[TC]² Bi-Weekly Technology Communicator
Intro to Apparel Manufacturing
[TC]² - April 21-25
Register Now!
[TC]²’s best attended in-house seminar, Intro to Apparel Manufacturing, offers an overview of the entire manufacturing process with numerous hands-on exercises. Topics covered include: textile fundamentals, fiber formation and fabric design, fabric characteristics, material utilization, spreading and cutting theories, and much more. Key apparel terms and concepts are featured, along with standard terminology for seam and stitch formations.
Don’t miss this opportunity to establish common ground for all members of the supply chain. Attending this seminar will allow fabric and trim suppliers to better understand their customer needs and brands and retailers will recognize not only the manufacturing constraints but also the cost drivers within the design-manufacture-delivery process. Newcomers to manufacturing can grasp a firm understanding of the entire undertaking in less than a week.
The seminar will be presented at [TC]²’s new facility at 5651 Dillard Drive, Cary, NC.
For additional information or to register, contact Elizabeth Salisbury at 919.653.3507, or use this contact form.
To download or print a copy of [TC]²’s seminar offerings for 2008, click here (pdf).
Recycled Fabrics: A Sustainable Alternative
By Kim Anderson, [TC]²
People have been re-using fabric for thousands of years. Collecting linen and cotton rags to make paper has been extensively practiced in Ancient China, Europe and America. Today, recycled fibers and reclaimed fabrics that were once destined for the landfill are being used to make a variety of new products.
Automotive Upholstery
In 2007, Ford Motor Company featured approximately 80,000 vehicles with “green seats.” The upholstery, supplied by Interface Fabrics, Inc., is made from 100% recycled fabric. Fabric for automotive applications requires high performance standards, higher than those for office upholstery or commercial flooring. The fabric underwent a battery of tests—including wear and tear, seam strength, color consistency, fade resistance and even odor evaluations. The recycled fabric has the same hand, appearance and durability as Ford’s other fabrics. Ford estimates that using the recycled material will conserve 7 million kilowatts of energy, 1.8 million pounds of carbon dioxide gas and 600,000 gallons of water.
Insulation
Denim blue jeans, once bound for the landfill, are being made into a variety of new products. Bonded Logic recently introduced an eco-responsible insulation called UltraTouch Natural Cotton Fiber insulation. UltraTouch is manufactured using post-industrial denim fabric and cotton fibers. The insulation, which contains over 85% recycled denim and cotton fibers, does not itch, is easy to handle and requires no protective clothing to install. It is saturated with a natural fire retardant. UltraTouch can earn builders credits from the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design Green Building Rating System (LEED™).
http://www.bondedlogic.com/ultratouch.htm
Pencils
Reclaimed denim from the manufacture of jeans is being used to make pencils. The pencils don't consist of wood. Instead, they are made out of 20-33% ground up blue denim jeans. The rest of the pencils’ contents are composed of recycled post-consumer paper. A pack of 12 costs $6.
http://greenearthofficesupply.stores.yahoo.net/recjeanpen.html
Textile waste can be classified as either pre-consumer or post-consumer. Pre-consumer textile waste consists of by-product materials from the textile, fiber and cotton industries. According to the Council for Textile Recycling, 25,000 tons of pre-consumer textile waste is disposed of by North American spinning mills, weavers and fabric manufacturers. Over four-million tons of post-consumer textiles enter the waste stream each year. Up to 40% of the cotton that is grown is wasted between harvesting and the manufacture of garments.
Today there are more than 1000 textile recycling companies that recycle approximately 750,000 tons of waste into new raw materials for the automotive, furniture, mattress, coarse yarn, home furnishings and paper industries. Through the efforts of the textile recycling industry approximately 75 percent of the pre-consumer textile waste that is generated is diverted from our landfills and recycled. Millions of individuals benefit from the products, operations, and programs created by the recycling of textile waste. Textile recyclers export 61 percent of their products, thus reducing the U.S. trade deficit.
Although the collection and recycling of textile waste is not common, new technologies that allow products to be made from recycled textiles are driving the industry. Recycling of textile waste into useful new products is gaining importance in industries such as the automotive, packaging, and technical products industries.
References
Dezignaré Interior Design Collective, Inc., http://www.dezignare.com/newsletter/recyclingtextiles.html
Council for Textile Recycling, http://www.textilerecycle.org
[TC]² Activity
[TC]²'s Annual Meeting of Members and Board of Directors
By Kim Anderson, [TC]²
[TC]²’s Annual Meeting was held on March 18, 2008 at the [TC]² office in Cary, NC. Peter Butenhoff, Chairman, welcomed the guests and briefly covered the minutes from the Board Meeting held in October 2007. Dr. Mike Fralix, President and CEO, gave a financial review and brief overview of [TC]²’s research agenda for 2008. Dr. Fralix’s overview was followed by presentations given by senior staff. The presentations detailed some of [TC]²’s ongoing and future projects.
Dr. David Bruner, Vice President of Technology Development, gave a presentation titled Real Time 3D Avatars for Virtual Communities. Dr. Bruner detailed the business potential that high quality avatars can offer. Creating avatars that look like real people has been investigated in the past, however, it is time consuming. [TC]² is successfully working with a number of companies to morph data generated by the body scanner with a reference avatar to create a model that looks like the intended person—in a matter of seconds.
Jim Lovejoy, Director of Industry Programs, gave a presentation titled Creating a Sustainable Supply Chain for the Apparel Industry. Lovejoy impressed upon the audience the importance of reducing energy, water and chemicals along the supply chain.
Will Duncan, Vice President of Industry Services, gave a presentation titled Business Process Analysis & Lean Product Development. Duncan detailed the activities that his department has been involved in—including factory assessments, product costing and the implementation of PLM, (Product Lifecycle Management). Duncan also detailed the importance of implementing lean practices in the product development process. He said lean practices have the potential to cut out weeks and possibly months in the product development process. Duncan also told the audience that [TC]² is now one of the only organizations that is accredited to help companies prepare for WRAP (Worldwide Responsible Apparel Production) certification.
The first half of the meeting was concluded with a presentation titled A Pictorial Tour of Our New Home, by Jud Early, Corporate Vice President and Chief Technology Officer. Early shared photographs and details of [TC]² ‘s new facility at 5651 Dillard Drive, in Cary, approximately 5 miles from the current office location.
After a break, two guest speakers gave presentations. Bill D’Arienzo, of WDA Brand Marketing, gave a presentation, titled Integrating Cycle Time Reduction with Consumer Insights,which detailed Products Preferred business strategies for incorporating consumer insight into the product development process while simultaneously reducing lead times. He also showed personal avatars which can be used to try on garments in 3D.
In John Johnson’s presentation titled From OSU to UGS and PLM, he shared with the audience his career steps and industry background in product data management, product development processes, and color and fabric design. Johnson is an international business consultant with the Siemens UGS PLM Division. PLM implementation looks at all the company processes from creation through the entire lifecycle of a product, and storage of information in a data base that can be accessed by the entire company and its business partners.
Peter Butenhoff concluded the meeting with closing comments.
Member Profile - Uniform Advantage
By Karen Davis, [TC]²
Uniform Advantage has been proudly serving the medical industry for over twenty years. The company specializes in providing well-made, comfortable nursing scrubs, medical lab coats, and surgical caps in a variety of colors, prints and styles. In addition to its own product line, Uniform Advantage carries Landau Scrubs, Cherokee Uniforms, Dansko Shoes, Dickies Scrubs and many other name brands.
Uniform Advantage provides its product line with fast turn-around and low pricing. Its website features real-time stock information, an easy to navigate shopping system, online embroidery and high resolution images of every product.
Technology Solutions Conference
April 8-10, 2008
Technology Solutions, the premier conference and exposition for information technology enabling the sewn products industry, returns to the Miami Beach Convention Center, April 8-10, 2008. In addition to showcasing a wide range of solutions and service providers on the show floor, the event will feature an expanded educational conference addressing today’s key IT issues, with special emphasis on supplier relationship management (SRM).
Running concurrently with Material World, the global fabric and sourcing exhibition, the Technology Solutions educational conference will also feature a panel discussion on product lifecycle management (PLM) as well as an unrivaled schedule of vendor sponsored presentations, case studies and other programs providing the latest in-depth information on today's most important industry issues and opportunities.
AAFA will present the Technology Solutions headliner event, Supplier Relationship Management: Profiting through Improved Supplier Collaboration on Wednesday, April 9 from 9:45 - 10:45 am. This program will feature a panel of leading fashion companies using the various SRM technologies to improve supplier management and collaboration to accelerate speed to market, improve efficiency and quality, gain supplier transparency and visibility, increase productivity, insure compliance and better respond to change and opportunity.
[TC]² will be located in Technology Solutions at Booth 222, and will be demonstrating the creation of personal avatars from 3D scans in a matter of seconds, with its measurement extraction software that is used with the NX-16 3D body scanner.
To register, or for more details on Material World and Technology Solutions, visit www.material-world.com.
[TC]² is Moving!
In Early April, [TC]² will be relocating to its new facility at 5651 Dillard Drive, in Cary. In preparation for the move, printers that will not be utilized at the new office are offered below.
Colorspan Fabrijet Wide Format Printer
PRICE - $250 or best offer! Colorspan wide format fabric printer available for sale as is. Contact us to learn more about this machine.
Colorspan Displaymaker Wide Format Printer - $500
PRICE - $500 or best offer! Colorspan Displaymaker wide format printer available for purchase as is. Contact us for more information about this machine.
Due to [TC]²’s physical move beginning April 3rd, the next issue of the Technology Communicator will be published on April 16th.
Important Dates
April
3-5 |
AAFA Supply Chain Leadership Committee , Lake Tahoe, visit www.apparelandfootwear.org |
8-10 |
Material World, Miami Beach Convention Center. For details or to register, click here. Visit [TC]² in Technology Solutions at Booth 222. |
21-25 |
Introduction to Apparel Manufacturing, seminar at [TC]². For details, click here. |
25-27 |
SPESA & SEAMS Annual Meeting and Networking Conference. Marriott Grand Dunes Resort, Myrtle Beach, SC. For information or to register, visit www.spesa.org or www.seams.org. |
For detailed information about industry events, visit www.techexchange.com
Thanks to the techexchange site sponsors
Apparel Magazine, Gerber Technology, Lawson, Lectra, Methods Workshop and Reach Technologies.
A Look Ahead in the Newsletter
FESPA 2008 Digital Printing Conference
Review of Material World/Technology Solutions Conference
View previous editions of this newsletter
[TC]²
211 Gregson Drive
Cary , NC 27511
www.tc2.com
Phone: 919-380-2156
Fax: 919-380-2181
As of April 7, 2008, [TC]²’s new address is 5651 Dillard Drive Cary, NC 27518
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