#Raw Materials

2022-09-22

ICAC recorder highlights organic cotton during the southern and eastern African Cotton Forum

During the most recent meeting of the SEACF, speakers and attendees spent three days considering one critical question: Is organic cotton an answer to the low productivity and yields seen in Africa — or will it worsen the crisis?

Executive Summary

Highlights from the most recent ICAC Recorder include:

Low productivity and yields have plagued Africa's cotton sector for decades

Many researchers now consider organic cotton as the solution for two primary reasons:
- The cost of fertilisers in African nations is prohibitive
- Regenerative practices like organic production can help improve soil fertility and health

As ICAC Chief Scientist and Recorder Editor Dr Keshav Kranthi says in his opening editorial, the answer might very well be the former. One of the biggest reasons organic production might be the solution is the high cost of synthetic fertiliser in Africa, where prices can be more than 12 times higher than they are in India. For this reason, among others, researchers are now increasingly voicing their preference for regenerative agricultural practices over chemical-intensive methods to improve soil fertility and soil health.

The XV Meeting of the SEACF was held from 29 June to 1 July 2022 in Montebelo Indy Maputo Congress Hotel, Maputo Province, Mozambique. The meeting was jointly conducted by the ICAC and the Mozambique Institute for Cotton and Oilseed (IAOM). The theme of the meeting was ‘Prospects for Organic Cotton in Africa’. There were 95 delegates from 12 countries — Colombia, Germany, India, Kenya, Mozambique, Nigeria, South Africa, Switzerland, Tanzania, UK, Zambia and Zimbabwe — at the meeting.

Summaries and photos from each of the 19 sessions held during the SEACF account for the first 27 pages of this edition, followed by a feature assessing organic cotton's prospects in Nigeria.

The 30-page issue is free to all, with no subscription required. To access the latest edition of the ICAC Recorder, click here:

https://www.icac.org/Content/PublicationsPdf%20Files/10434729_e9e3_4884_8949_121f8a9aa94b/Recorder-June-2022-V1.pdf.pdf

“Production is a product”

From technical textiles and AI-driven robotics to the limitations of textile circularity: Professor Dr Thomas Gries looks back on more than two decades of development at ITA Aachen. In the interview, he explains why production technology remains a decisive success factor, discusses international collaborations and innovation ecosystems, and shares his views on the transformation of production landscapes and the challenges facing an increasingly regulated industry.

“We need to move away from the price trap and return to a value-driven mindset.”

With its new Textile Innovation Center, KARL MAYER is sending a strong signal for innovation, collaboration, and the future of textile applications. In this interview, Karl Josef Mayer discusses new opportunities in warp knitting, the processing of staple fibres, recycling, the changing role of machinery manufacturers, and why the textile industry must once again focus more strongly on the value of textiles. by Oliver Schmidt

“Innovation, resilience and international experience remain the great strengths of the Swiss textile machinery industry”

Geopolitical uncertainty, growing competitive pressure from China, new free trade agreements and the shift towards a circular economy are currently reshaping the global textile industry. In this interview, Cornelia Buchwalder discusses the current mood within the Swiss textile machinery sector, the industry’s distinctive innovative strength, new market opportunities in India and Asia, and the technological trends that could shape the upcoming trade fair cycle leading up to ITMA 2027.

AMSilk and Ajinomoto Foods Europe expand partnership to enable industrial-scale production of silk proteins

AMSilk GmbH (“AMSilk”), a global leader leader in biotech produced silk materials, today announced a significant expansion of its partnership with Ajinomoto Foods Europe (AFE), marking a key step in scaling the industrial production of its silk proteins. Building on the collaboration first established in 2023, the two companies have now entered into a long-term manufacturing and supply agreement, enabling the transition from industrial validation to dedicated, large-scale production.

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.

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.

Commission clarifies rules on plastic bottles recycling

The European Commission today adopted new rules on recycling of single-use plastic beverage bottles made primarily of polyethylene terephthalate (PET bottles). These rules establish, for the first time, a methodology to calculate, verify and report chemically recycled content. This is part of the Commission’s December 2025 plastics package.