Thanks to efforts from China and improved EU policing, fewer toxic toys and skin-irritating textiles are making it onto Europe's supermarket shelves, the European Union executive said Thursday.

The number of unsafe products banned, withdrawn or recalled from consumers last year, rose 13 percent to 2,244 products against the previous year, the European Commission announced. Chinese goods accounted for 58 percent of those products, down from 60 percent of unsafe products in 2009. "The Chinese government attaches great importance to consumer product safety," said Beijing's Minister Zhi Shuping of the General Administration of Quality Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine (AQSIQ). "We will strive to improve the quality and safety of Chinese products."

Textile Science Research Center (TSRC)

University of Zagreb, Faculty of Textile - Technology

Within the European project FP7-REGPOT-2008-1-229801:T–Pot

Association "Gačanka"

and

Croatian Association of Textile Engineers (HIST)

April 18^th 2011, Otočac, 11 a.m.

As the result of cooperation of Textile Science Research Centre (TSRC) financed within the European project FP7-REGPOT-2008-1: T–Pot (project co-ordinator: Sandra Bischof – Vukušić, Ph.D., Prof.), Department of Textile Chemistry and Ecology of Faculty of Textile Technology University of Zagreb and European project "Centre for Traditional Crafts" of "Gačanka" association, under the patronage of Croatian Association of Textile Engineers, at the April 18^th 2011, scientific – professional workshop will be held in Otočac (Lika – Croatia), entitled: "Protective Properties of Natural Dyestuff".

A new fabric that can selectively trap gases is being developed at Cornell University, in a breakthrough that promises to help protect soldiers and first responders from exposure to toxic chemicals. The garments use “metal organic framework molecules” and cellulose fibers that were assembled in Fiber Science Professor Juan Hinestroza’s lab to create the special cloth. Metal organic framework molecules, or MOFs, are clustered crystalline compounds that can be manipulated at the nanolevel – as small as one millionth of a millimeter – to create “cages” that are the exact same size as the gas they are trying to capture.

Researchers in Singapore have discovered a method through which they could cause the silkworms to produce coloured silk. The new method would help to skip the process of dyeing silk and is also more eco-friendly.

Under the new method, mulberry powder and a special coloured substance is mixed in the silkworm’s diet. Once the silkworms consumes and digests this food, they start producing coloured silk. A team of eight scientists representing the Agency for Science, Technology and Research was working on the project from 2009 onwards. According to them, the new process not only helps to conserves water, but also involves lesser use of resources as compared to the conventional silk production techniques.

Source:http://www.fibre2fashion.com/news/textile-news/newsdetails.aspx?news_id=97151