Research & Development
Bio-based polyesters for challenging long-term applications
Current bio-based plastics are often only suitable for short-lived applications, such as packaging, because they have inadequate long-term properties. The new project “Bio-based polyesters for challenging long-term applications” from the Fraunhofer Institute for Structural Durability and System Reliability LBF aims to improve the long-term properties of bioplastics through targeted additivation in order to enable their use in technical applications. To do this, the researchers are looking for companies along the value chain that would also like to substitute petro-based plastics with bio-based solutions in long-lasting products.
...moreResearch & Development
STFI Theme Day: Advancing technologies for a circular textile economy
The circular textile economy is a topic that has garnered widespread attention. However, achieving this goal requires more than ambition—it calls for collaboration and robust networks. Recognizing this, the Sächsisches Textilforschungsinstitut e.V. (STFI) invites partners from industry, academia, and research to engage in a dynamic professional exchange focused on this critical subject.
...moreResearch & Development
Cleanzone Award 2024 goes to DITF and DASTEX
The Cleanzone, the trade fair for cleanroom and purity technology, hygiene and contamination control, took place in Frankfurt am Main on September 25 and 26, 2024. The Cleanzone Award is presented at the trade fair to recognize groundbreaking advances in innovation, automation, sustainability and efficiency in the field of cleanroom technology. This year, the award went to the German Institutes of Textile and Fiber Research Denkendorf (DITF) and the Dastex Group GmbH for the development of a test method for cleanroom garments - the ReBa2.
...moreResearch & Development
Water Hyazinth plant pots
Together with Fiber Engineering GmbH, the DITF presents a process for the production of biodegradable plant pots. The products are cost effective and competitive. At the same time, the production process combats the spread of the invasive water hyacinth, whose biomass serves as the raw material for the plant pots.
...moreResearch & Development
STFI opens technical center for wetlaid nonwovens
On September 17, 2020, the Wetlaid Technical Center was opened at the Saxon Textile Research Institute (STFI) in the Center for Textile Sustainability. For over 30 years, STFI has been dedicated to a variety of fields of application in the textile industry as an innovation partner and service provider. More than 40 invited guests from industry, research and politics attended the opening of the technical center.
...moreResearch & Development
Fungal mycelium as the basis for sustainable products
Fungi have more to offer than meets the eye. Their thread-like cells, which grow extensively and out of sight underground like a network of roots, offer huge potential for producing sustainable, biodegradable materials. Researchers at the Fraunhofer Institute for Applied Polymer Research IAP in Potsdam Science Park are using this mycelium to develop a wide range of recyclable products, from wallets and insulation to packaging.
...moreResearch & Development
ITMF International cooperation award 2024 goes to the DITF and RBX Créations
The International Textile Manufacturers Federation (ITMF) announced the winners of the ITMF Awards 2024 at the ITMF & IAF Conference 2024 held in Samarkand, Uzbekistan, 8-10 September. In the "ITMF International Cooperation Award 2024" category, the DITF received the award together with the French company RBX Créations for the introduction of a newly developed hemp-based pulp and its further processing into filament-spun cellulose fibres.
...moreResearch & Development
17th Symposium TEXTILE FILTER of STFI - Call for Papers open
The Saxon Textile Research Institute (STFI) is organizing the 17th Symposium TEXTILE FILTER on March 11-12, 2025 in Chemnitz. The symposium will look at innovative, high-performance textile filter media for various applications and systems for air, gas, liquid and particle filtration against the background of changing technology. The conference offers the opportunity to intensify cooperation between R&D and industry and to take up new impulses for filter media design.
...moreResearch & Development
The ideal 3d printing setting for innovative gloves
Protective gloves, such as those used for work, sport or household gardening, retrieve their protective function from a special coating. This coating provides abrasion resistance, makes the material waterproof and resistant to chemicals or oil, and even protects against cuts and punctures. Until now, coatings made of oil-based polymers, nitrile rubber or latex have been the main materials used. Using innovative technologies, scientists at the German Institutes of Textile and Fiber Research Denkendorf (DITF) have succeeded in developing a robust yet flexible glove coating using environmentally friendly lignin in a 3D printing process.
...moreResearch & Development
ADDITIVE PRODUCTION symposium in the textile industry
On September 26, 2024, Stratasys GmbH welcomes the seventh symposium ADDITIVE MANUFACTURING in the textile industry. The symposium offers a unique platform for exchanging information on the latest developments and applications of additive manufacturing in the textile industry.
...moreResearch & Development
ITM 2024 Final Assessment Report is published
The highly anticipated final assessment report of ITM 2024 International Textile Machinery Exhibition, which brought the world textile technology leaders together in Istanbul for 5 days, has been published.
...moreResearch & Development
Thomas V. Fischer new Head of the Center of Management Research
Dr.-Ing. Thomas V. Fischer takes over the management of the Center of Management Research at the German Institutes of Textile and Fiber Research Denkendorf (DITF). Thomas Fischer completed his doctorate in 2000 on cooperative innovation management in the textile value chain. His research work was funded by the DITF with an EU scholarship. He then worked as a research assistant at the Center of Management and was appointed deputy head in 2017.
...moreResearch & Development
Wood wool instead of crude oil: Scientists at TU Dresden develop sustainable biocomposites
In the "Lignowool_2" project, TUD researchers are developing a composite material made of wood wool and biodegradable, textile plastic fibers. The so-called lignowool composites represent a sustainable alternative to petroleum-based plastics. In future, they are to be used in the automotive industry for door panels and trunk floors, for example. This is a technical application of wood wool and promotes the use of natural materials.
...moreResearch & Development
NIRI strengthens fibre, filament and fabric extrusion capabilities with the appointment of Dr. Javier Vera Sorroche
Dr. Javier Vera Sorroche will lead NIRI’s extrusion research and development capability. His extensive background in polymer extrusion, sustainable textile innovation, and business development will be pivotal in helping NIRI to deliver their customers’ next-generation products.
...moreResearch & Development
South Korea and Germany cooperate in the field of industrial digitalisation and renewable energies
Dongshin University from Naju in South Korea and Institut für Textiltechnik (ITA) of RWTH Aachen University will cooperate in the field of industrial digitalisation and renewable energies in the future. A cooperation agreement was signed on 9 July by Professor Dr Chun-Shik kim and Professor Dr Thomas Gries. Professor Dr Chun-Shik Kim is an expert on German-Korean economic cooperation, ADEKO board member and former advisor to the Deputy Prime Minister, Professor Dr Thomas Gries is ITA Director and Rectorate Representative of RWTH Aachen University for Korea.
...more
Older News
Research & Development
Wellness and health: active ingredient of graviola embedded in textiles
Together with international partners, researchers at the Sächsisches Textilforschungsinstitut e.V. (STFI) have succeeded in processing the active ingredient of the graviola plant in such a way that it can be incorporated into textiles. The graviola plant is used as a medicinal plant in its tropical homeland.
...moreResearch & Development
Towards a circular and sustainable textile industry in Europe: BioFibreLoop has been started
The German Institutes of Textile and Fiber Research Denkendorf (DITF) are coordinating the research project, which is funded as part of the European Union's Horizon Europe research and innovation program. The aim of BioFibreLoop is to develop recyclable outdoor and work clothing made from renewable bio-based materials. The kick-off event took place in Denkendorf on June 26 and 27, 2024.
...moreResearch & Development
Aachen researchers develop BioTurf
The current European Football Championships 2024 in Germany will be played on natural turf. This is very costly to maintain, does not tolerate high frequency of use and has a limited service life of only 6 months in some cases. Artificial turf is easier to maintain and correspondingly popular. In Germany alone, there are estimated to be more than 5,000 artificial turf pitches and as many as 25,500 across the EU. The huge drawback: the enormous annual emission of microplastics in the form of infill material, the high CO2 impact and the anything but environmentally friendly disposal.
...more