In recent years there has been a great interest in the application of natural dyes in dyeing textiles due to their biodegradability and high compatibility with the environment. According to the experts, there is a great potential for using natural dyes to the extent that in some areas they can very easily replace synthetic ones. This paper reports the studies available on the characterization, classification and analysis of natural dyes; extraction of dyes from onion's outer shell and effects of different mordants and mordanting methods on the color shade. From an environmental point of view, replacing synthetic dyes with natural ones is not only a strategy to reduce risk and pollutants, but also an opportunity for new markets and jobs.

Polyester waste is the dominant component of the clothing industry waste stream, yet its recycling in this industry is rarely addressed. This paper proposes using polyester cutting waste as an insulation blanket for roofing and buildings’ internal walls in order to reduce environmental pollution. The designed textile structures used waste cuttings from different polyester fabrics without opening the fabric to fibre. Thermal insulation, acoustic insulation, fire resistance and biodegradation of the new insulation structure were investigated and compared to commercial insulation materials. Standard investigation methods were modified to fit the samples voluminous nature. The coefficient of thermal conductivity ranged between 0.0520 and 0.0603 W/mK. The achieved sound absorption with NRC ranging from 54.71 to 74.77%, surpassing standard commercially used insulators. The insulating structure did not conduct flame, the radius of impaired place was 1.60–2 cm while the depth was 0.4–1.3 cm, and showed lack of biodegradability, with loss of mass ranging from 0 to 0.3%.

Investigating the impact of textile structure reinforcement on the mechanical characteristics of polymer composites produced by the compression molding technique was the goal of this work. An epoxy resin system served as the matrix, and various woven (plain, twill, basket), nonwoven (mat), and unidirectional (UD) textile structures made from E-glass fibers were employed as reinforcement elements. Compression molding of pre-impregnated textile materials (prepregs) was used to create the composites. The well-impregnated textile structures with resin into prepreg and the good interface between layers of the composites were verified during the manufacture of the polymer–textile composites using DSC thermal analysis and an SEM microscope. For the mechanical behavior, flexural properties were determined. The composite samples with unidirectional prepreg reinforcement have the highest longitudinal flexural strengths at roughly 900 MPa. The woven prepreg-based composite laminates show balanced flexural properties in both directions. Composites based on plane and basket prepregs have a flexural strength of about 450 MPa. Their flexural strength is over 20% lower than that of the samples made using twill prepreg. In both directions, nonwoven prepreg-reinforced composite samples show the least amount of resistance to bending stresses (flexural strength of roughly 150 MPa).

By its origin, textile waste can be divided in two broad categories: post-consumer waste and post-industrial waste generated during the manufacturing process. The division of the clothing supply chain between developed consumer markets and developing countries where apparel production capacities are outsourced implies that post-consumer waste is present in the former countries, whereas the later generates more post-industrial waste. The purpose of this exploratory study was to determine how the attitudes of top management towards managing apparel cuttings waste influence their willingness to introduce apparel waste sorting. The proclivity to sort apparel cuttings was strongly influenced by two key factors – the ease and costs of introducing sorting operations and impediments to sorting such as lack of workforce, technology or market. Combining these two factors leads towards negative attitudes to introducing apparel sorting. Perception of impediments in the process of sorting leads towards negative attitudes regarding the ease of introducing sorting operations; however, it does not influence adversely the proclivity to sort.

Assuring the thermo-physiological comfort of the human body is one of the most important functions of clothing, especially of underwear, sportswear and casual wear. Knitted fabrics should not only posses elasticity and provide freedom of movement, but they should also have good handle, a high level of clothing comfort and easily transmitted vapour from the body. In this paper, the influence of cotton and the polyester knitted structure on thermal comfort properties was investigated. The results obtained indicate that the structure of knitted fabrics shows a more significant influence on thermo-physiological comfort than the raw material content.

Textile material is the biggest cost driver of the apparel industry, reaching up to 75 % of total production cost, so even minimal fabric savings directly affects the overall production costs. Based on the data given in the work order in terms of quantities, sizes and colors, the cut order plan makes efforts to minimize the total production costs by developing an optimal cut order plan in terms of available quantities of material, machinery and labor. Marker has a direct impact on fabric consumption. The choice of the cut marker type depends on the type of garment, textile material structure and work order size. Understanding how to reduce consumption of textile materials, or in other words said increasing the utilization of cut markers is of great importance for technical preparation in the apparel industry, due to their important role in controlling material costs. The aim of this paper is to investigate the effect that the type and width of markers has on the consumption and utilization of textile materials.