#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

Toray develops recycling technology that retains carbon fiber strength and surface quality

Toray Industries, Inc., announced today that it has developed a recycling technology that can decompose diverse carbon fiber reinforced plastics (CFRP) made from thermosetting resins while retaining the strength and surface quality of those fibers. The company drew on this technology to create a nonwoven fabric employing recycled carbon fibers.

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.

Messe Frankfurt commits further to East Africa: three textiles trade fairs during Africa Sourcing and Fashion Week from 2027

Messe Frankfurt and its Texpertise Network continue their steady, successful trajectory in the region. As Africa Sourcing and Fashion Week (ASFW) opened today, Member of the Executive Board Detlef Braun announced that Messe Frankfurt is licencing its three leading international trade fair brands Texworld, Apparel Sourcing and Texprocess to Nairobi, Kenya for the first time in 2027. From now on, they will take place annually as part of the Africa Sourcing and Fashion Week (ASFW) Nairobi.

“We Believe in the Value of Textiles”: Successful Opening of the KARL MAYER TEXTILE INNOVATION CENTER

KARL MAYER inaugurated its new, state-of-the-art TEXTILE INNOVATION CENTER (TIC) with a four-day opening week from April 21 to 24. The highlight of the week was the grand opening on Thursday, which drew a strong turnout from the international textile industry: around 220 customers, brands, and partners from across the textile value chain came to the company’s headquarters in Obertshausen for a first-hand look at the new high-tech development environment and lively exchange with industry peers.

Fifteen years of Autoneum – From spin off to global technology leader

What started as a strategic carve‑out has since become the success story of a global technology leader in acoustic and thermal management solutions for vehicles. Headquartered in Winterthur, Switzerland, Autoneum supplies leading automobile manufacturers worldwide with innovative, lightweight and increasingly sustainable solutions.

Kruger, Canada, orders first nonwovens line for sustainable wipes from ANDRITZ

International technology group ANDRITZ has received an order from newly established Kruger Nonwovens to deliver a complete WetlaceTM hybrid line for the Wayagamack mill in Trois-Rivières, Quebec, Canada. With this investment, pulp and paper producer Kruger is preparing to enter the nonwovens market with a new generation of plastic-free, chemical-free materials for sustainable wipes. The line is the first of its kind in Canada and is scheduled to start production in 2028.

Picanol to present its leading weaving technology at ITM 2026

Picanol is pleased to announce it will be participating in ITM 2026 in Istanbul. This is a key event for industry professionals to engage with the Turkish textile industry as well as the extensive international audience attending the fair. During the event, Picanol will present its latest innovations to the visitors in Hall 8, booth 802.