#Textiles & Apparel / Garment

2021-12-02

Toray develops Qticle™, a smooth and supple new fabric

Toray Industries, Inc., announced today that it has de-veloped Qticle™, a polyester filament fabric that combines the structure of hair and wool with a smooth and supple texture and functionality.

The company will offer Qticle™ for everything from casual medium-weight fabrics for men’s and ladies’ outerwear through cut-and-sewn items, broadening the design freedom and potential for high-end apparel in Japan and around the globe. Toray aims to commercialize this fabric for spring/summer 2023 collections. It targets annual sales of 200,000 meters in fiscal 2022 (through end-March 2023), and 500,000 meters by 2025.

Hair and wool comprise numerous protein layers. Their properties and structure deliver excellent elastic-ity and luster.

Qticle™ is a biomimetic fabric. Toray created it by em-ploying its proprietary NANODESIGN™ composite spinning technology to design an eccentric yarn with an ultrathin shell layer with which it combined fiber processing technology to create a crimped structure and fine surface irregularities. An eccentric yarn has a cross-section with two different pol-ymers, each with different centers of gravity.

Toray’s technologies have enabled it to attain natural, lustrous, and deep colors, a pleas-antly smooth and supple feel, and functional stretch for comfort and easy care.

In the years ahead, Toray looks to also offer a range with polymers made from recycled materials to cater to sustainability needs.

The COVID-19 pandemic accentuated the need for fashion to learn from and respect nature, as ethical consumption and veganism do, rather than seeking to control and exploit.

Toray will continue to explore new possibilities for fashion through research and technolog-ical development that scientifically recreates the attributes of natural materials.

The company will continue to cater to and help enhance diversifying lifestyles by supplying innovative technologies and advanced materials.

Qticle™ overview

1. Features

(1) Natural, glossy, with deep coloration.

(2) Smooth, supple texture

(3) Stretchy for comfort and easy care

(4) Functional chemicals deliver exceptional performance and durability

2. Technologies

(1) Eccentric yarn with ultrathin shell layer incorporates NANODESIGNTM composite spinning technology

(2) Special yarn treatment for random thickness and crimp structure along fiber

(3) Ultrathin shell of fiber specially treated to form fine irregularities on surface

3. Launch timing: For spring/summer 2023 collections

4. Sales targets

(1) Volume: 200,000 meters in fiscal 2022 and 500,000 meters by 2025

(2) Applications: Including men’s and women’s outerwear, shirts, blouses, and cut-and-sewn garments

HEAD launches more sustainable(1) BOOM RAW racquet on Earth Day by using Toray’s bio-circular carbon fibers

HEAD continues to innovate with the launch of the BOOM RAW tennis racquet, an encouraging development in the search for a more sustainable future for racquet sports. All of the carbon fibers are bio-circular carbon fibers in the limited-edition and highly innovative BOOM RAW racquet, which offers the same explosive power - along with the same fun, feel and easy playability - as the regular, in-line BOOM racquet. The bio-circular carbon fibers are manufactured by Toray and its subsidiary Toray Carbon Fibers Europe.

Toray develops durable reverse osmosis membrane

Toray Industries, Inc., announced today that it has developed a highly durable reverse osmosis (RO) membrane (see glossary note 1). This innovative offering guarantees the long-term provision of high-quality water. It also maintains the superior removal performance of Toray’s existing membranes vital for reusing industrial wastewater and treating sewage.

Toray develops revolutionary Ion-Conductive polymer membrane for batteries that could dramatically extend vehicular cruise ranges

Toray Industries, Inc., announced that it has developed an ion-conductive polymer membrane that delivers 10-fold the ion conductivity of predecessors. This new offering could accelerate the deployment of solid-state batteries (see glossary note 1), air batteries (glossary note 2), and other lithium metal batteries, greatly expanding the cruising ranges of electric vehicles, industrial drones, urban air mobility systems, and other transportation modes.

Nike unites innovation, design and product teams to accelerate athlete-centered innovation

Nike, Jordan Brand and Converse are joining forces under a new, athlete-focused creation structure aimed at accelerating innovation and driving growth across NIKE, Inc. The new setup unites the Innovation, Design and Product teams from all three brands into a single “creation engine” that will enable greater sharing of insights, technology and manufacturing methods throughout the innovation process. This integration is part of Nike’s new Sport Offense strategy and is designed to enhance the creation of products that help athletes perform at their best.

Pioneering open-source framework shows how early innovation drives a just and net-zero fashion future

The non-profit H&M Foundation, in collaboration with Accenture, has unveiled From Signals to Systems Change, an insight report calling on the fashion industry to rethink its role in transformation. At its core is the Reimagined System Map, a pioneering open-source framework that visualises how early-stage innovation could drive a just and net-zero textile future.

KARL MAYER puts textiles centre stage

For KARL MAYER, textiles are much more than just materials – they express function, emotion and progress. And they are at the heart of its customers' activities. KARL MAYER is now focusing more than ever on its customers' needs and plans and therefore on the textiles made on its machines: WARP KNITS. At the upcoming ITMA ASIA + CITME, the company will demonstrate how textile solutions are providing new impetus in the categories of Fashion & Clothing and Technical Textiles.

DORNIER celebrates its anniversary at ITMA Asia + CITME

To mark its 75th anniversary, machine and plant manufacturer Lindauer DORNIER will be presenting the latest developments in its rapier and air-jet weaving machines at ITMA Asia + CITME in Singapore (Hall 2, Stand B401) from 28 to 31 October 2025. The focus will be on energy-efficient weaving technologies, new IoT solutions for networked textile production and systems for the series production of modern fibre composite components.

BCI warns against ‘dangerous dilution’ of EU corporate directives

The approval of the European Commission’s Omnibus I proposal by the European Parliament’s Committee on Legal Affairs, accepting controversial changes to key sustainability directives is of great concern. These changes, namely to the Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD) and the Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence Directive (CSDDD), threaten to significantly dilute business reporting and due diligence obligations.

Groz-Beckert showcases textile innovation at ITMA Asia + CITME 2025 in Singapore

From October 28 to 31, 2025, the global textile industry will gather at ITMA Asia + CITME at the Singapore Expo, where Groz-Beckert will present its latest highlights and innovations across its six product areas – Knitting, Weaving, Nonwovens, Tufting, Sewing, and Spinning – at Hall 5, Booth B301.