AATCC Textile Discovery Summit Spotlights Sustainability in the Textile Industry

Originally published in Apparelist.

On Oct. 6-8, 2024 experts and students in the textile industry gathered in Savannah, Georgia, for the AATCC Textile Discovery Summit. With a tight focus on the theme, “A Path Forward Through Innovation: Advancing Manufacturing, Circular Economy, and the Future of Textiles,” presenters spoke on everything from increasing textile recycling, sourcing locally manufactured apparel, and how to create inks, chemicals, and dyes that are safer for the environment.

Research and Data on Textile Manufacturing

Day one brought a day of research presentations. Researchers from universities across the country, including Oklahoma State University and Cornell University, presented findings that will drive the future of textiles.

Emiel DenHartog, North Carolina University, spoke on their research on the protective properties of cloth face coverings, while several presentations showed data on per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAs) in firefighter gear.

While this might seem to extend beyond the printing side of the industry, much of the research may ultimately lead to changes in the community. Researchers largely agreed that fabric manufacturing and composition is already changing, which ultimately will affect how it’s printed and decorated.

Challenges in Textile Sustainability

The remainder of the Textile Discovery Summit dialed in on sustainability. Kicking off day two were back-to-back presentations on textile recycling and circularity, specifically addressing scaling up these processes. In a roundtable discussion, panelists Chad Bolick of Unifi; William Calvert, Return to Vendor; Bob Carswell, Material Return; Shelly Gottschamer, Accelerating Circularity; and Bethany Pollack of Draper Knitting all agreed that the major challenge here is scaling up textile recycling.

Bethany Pollack, Draper Knitting, speaks about textile sustainability. | Credit: Cassie Green

Challenges such as fabric composition, dye chemicals, accessories (think zippers and buttons), and even the ink used to print apparel all affect the recyclability of textiles. While presenters and panelists all had different viewpoints, many agree that a big solution to these challenges is changing the mindset of the consumer.

Calvert in particular noted both during his individual presentation and on the panel that it’s up to large retailers to help change the mindset of consumers. He challenged textile and apparel retailers to influence consumers to be less focused on fast fashion and purchasing the newest colors and styles and instead focus on where clothing is manufactured or what dyes are used in your home goods like curtains and furniture.

The final day of the Summit started the day with two different education tracks: “Advances in Sustainability” and “Comfort and Wellness/Coloration.” In both tracks, sessions were again focused on sustainability, with presentations how we’re testing antimicrobial features in textiles to dyeing technologies that are safer for the environment.

The event wrapped up with an awards luncheon, where multiple people within the textile space received honors from AATCC.