophy from CEMATEX president Mr Fritz P. Mayer, at a presentation ceremony on the opening day of ITMA 2019.

Mr Mayer said, “We would like to congratulate both Candiani and Lenzing for their excellent collaboration. CEMATEX launched the ITMA Sustainable Innovation Award in 2015 as we would like to encourage greater industry collaboration and synergies, as well as spur more research and development efforts. Ultimately, we need innovation to drive our business and contribute to a more circular economy.”

The two other finalists of the ITMA Industry Excellence Award - Levi Strauss & Co, and Lee – were also praised for their efforts to introduce green innovations into their products and processes.

Winner of the first ITMA Sustainable Innovation Award in 2015, Levi Strauss & Co launched FLX Customisation Studio which revolutionalises in-store customisation by allowing customers to pick their denim finish and create a unique pair of jeans in less than two hours. The mobile studio uses sustainable garment finishing technologies and operates on 100% recycled water. It leverages ITMA exhibitor Jeanologia’s water recycling system, H2Zero.

Established denim jeans brand Lee leverages Tonello’s innovative garment finishing system for its denim jeans. The All-in-One System combines four technologies that drastically reduces the water needed in the finishing stages of jean manufacturing thus reducing processing time and total production cost.

Research & Innovation Excellence Award

The ITMA Research & Innovation (R&I) Excellence Award for Master’s students of R&I Pavilion exhibiting institutions is won by Mathias Zidda, Institut Für Textiltechnik, RWTH Aachen University for his thesis: Development of a gear driven 3D rotational braiding machine and its control concept. He receives prize money of 10,000 euros.

The first runner up is Ms Sarika Sunil Borikar of D.K.T.E. Society’s Textile & Engineering Institute (thesis: Sanitary Napkin: A Greener Approach), followed by Ms Pamela Massaccesi of Universidad De Buenos Aires (thesis: TUTTI – Reusable Food Wrapping).

The ITMA Sustainable Innovation Award is one of the components of ITMA Innovation Lab which brands a series of activities promoting research and innovation. Other components are the Research and Innovation Pavilion, Speakers Platform and the Innovation Video Showcase.

textile.4U publishes special edition “Top 100 Textile Recycling Companies 2025”

With a comprehensive 176-page special edition, textile.4U is dedicating its latest issue entirely to one of the most dynamic and influential topics in today’s textile industry: textile recycling. The new issue, published exclusively in high-quality print, presents the Top 100 textile recycling companies researched and selected by TexData – organizations that already play a key role in the transition to circular textiles or are expected to have a significant impact in the near future.

Responsible Textile Recovery Act of 2024 signed by Governor

Senator Josh Newman (D-Fullerton) is proud to announce that Senate Bill 707 (SB 707), the Responsible Textile Recovery Act of 2024, has been signed into law by the Governor of California, Gavin Newsom. This groundbreaking legislation establishes the country’s first Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) textile recycling program, marking a significant step forward in the state’s efforts to combat waste and promote sustainability.

Modtissimo promotes sustainability with 28 coordinates in the Green Circle

Modtissimo is proving more and more to be a textile and clothing show that delivers the latest innovations in the area of sustainability, with the iTechStyle Green Circle being the main showcase for companies' creations. In this 60+4 edition, taking place on 12 and 13 September, 28 coordinates will be exhibited in a section organised by CITEVE and curated by Paulo Gomes.

The EU and Egypt team up to mobilise private sector investments at Investment Conference and sign a Memorandum of Understanding underpinning €1 billion in macro-financial assistance for Egypt

At the EU-Egypt Investment Conference, co-organised by the EU and the Government of Egypt on 29-30 June, the EU and Egypt are teaming up to intensify private sector investments in Egypt. They are also signing a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) for the disbursement to Egypt of up to €1 billion in Macro-Financial Assistance.

MUNICH FABRIC START: Between Attitude and Sensuality

The future begins where we reimagine it. After seasons of restraint, Spring.Summer 27 marks a conscious counter-trend: optimism, sensuality, and creative freedom are replacing pragmatism and neutrality. Physical presence and individuality are regaining importance – as a response to uncertainty, exhaustion, and algorithmic predictability. The overarching theme of PLEASURE stands for fashion as an emotional space, as an expression of attitude and cultural reflection. Colours, surfaces, and materials become vehicles for self-confidence and joie de vivre.

organIQ seek: smart alternative to potassium permanganate

CHT Group announces new technical findings within its organIQ seek platform that significantly advance the transition toward permanganate-free denim bleaching. Through extensive industrial testing and application research, CHT confirms that organIQ seek can now be used with remarkable effectiveness as a substitute for potassium permanganate in spray bleach, while remaining aligned with sustainability expectations and cost realities in the European market. At the COLOMBIATEX in Medellín as well as at the Exintex in Puebla and the Kingpins Show in Amsterdam the CHT Group will present organIQ seek as an alternative to potassium permanganate.

PERFORMANCE DAYS: Focus topic shifts to the beginning of the value chain

Following the last Focus Topic in October 2025, which placed Textile-to-Textile Recycling at its core, PERFORMANCE DAYS continues to drive the conversation around circularity – this time with an expanded and more upstream perspective. The upcoming Focus Topic, “Textile to Textile: The Role of Collectors and Sorters,” presented during the spring edition on March 18–19, will spotlight one of the most essential yet often overlooked components of a functioning circular textile system: the efficient collection and sorting of post-consumer textiles.

Proven performance, optimised costs – the new RE 6 EL

Nowadays textile companies increasingly need to produce small production runs and respond to market changes with instantaneous pattern changes in order to operate profitably – meaning they require machines that offer maximum flexibility, reliability and cost efficiency. KARL MAYER understands the challenges of the market and is launching its new RE 6 EL. The Raschel machine offers the core strengths of the classic RSE 6 EL and essentially the same performance parameters, but has been further cost-optimised largely due to local production advantages. This makes the newcomer an efficiency champion in production, especially when it comes to frequent pattern changes.