Archive
International News Services archives articles supplied to clients one year or more after initial publication. These articles are protected by a password and not made available to readers without permission from clients. They are used as a background resource by agency journalists. Upon client requests, International News Services will remove such articles from the archive or not upload them in the first place. They are included to demonstrate the breadth of topics undertaken by the agency and also to help promote clients’ coverage.
SLOW FASHION DEVOTEES TAKE TIME TO ABANDON FAST FASHION, SAY RESEARCHERS
While opinion polling indicates that efforts to steer demand away from mass-producing, low quality, unsustainable fast fashion towards the slow fashion of high quality, sustainable, made-to-last, timeless designs have borne fruit, consumers are still reluctant to follow up their stated good intentions with purchases, say researchers.…
WARNING SMARTPHONE FACE RECOGNITION CAN BE TRICKED WITH PHOTO
The UK consumer association, Which?, is warning that facial recognition security checks on smartphones from Honor, Motorola, Nokia, Oppo, Samsung, Vivo and Xiaomi can be spoofed with a simple 2D photo (1). Which? tested 48 new smartphones since August 2022 and found that the face unlock systems on 19 (40%) can be easily spoofed with a photo printed using a standard office printer on normal paper to get through the lock screen and gain access to the phone, a flaw that criminals could exploit.…
INNOVATIVE GRAPHENE INK PROPERTIES EXPANDED BY RESEARCHERS AND FINISHERS
Increasing numbers of companies are seeking to protect intellectual property (IP) rights for smart textile products based on graphene ink technology, lawyers have told WTiN’s smart textiles channel.
Moreover, they said that researchers and manufacturers looking at entering this segment “haven’t missed the bandwagon”: “It’s just getting going – plenty more innovation and inventions to be done”, said Matthew Smith, a patent attorney from London, UK-based IP legal firm Mewburn Ellis.…
CHATGPT OFFERS COMPETITIVE SUPPLY CHAIN ADVICE ADVANTAGES TO THE PAINT INDUSTRY
While the benefits of implementing artificial intelligence (AI) into the paints and coatings industry are well accepted, from the deployment of painting robots to achieve better vehicle finishes in the automotive manufacturing industry, and even consistent production of paint itself, the latest range of chat-based AI tool offers additional benefits say experts.…
INNOVATIVE TECH HELPS MANAGE COVID 19-INSPIRED INCREASE IN NONWOVENS WASTE
The Covid-19-related increase in waste from disposed personal protective equipment (PPE) has focused attention on nonwovens waste management.
For instance, the World Health Organisation (WHO) said 1.5 billion units of PPE, much of which nonwovens, weighing 87,000 tonnes, were procured between March 2020 and November 2021 alone and shipped to support countries’ urgent Covid-19 under UN emergency work alone.…
ETHICS PAY OFF IN FRAUD INTERROGATIONS SAY INTRERNATIONAL INVESTIGATION EXPERTS
While most corporations and public bodies would like to see fraud and corruption eradicated from their organisations, professional anti-fraud investigators think that using unethical methods to achieve this goal is counterproductive and ineffective.
Ethical and empathetic inquiries are just more productive than aggressive investigations and this approach needs to be reflected in the interview room when a suspect is being questioned, said
Don Rabon, CFE, North Carolina, USA-based president of the Successful Interviewing Techniques consultancy, agreed: “Conducting an interview in an ethical manner has to be job one – win, lose or draw.”…
UK BANKS REPORT OVER GBP1.2 BILLION 2022 CONSUMER FRAUD LOSSES – SLIGHTLY LESS THAN IN 2021
British banking organisation UK Finance reports that the value of losses to consumer frauds exceeded GBP1.2 billion (USD1.5 billion) in 2022, down from GBP1.3 billion in 2021. UK Finance’s Annual Fraud Report for 2023 (1) reveals the value of losses through authorised push payment (APP) scams declined by 17% compared to 2021 to GBP485.2 million (USD606 million).…
HUGE AND GROWING MARKET FOR WELLNESS-FOCUSED APPAREL PROMPTS FABRIC INNOVATION
THE COVID-19 pandemic brought many changes to the world, and changes in fashion that incorporated a desire to enjoy a healthy lifestyle was one. With many consumers spending more time at home, including during working hours, demand for comfortable clothes with functionality to aid indoor and outdoor exercise has boomed.…
ANTIMICROBIAL TEXTILES FOR PERFORMANCE CLOTHES BOOST THEIR SUSTAINABILITY
Textile manufacturers and researchers have been relentlessly developing new antimicrobial solutions for performance and protective clothing, especially focusing on sustainability.
The global antimicrobial textile market, which also includes antibacterial, antifungal and antiviral products, was valued at USD10.8 billion in 2020, expected to reach USD14.7 billion in 2027, according to India-based market researcher Qualiket Research (1). …
DUTCH UNIVERSITIES APPROVE NEW PUSH TO REGULATE INTERNATIONAL STUDENT ENTRY IN THE NETHERLANDS
The Netherlands’ minister of education, culture and science Robbert Dijkgraaf’s call to let universities limit international student numbers if necessary has been welcomed by Dutch university leaders.
Mr Dijkgraaf made several proposals in an April 21 ‘letter to Parliament on internationalisation in higher education’ to the Dutch house of representatives (lower house of Parliament – Tweede Kamer).…