FASHIONABLE: Taiwan is well-known for its performance fabrics, but Taiwan Textile Federation representatives wanted to show the country’s fashionable side, as well. (Pictured: Poly/cotton/rayon fabric by Merr)
TEXTILES
Taiwan’s Technical Textiles, Fashion Fabrics on Display at the CMC
Fabrics made from recycled polyester, crushed oyster shell and nano-tech particles were among the offerings in the Fashion Theater at the California Market Center in Los Angeles during a two-day business matchmaking session organized by the Taiwan Textile Federation.
The Aug. 22–23 event featured 17 exhibitors representing Taiwanese mills.
Taiwan is well known for its synthetic fibers and its recycled polyester fabrics, and several of the exhibitors show their collections at Outdoor Retailer in Salt Lake City. Still, organizers wanted to show Taiwan’s fashionable side, as well, said Michael Chang, section chief for strategic marketing for the Taiwan Textile Federation.
Margaret Ng, fabric product manager for TRLA Group Inc., a subsidiary of Tex-Ray Industrial Co. Ltd., was showing Tex-Ray’s eco-friendly and colorfast solution-dyed polyester, called ECO-lor, which uses less water and less energy during the dye process than piece-dyeing.
“We can do fashion colors,” Ng said, showing a rainbow range of polyester chips and some garments dyed in neon brights.
Tex-Ray has a mix of activewear and fashion customers, including BCBG, Sag Harbor, Adidas and Puma.
Ng was showing some of Tex-Ray’s technical developments, including two fabrications that regulate body temperature using nanotechnology. Fabrics made from THot nanotechnology absorb and store near-infrared rays, while fabrics made with TCool nanotechnology reflect nearly 70 percent of near-infrared and UV rays, according to the company.
Tex-Ray is headquartered in Taipei, Taiwan, but has operations in Shanghai and Yancheng, China; Vietnam; Cambodia; Swaziland; Mexico; and the U.S. Ng is based in the company’s office in Baldwin Park, Calif. Tex-Ray also has an office in New York.
Tainan City, Taiwan–based Hans Global LLC specializes in research and development.
Hans Global Vice President Yo-Jung Chang was showing functional fabrics with some special properties, such as yarn-dye fabrications dyed with a piece-dye process, as well as functional flannel made from recycled PET with an oyster-shell additive to give the fabric anti-static properties. Chang is based in the company’s U.S. office in Monrovia, Calif.
