Christin Hume – Unsplash Being that many of the so-called “forever chemicals” are involved in making products water-resistant, a French ban on their use in the textile, fashion, and cosmetics industries should serve to greatly reduce the nation’s population to their exposure. There are hundreds of forever chemicals often called per or poly fluoroalkyl substances … Read more
Bingham Canyon Mine in Utah, one of the world’s largest mines, and supplier of half of US copper – Eric Prado Own work, CC BY-SA 4.0, Below the soil of a mining concession in Utah, a recent drill survey has discovered what might be North America’s largest-known deposit of so-called “critical minerals.” Turning up evidence … Read more
FibreSENSE – credit, courtesy of Kosha.ai An Indian initiative is utilizing a scientific technique known as spectroscopy to prove the authenticity of traditional, handwoven silken garments over forgeries. Often making headlines in the study of planets and nebulae in our galaxy, the spectroscopy device allows for quick and indisputable textile analysis at the molecular level—giving … Read more
VA Tech Helmet Lab staff testing a hockey helmet – credit, VA Tech Helmet Lab In 2011, Steve Rowson and his fellow engineering students at Virginia Tech were asked by the Hokies equipment manager if they could test commercially-available football helmets to see which was the safest. Obliging the man, they ran a series of … Read more
The AiryString Zipper – credit, YKK, provided to Wired For a company that makes half the world’s zippers, new ideas have big impacts. At Japan’s YKK, they’ve debuted a zipper sans fabric tape—the typically black-colored strip of material that separates the back of the zipper teeth from the garment. Early adopters include Prada and North … Read more