Textile Innovation

For this next mini-series of The WTiN Podcast, we talk to organisations about the topic of textile recycling. This is one of the most important solutions to the industry’s waste and sustainability problems. So tune in to learn about new industry initiatives to create circular fashion, upcoming textile recovery technologies, how best to communicate sustainability to consumers. and much more. In thi...

In this episode of The WTiN Podcast, we talk to Frederic Dryhoel, corporate communication manager, and Lieven Beke, marketing and product manager, at Picanol.  In this podcast, Dyhoel and Beke start by talking about how far the company has come in its 85 years. For example, its flying shuttle machine back in the day had a weaving width of two metres and could complete around 140 weft insertions pe...

In this episode of The WTiN Podcast, we talk to Mark Grave, CEO at the Australian Wool Exchange (AWEX).  The organisation was established in 1993 to deliver services that support and add value to the global demand for Australian wool. It works with wool classers and wool growers, helps to facilitate auctions, and provides marketing services, among other things.   In this podcast, Grave talks about...

In this episode of The WTiN Podcast, we talk to Whitney Cathcart, co-founder and chief strategy officer at 3DLOOK.   Founded in 2016, the company has built a mobile-first body scanning and measuring technology which enables a simple exchange of measurement and shape data between businesses and customers to help optimise processes, cut costs, and deliver better shopping experiences.  In this podcas...

In this episode of The WTiN Podcast, we talk to Connie Huffa, textile engineer and co-founder of Fabdesigns.   Founded in 1988 by husband-and-wife Bruce and Connie Huffa, Fabdesigns is the go-to company for all things knitting. The couple has spent decades developing cutting-edge 3D knitted products, reimagining machinery, innovating parts and materials and teaching these new technologies to brand...

In this episode of The WTiN Podcast, we talk to Lutz Walter, director of Innovation and Skills at EURATEX.  EURATEX is the European Apparel and Textile Confederation, representing the interests of the European textile & clothing industry at the level of the EU institutions. Walter himself has been working for the organisation since 1999 when he took on the role of R&D manager, and he has s...

In this episode of The WTiN Podcast, we talk to PixelPool’s chief operating officer Jan Torringa and business manager Gary Plunkett.   Founded over 20 years ago, PixelPool started out as a digital agency for real estate and architecture. But since the economic crisis at turn of the century, it has since diversified to help retail brands with their campaigns and visual merchandising. Now, it empowe...

In this episode of The WTiN Podcast, we talk to Chris White who is the director of Industrial Policy and Insight Centre at The Manufacturing Technology Centre (The MTC).   The MTC was established in 2010 as an independent Research & Technology Organisation (RTO) with the objective of bridging the gap between academia and industry – often referred to as ‘the valley of death’. It represents one...

In this episode of The WTiN Podcast, we talk to Debbie Shakespeare, senior director, Compliance and Sustainability, and Michael Hu, director of Digitization, Retail Branding and Information Solutions, at Avery Dennison.   Avery Dennison is a global materials science company specialising in the design and manufacture of a wide variety of labelling and functional materials. The business caters to ma...

The fourth industrial revolution is underway, and the world of textile & apparel is just one industry that is benefitting from new and innovative technologies. With this in mind, for this series I’ll be talking to companies across the textile & apparel landscape about their new technologies, the benefits of digitalisation, and the advice that they’d give to others who are trying to impleme...

In this episode of The WTiN Podcast, we talk to the founders of Cucumber Clothing, Eileen Willett and Nancy Zeffman.  Founded by the pair in 2017, the company specialises in simple, multifunctional designs that slip perfectly into every woman’s wardrobe. The women work with modern performance fabrics, such as 37.5’s volcanic mineral material, to offer qualities such as breathability, thermoregulat...

In this episode of The WTiN Podcast, we talk to Gates Hinds, co-founder and managing director of Lumiton.   Founded back in 2018 by Hinds, Dr Marco Scipioni and Dr Faramarz Farahi, Lumiton has developed a solution that transforms textiles into a light delivery system for enhanced performance, protection, cooling comfort and wellness. Essentially, the team has created a patented technology which is...

In this episode of The WTiN Podcast, we talk to Claire Hausler, founder of Merineo – an Australian company best known for its merino wool swaddling bags.  Having grown up on a wool growing farm in western Victoria, Australia, Hausler has always had an appreciation for merino wool. But it was while she was on maternity leave with her first child when she began to consider developing a product and b...

Dr John Oyekan, lecturer in digital manufacturing in the Department of Automatic Control & Systems Engineering at the University of Sheffield, gives his insight on digitalisation within the textile & apparel industry. In this special episode, Oyekan talks about what digitalisation can do primarily to support the textile & apparel industry, specifically focusing on AI and digital twin t...

In this special episode, Professor Parikshit Goswami, founder of the University of Huddersfield’s Technical Textile Research Centre, gives his insight on so many things, from PPE to smart textiles and to sustainability. But above all he recognises the need for collaboration within the industry and how technical textiles are at the heart of how to solves many of today’s problems. Elsewhere, Goswami...

In this episode of The WTiN Podcast, we talk to Mark Sunderland, chief innovation officer at Hemp Black, and Alex Capano, chief science officer at its parent company Ecofibre.  Ecofibre is a global leader in hemp technologies and it has several businesses under its wing including Ananda Hemp, Ananda Food, Ananda Professional, and Hemp Black. Hemp Black is the company’s industrial use business that...

In this episode of The WTiN Podcast, we talk to Kristin Neidlinger, founder of Sensoree. The inspiration for the company came about a few years ago from Neidlinger’s master’s thesis research to augment sensory processing disorder – a condition that ranges from ADHD to autism. Now, the company designs wearables to monitor physiological states and translate feelings into auditory, visual, and/or tac...

In this episode of The WTiN Podcast, we talk to Julie Davies, general manager for Processing Innovation and Education Extension at The Woolmark Company.    For those who haven’t heard of The Woolmark Company before, it is a not-for-profit organisation that works alongside Australia’s 60,000 woolgrowers to research, develop and certify Australian wool. Not only that, but it also collaborates with b...

In this episode of The WTiN Podcast, we talk to Michael Howe, co-founder and managing director at Distrobros – the UK’s exclusive distribution partner for the CBD Pillow.   Founded in February 2020, CBD Pillow is a family-owned business based in California, US. As the name suggests, the company has designed a pillow case and pillow that is infused with cannabidiol (CBD) to help users get a better...

In this episode of The WTiN Podcast, we talk to Federico Sainz de Robles, founder and CEO at Sepiia.    Born in 2016, Sepiia creates garments that ‘make your life easier while taking care of the planet’. The company mixes material technology with fashion, so every product is benefitted from odour control technology, stain repellency, breathability, comfort and more.  In this podcast, Sainz de Robl...

In the first episode of our new health and wellbeing series, we talk to Harry Zalk, director of Hydra Active and chief commercial officer at its parent company, Matrix.   Based in London, Matrix specialises in product development and for years has supplied the airline industry with mini products such as moisturisers and face masks. With the company’s experience in cosmetics, and his background in...

In this episode of The WTiN Podcast, we talk to Gilberto Loureiro, CEO and co-founder of Smartex – a technology company that has created a solution to spot textile defects in circular knitting machines.  Loureiro grew up surrounded by the textile industry. Many of his family members work as machinery operators, mainly in the north of Portugal, and he himself used to help operate the machines and i...

In this episode of The WTiN Podcast, we talk to the CEO and co-founder of Ministry of Supply, Aman Advani. Founded by Advani and his co-founder Gihan Amarasiriwardena in 2012, Ministry of Supply is based in Boston, US, and was born in the labs of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). The company specialises in engineering clothes for motion, comfort, easy care, and the planet. Garments...

In this episode of The WTiN Podcast, we talk to Beth Esponnette, co-founder of the tailor-made jeans company Unspun.  Founded in 2015 by Esponnette and her two co-founders Walden Lam and Kevin Martin, Unspun makes jeans on demand by first scanning the customer’s body to find the perfect fit, and allowing the customer to choose features such as hem length, fabric, and rise. The inspiration for star...

In this episode of The WTiN Podcast, we talk to Leon Szeli, who is one of the founders of the fit technology company PreSize.  The brand was founded in 2019 by Szeli and his two co-founders, Awais Shafique and Tomislav Tomov. The trio met each other at The Center for Digital Technology and Management in Munich, Germany, and they came up with the idea for PreSize while studying.  The team has devel...