The days of pulling your favorite sweater from the wash, only to find it more suitable for a Chihuahua, may be over. Newly developed processes for wool production promise not only an unshrinkable sweater, but one that is silky smooth and shinier to boot. The new process, called "bio-polishing," was developed by the Agricultural Research Service branch of the USDA. Bio-polishing uses a series of chemical and enzyme treatments to provide smoother and softer wool than by conventional methods. In

PETA(People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals)commends fashion retailer for shunning wool from lambs mutilated on Australian farms.After reviewing video footage showing the stunningly cruel treatment of sheep at the hands of the Australian wool industry, Santa Rosa-based clothing retailer Indigenous Designs has announced that it will no longer buy Australian merino wool. "We feel the fair treatment of the planet and all the people and animals [who] live on it to be our top priority," writes c

According to the preliminary data, the home textiles imports retained the rapid speed of growth for the month of April, for the four months of current year the cotton sheet imports climbs by 78.1 per cent and cotton terry towel imports up by 27.5 per cent for the same period.Preliminary data for the month of May depicts that the cotton sheets imported from Pakistan climbs 427.6 per cent and from China climbs 256.1 per cent. Sheet imported from India scale up 55.6 per cent, however imports from T

US based leading polyester filament producer and processor Unifi Inc and Petroleum company Sinopec Yizheng Chemical Fibre Co Ltd announced that joint venture agreements have been signed, which finalizes the formation of a joint venture to manufacture, process, and market polyester filament yarn through Yizheng's plant 5 facilities in Yizheng, Jiangsu Province, P.R. China. The joint venture between Unifi Asia Holdings, a Unifi subsidiary, and Yizheng will be called Yihua Unifi Fibre Industry Comp

Investments in the world market for textile machinery in 2004 shows a non-uniform picture. While shipments in the areas of texturing and circular knitting dropped, investments in weaving (shuttle-less looms) and flat knitting expanded. In the spinning sector investments in short-staple spindles reached last year? record level, whereas the ones for long-staple spindles and open-end rotors were reduced significantly. These are the main results of the annual textile machinery shipment survey just r

At the Pacific Basin Economic Council's annual meeting, Hong Kong's convention center Chinese Vice Premier Wu Yi furiously criticized the US for restricting textile imports from China, saying that America should have organized to resolve the trade friction with trade talks. Wu said that it was but natural for countries to have some friction as global trade ties economies closer together. "The factor is how to handle this friction," she added.Wu said that the US decision to restricting Chinese te

The new textile export deal was made out after hours of negotiations between Chinese commerce Minister Bo-Xilai and EU Trade Commissioner Peter Mandelson in Shanghai on Friday.According to an agreement signed by China and EU, the growth in exports of ten categories of Chinese textiles to the EU markets would be restrained to up to 12.5 percent a year by the end of year 2007.The export restrictions ranging from 8 percent to 12.5 percent a year, would apply to textiles products that includes T-shi

Now there is a new hat that provides users with compartments to place personal items safely and securely so they do not get lost.New product concept developer Invent-Tech launches new idea for fashion.When clothing designers such as Christian Dior, Betsy Johnson, and Jean Paul Gautier, embark on a new creation, is it just color theory, fabric texture and perhaps a plunging neckline they are thinking about? Do you think they ever wondered if their clothing lines could serve a practical purpose in

Global trade has benefitted fro the ending of the textile quotas, says World Trade Organisation Chief Supachai Panitchpakadi He also noted that some countries required to had to adjust to the change, in a speech Monday to the biggest Asia-Pacific business organization, the Pacific Basin Economic Council.It is a known fact that the ending of textile quotas statrted acrimonious tussle between China, the US and the EU with the last one having agreed to relent pressure on Chinese imports under subje

Quotas are very slowly filling, only two weeks after the United States effectively reimposed limits on major categories of imports from China. The currently low level in quota fill rates could indicate a sharp deceleration in imports from China. US customs could also be slow in effectively monitoring imports under the new quotas. Quota fill rates are surprisingly low only two weeks after Washington reimposed limits on a long list of imports from China. In category 347/348 (cotton trousers) fo