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The USA’s Congress and the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), which protects American consumer rights, are coming under pressure to amend US labelling laws so that digital labels replace the material and printed labels that have been growing – in size and complexity.…

India’s textile sector is working with the country’s strong IT industry and professionals to deliver monitoring and labelling systems that comply with forthcoming digital product passport (DPP) requirements being pioneered especially in the European Union (EU). Its executive, the EU, released plans last March (2022), to pass rules that would insist that products, including textile lines, are released with detailed electronic information demonstrating that their materials sourcing and final manufacture are sustainable.…

While some commentators say the textile and clothing industry’s automation level remains low with investment being too sluggish and unambitious, others predict a bright future where robots and humans collaborate in sustainable customised design and manufacturing. 

The clothing segment of the sector has, of course, been historically labour-intensive – with associated high costs – with manufacturers hesitant to adopt greater automation, given the availability of low-cost labour in cheap outsourcing centres.  …

Factory digitisation, including the emergence of Internet of Things (IoT) technology, has increased big data availability by “at least two orders of magnitude from what was available a couple of decades ago,” said UK-based AI-driven predictive maintenance software provider Senseye chief technology officer and co-founder Robert Russell.…

The paint markets of the Gulf region’s two largest economies, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates (UAE), have rebounded since the Covid-19 pandemic and are slated for growth, driven by major investments in real estate and infrastructure projects.

“Over the past 18 months, we have seen a flat and slightly declining paint markets in the region.…

As the Nordic paint and coatings sector moves towards increasing sustainability, reducing its carbon and other emissions, including volatile organic compounds (VOCs), the region’s market is facing significant challenges. Inflation of prices for finished products is dampening demand – annual inflation in Sweden in December was 12.3%; Norway 5.9%; Denmark 7.7%; and Finland 9.1%.…

The European Union (EU) is edging towards a digital Euro, one of several jurisdictions worldwide developing a central bank digital currency (CBDC), but what anti-money laundering controls would need to be built into the system and how can this be balanced with data protection and privacy considerations?…

Given the constant expansion and tightening of sanctions against Russian individuals and organisations since Russia invaded Ukraine last February 24, it is no surprise that Russians have developed innovative ways to evade these sanctions. Sanction Scanner, a UK-based screening and transaction monitoring service provider highlighted how Russians have been utilising peer-to-peer exchanges of digital currencies to help conceal the beneficial owner of crypto.…

Worldwide, coatings companies specialising in manufacturing road pavement surface coatings are experiencing tailwinds, as the public and private sectors increasingly grow aware that these coatings present affordable solutions to major environmental problems.

A South Korean pavement surface coating developed by Incheon-based start-up Jchi Global (1), that reduces the scattering of fine dust in the atmosphere – which the World Health Organisation (WHO) says causes 7 million deaths-a-year worldwide from cardiovascular diseases, respiratory diseases (asthma, COPD), and more.…

 Alternative non-meat product sales may be growing in the USA, but more product innovation, including in ingredients, may be needed say experts, to persuade American consumers to continue embracing this segment rather than sticking to natural meat.

After robust sales growth was noted during the Covid-19 pandemic as US consumers experimented with new food products at home, concerns that this market expansion may be slowing appeared last year.…