#Nonwovens

2026-01-29

Redefining wetness indicator with new backside printing technology

Fibertex Personal Care AG, (Innowo Print) has invested in a backside inline printing unit at its print facility in Germany. The new technology is fully integrated into an existing W&H flexographic press and comes in response to increased demand for the company’s Innowo Print speciality solutions.

As baby care and adult incontinence care products evolve, needs for more advanced design and product performance continue to shape product development. One area particularly ready for innovation is the wetness indicator – traditionally applied offline, limited in format, and constrained by process complexity.

This new technology enables fully inline application of wetness indicators, surfactants, and functional coatings – delivered in perfect register with the surface print with no compromise in subsequent processability.

From linear indicators to integrated functional design

Traditionally, wetness indicators have been simple, offline-applied linear stripes limited to technical zones – the new Innowo Print solution changes that. Register control and wide format printing capability allows brand owners to integrate functional elements directly into the overall artwork.

This expanded capability unlocks a wide design landscape, such as pattern-based functional zones, icon-based indicator systems, full-surface graphic integrations, and design elements aligned front-to-back.

Supporting functional coatings and surfactants on nonwovens and film

Beyond wetness indicators, the system supports coating and functional printing on various nonwoven materials. This enables improved fluid management, targeted hydrophilic or hydrophobic zones, and other performance-improving features applied directly during printing.

25 years in the room: EDANA’s OUTLOOK™ returns to Cascais to shape a changing industry

The market does not wait, and it does not grant easy answers. Across the absorbent hygiene, personal care, and wipes sectors, business is undergoing a period of intense, necessary adjustment. New European rules on packaging, single-use items, product safety, and end-of-life are forcing companies to drop old assumptions about materials and performance. At the same time, producers must keep their goods safe, reliable, and affordable for the babies and aging adults, who rely on them every day.

ITMA Asia 2026: How Barmag is reshaping the future of man-made fiber production

The textile industry is entering a groundbreaking era. Manufacturers face rising energy prices, growing sustainability demands, increasing labor shortages, and an unprecedented need for flexibility. For a globally active textile industry, where competitiveness is closely linked to production efficiency and cost leadership, this means that technology is no longer merely a means of improving operational processes – it is increasingly becoming a strategic differentiator.

From convenience to compliance: How regulations are reshaping consumer wipes

Regulatory developments are becoming an increasingly important driver of wipes innovation. At OUTLOOK™ 2026, Elisabeth Swennenhuis, Product Line Manager, Consumer Wipes at Magnera, will discuss how regulations such as the Single-Use Plastics Directive (SUPD), Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) schemes, environmental claims legislation, and emerging circular economy policies are influencing product development and shaping the future of the wipes market.

HeiQ & Archroma and Lenzing & Armedangels win ITMF International Collaboration Awards 2026

The International Textile Manufacturers Federation (ITMF) has named two industry partnerships as winners of the ITMF International Collaboration Awards 2026. The awards go to collaborations between HeiQ and Archroma as well as Lenzing and Armedangels, highlighting joint approaches to innovation and sustainability across different parts of the textile value chain.

180 years of TESTEX: From Zurich silk testing to global certification

For 180 years, TESTEX has developed alongside the textile industry while maintaining the same underlying purpose: creating trust through independent and reliable measurement. Founded in Zurich in 1846 as the Zurich Silk Conditioning Institute, TESTEX has grown from a local institution serving the silk trade into an international Swiss testing and certification institute for textiles and leather.

Moving Advanced Recycling from Innovation to Implementation

The Advanced Recycling Conference 2026 explores technologies, markets, financing and scale-up of innovative recycling solutions for waste streams including mixed plastic waste, textiles and PVC. Europe’s chemical and materials sector faces growing pressure to close carbon loops, strengthen raw-material safety and resilience and meet increasingly ambitious EU recycling targets. Against this backdrop, the Advanced Recycling Conference (ARC) will bring together industry leaders, technology providers, researchers, innovators and policy-makers on 17–18 November 2026 in Cologne, Germany.

German textile industry and retailers form alliance to shape textile EPR system

Germany’s textile and fashion industry and retail sector have joined forces to establish the “Alliance for Textile Circularity” (Allianz für textile Kreisläufe). Initiated by the German Textile and Fashion Industry Association (Gesamtverband textil+mode) and the German Retail Federation (HDE), the alliance aims to contribute industry expertise to the development of Germany’s future Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) system for textiles and footwear.