#Natural Fibers

2026-07-02

Woolmark: Merino wool innovation takes centre stage at Pitti Filati with The Wool Lab themes and Journal debut

Woolmark returns to Pitti Filati to lead AW27 sourcing conversations, spotlighting two new The Wool Lab trend-led themes, the debut of The Wool Lab journal for the European and Italian market and a stand centring the role of Merino wool as a high-performance technical fibre.

At stand I/20, Woolmark presents innovative and commercially available wool yarns, fabrics and processes for AW27, in a dedicated space exploring the advanced capabilities of Merino wool across performance, comfort and design innovation. Visitors will find the latest swatches from The Wool Lab’s newest themes - Gen K and Embodiment - alongside a showcase of product innovations including wool faux fur and boiled wool, offering a forward-looking view of wool in knitwear through to layering systems and interior textiles.

The Wool Lab AW27 themes: Gen K and Embodiment

A global physical and digital platform for sourcing opportunities in wool, The Wool Lab’s two latest themes explore the fibre’s potential as a canvas for craft-led innovation in knitwear and across both the body and the spaces we inhabit.

Gen K connects past and future through the visual language of depth and form, balancing craft and elevated rebellion, with constructions including Superfine Merino wool multi-ply braid stitch cable, WholegarmentÒ floating jacquard bouclé and 100% Extrafine Merino wool waterless indigo pigment pointelle, among a selection of Merino wool and blends with cashmere, silk and cotton across fine gauges and sculptural volume. Embodiment spans body and space, tracing Merino wool across base-layers, fluid knitwear and interior textiles from virgin wool and silk blends to acoustic wool felt panels and naturally dyed handwoven stoles.

Stand features: Wool faux fur and boiled wool

Alongside The Wool Lab’s latest themes, two knitwear innovations will be featured on the stand and in The Wool Lab Journal. Both wool faux fur and boiled wool demonstrate the technical and creative range of Merino wool for AW27 sourcing. Wool faux fur achieves the warmth, volume and tactile depth of traditional fur, without being a fur at all, while tapping into wool’s thermal properties, resilience and moisture management for fabrications that are at once voluminous, lightweight and comfortable. Boiled wool is a study in the potential of the wool fibre to create constructions that are deliberately felted through heat, water and movement for greater body, density and sculptural presence. Of note is the capacity to apply the boiling process at garment stage, knitting and linking the completed garment before boiling rather than cutting pre-felted panels, in an innovative approach that reduces material waste while preserving wool’s warmth and silhouette.

The Wool Lab Journal debut: Italy and Europe

Marking its entry into the Italian and European market at Pitti Filati, The Wool Lab journal is an editorial publication highlighting the most significant innovations in wool. Offering buyers, designers and sourcing professionals a deeper reference point for the most compelling materials, techniques and creative directions, The Wool Lab Journal expands the approach of The Wool Lab in a complementary format.

Pitti Filati stand highlights

Merino Wool: The Technical Fibre: a dedicated showcase presenting the advanced performance credentials of Merino wool for AW27 winter sourcing

The Wool Lab’s latest swatches across the Gen K and Embodiment themes, featuring innovative yarn and fabric compositions from Woolmark’s global supplier network

Wool faux fur and boiled wool product innovation displays

The Wool Lab Journal, debuting in the European market with editorial coverage of the season’s most significant wool innovations

On-stand consultations with Woolmark’s technical experts for sourcing, Woolmark certification and quality assurance guidance.

The Wool Lab is also accessible online as a global digital sourcing solution.

Merino wool moves into China’s high-performance sportswear market

China’s leading sportswear brands are beginning to treat Merino wool not as a lifestyle material, but as a performance input as natural fibres move from the margins of sportswear into elite technical applications. That shift is increasingly evident in the material strategies of major domestic groups such as ANTA.

Cotton made in Africa partners receive top marks in independent verifications

Cotton made in Africa® (CmiA) and CmiA Organic are two internationally recognised standards that aim to promote sustainable development in the African cotton sector south of the Sahara. To ensure the standards’ credibility among brands, retailers, and consumers, independent verifiers evaluate compliance on the ground. The verification results for 2025, now published in the Aggregated Verification & Implementation Report, were very strong: The verifiers awarded consistently very good remarks regarding management, people, prosperity, and the environment.

Cotton ConneXions Insight to Impact brings supply chain leaders together around cotton innovation

Cotton Incorporated’s Cotton ConneXions Insight to Impact brought together more than 300 industry leaders from 140 companies across 10 countries, including more than 45 top global brands and sourcing organizations, underscoring strong global interest in cotton-rich product development, sourcing and supply chain collaboration.

ALADIN paves the way for circular and demand-driven textile production in Europe

Textile production can be organized sustainably by utilizing short supply chains and preventing overproduction. This can already be achieved today by intelligently connecting and efficiently utilizing existing infrastructure. At the same time, production becomes circular when innovative technologies and materials are used that enable high-quality recycling. The ALADIN research project, launched in May 2026 and co-funded with five million euros under the EU Horizon Europe program, is creating the conditions for this.

Katharina Obergruber appointed to the Management Board of Sandler AG

The Supervisory Board of Sandler AG has appointed Katharina Obergruber to the company’s Management Board. Effective September 1, 2026, the Board will consist of Philipp Ebbinghaus (CEO), Dr. Ulrich Hornfeck (currently CCO, future COO), and Katharina Obergruber (CCO). Katharina Obergruber, currently Chief Sales Officer Hygiene and member of the Management Team of Sandler AG, will assume responsibility for all sales activities as Chief Commercial Officer. She will assume this role from Dr. Ulrich Hornfeck, who will focus primarily on production and supply chain topics.

Ence and ShareTex begin initial testing of the ATENEA innovation project to promote textile recycling in Spain

Ence and ShareTex are making progress on the Atenea R&D project, which aims to develop a complete value chain for textile recycling in Spain. Specifically, the goal of the ATENEA project—which is funded by the Center for Technological Development and Innovation (CDTI)—is to connect all the necessary stages for the recovery of textile waste, from collection and management, through recycling and transformation into new raw materials, to their incorporation into new textile products.

DePoly Inaugurates its Showcase Plant in Monthey Switzerland

What if used plastic bottles, PET packaging material and polyester textiles could become raw materials just as high performing as virgin resources? That is the ambition of DePoly, a circular materials company based in Sion, Switzerland which inaugurated its Showcase Plant in Monthey on July 6th & 7th. The first depolymerization facility of its kind and scale in Switzerland, this industrial Showcase Plant represents a major milestone in the company's growth and its journey toward commercialization.