Rekindling the domestic textile industry by leading a nationwide enterprise for advanced fiber & fabric technology development and manufacturing

About

Revitalizing the Textile Industry

As a non-profit, public-private partnership and DoD funded Manufacturing USA Innovation Institute, AFFOA bridges the gap between early-stage technology and commercialization. We utilize our expertise and membership ecosystem to help advance the development of textile-based products with transformative capabilities to meet defense and consumer needs.

Develop and Transition Advanced Technology

Transforming traditional fiber, yarns, and textiles into highly sophisticated, integrated, and networked devices and systems

Establish Manufacturing Ecosystem for Advanced Products

Developing the domestic supply chain of the future to meet DoD and commercial needs with long-term strategic and rapid response capabilities

Create the Textile Workforce of the Future

Inspiring, educating, and training students and workers for the future advanced textiles industry

Fabrics as a Service

Innovating technologies that will enable fabrics to deliver new value added services to consumers, creating new fabric-based business models

Our Fabric Innovation Network

Memberships

With over 125 members across 28 different states, AFFOA’s Membership provides access to a robust network of innovative startups, universities, manufacturers, large commercial brands and DoD partners who are advancing the functional fiber and fabrics industry.

Latest News & Events

Create Internship Programs to Train and Hire Younger Workers

One of AFFOA’s key focus areas is Education & Workforce Development, and we are excited...

Weaving Memory Into Textiles

AFFOA partnered with MIT visiting artist, Chloe Bensahel to support the prototyping and identification of...

Chief Technology Officer for the Department of Defense, Ms. Heidi Shyu Visits AFFOA Headquarters

DoD Advanced Functional Fabrics of America (AFFOA) MII provided an institute overview and demonstrated technology...

Evolving heat

The textile-heated garment industry is revolutionizing how we stay warm. Advanced Functional Fabrics of America...

AFFOA Announces First Awardees of Product Accelerator for Functional Fabrics (PAFF) Program

Loomia and Z-Polymers are the first two companies to receive product development assistance from AFFOA’s...

Taking on the Wearables Challenges

The future with textiles 2.0  In his presentation Dr. Sasha Stolyarov, CEO, Advanced Functional Fabrics...

Assistant Secretary for Science & Technology Visits DOD Manufacturing Institutes

Dr. Steven Wax, performing the duties of the Assistant Secretary of Defense for Science and...

AFFOA Partners with National Family and Consumer Sciences Education Leaders

June 28, 2023 – The Advanced Functional Fabrics of America (AFFOA) Manufacturing Innovation Institute is...

AFFOA WELCOMES ELISABETH B. REYNOLDS, Ph.D. TO ITS BOARD OF DIRECTORS

Advanced Functional Fabrics of America, Inc. (AFFOA) is proud to announce the addition of Elisabeth...

Transforming the Fabric of Manufacturing: AFFOA

As a non-profit, public-private partnership, AdvancedFunctional Fabrics of America (AFFOA) bridges the gap between early-stage...

AFFOA Names Michelle Farrington New CTO

Advanced Functional Fabrics of America, Inc. (AFFOA), a non-profit public-private partnership focused on invigorating the...

AFFOA and Greater Lawrence Technical School Conclude Product Development Challenge to Support Ukraine

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE CAMBRIDGE, MASSACHUSETTS, August 3, 2022 – Advanced Functional Fabrics of America (AFFOA)...

Major support for smart textile R&D announced

Advanced Textile Source article on new smart textile program

NC DMCSP Supports the Development of Smart Textiles and Wearable Technology in North Carolina to Improve the Survivability, Health and Performance of the Military. 

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE  Raleigh , North Carolina – On Monday, June 27, 2022, at RTI...

Loomia Technologies Partners with AFFOA to Develop Heated Handwear

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Culver City, CA – Loomia Technologies is partnering with Advanced Functional Fabrics...

Developing, Upskilling & Transitioning Current Manufacturing Workforce

Attracting STEM Talent for Careers in Advanced Manufacturing

The Force Behind the Mask: How American Ingenuity is Saving the U.S. from a PPE Disaster

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Cambridge, MA. — The U.S. Department of Commerce’s National Institute of Standards and...

Addressing Infrastructure Needs Through Sustainable Innovation

Commerce Department Awards $54 Million in American Rescue Act Grants to Increase Access to Advanced Manufacturing Opportunities

AFFOA Welcomes Richard Feistman as Director Education & Workforce Development

Richard Feistman, Ph.D. has recently joined AFFOA as its Director of Education and Workforce Development (EWD). An...

Invigorating an Established Yet Fragile Textile Industry

Manufacturing Innovation Will Be Key to Future Pandemic Response

Baker-Polito Administration Awards $2.3 Million in Manufacturing Innovation Funds to AFFOA Member Specialty Materials

Manufacturing USA Highlights Report Released

Scaling workforce readiness through manufacturing expertise

Developing career pathways and providing real-world learning experiences are critical to filling the advanced manufacturing...

North Carolina State University Industry Expansion Solutions Receives $5 Million Dollar Grant from the Department of Defense

The Future of Textiles Is Collaborative: MIT and FIT Develop Transdisciplinary Innovation Playbook

NSIN Presents Starts AFFOA: Companies Pitch Textile Technology to Military Thursday, July, 29

  FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE July 22, 2021 CONTACT: David Overy Media and External Affairs Specialist...

NSIN Presents: Starts AFFOA Ask Me Anything

Fiber is the New Computing Platform

Manufacturing Innovation Institutes Integral to U.S. Pandemic Response

AFFOA Adopts PTC FlexPLM to Fuel the Future of Advanced Functional Fabrics

FEDTex Virtual Summit

LOOMIA E-Textiles 101 Workshop: Enroll with AFFOA Discount Code!

AFFOA is excited to announce its collaboration with AFFOA Member LOOMIA on their E-Textiles 101...

Could we recycle plastic bags into fabrics of the future?

Reinventing the Supply Chain in the Face of COVID-19

Behind the Seams: When Sewn Products Meet Silicon Valley

Question: What does a Silicon Valley-based innovation competition have to do with the U.S. sewn...

AFFOA Member Portal Webinar

Upcoming Webinar: Reducing Equity Gaps with Behaviorally Informed Text Messages

MFG USA Institute Check-In: What is Manufacturing USA? Session

New Report: Sewn Trades Manufacturing in the United States

Manufacturing & Textile Innovation Network Created Through CVCC, Gaston College Partnership

Collaboration features strongly at IFAI Virtual EXPO 2020

IPC E-Textiles Europe 2020 Virtual Summit Is Next Week – Register Today!

Massachusetts Wins $3.2M DoD Grant to Develop National Model for Manufacturing Technician Training

Boston Developer Enters Joint Venture with AFFOA Member Shawmut Corp.

National Manufacturing Guard Invitation: Register Today!

ASTM : Call for Technical Notes

ASTM Special Issue Journal on Smart and Sustainable Manufacturing In the Post-COVID-19 Manufacturing Era  Technical...

IPC APEX EXPO- AFFOA Member Opportunity

AFFOA member IPC, the world’s leading trade association for the electronics manufacturing industry, has invited...

Bonbouton’s Graphene Masks

Bonbouton is a remote monitoring company powered by patented graphene technology and AFFOA member led by...

AFFOA ANNOUNCES ADDITION OF THREE NEW MEMBERS TO ITS BOARD OF DIRECTORS

AFFOA ANNOUNCES ADDITION OF THREE NEW MEMBERS TO ITS BOARD OF DIRECTORS Carolyn Kirk, Dave...

Radio Entrepreneurs Interviews AFFOA CTO Dr. Jason Cox

Four Key Areas Where Wearable Technologies are Pushing Innovation

Miniature interconnects combined with sensors and antennas give designers powerful new means of integrating Internet...

Governor Baker tours New Balance’s PPE production line in Lawrence

MIT plays key role in statewide effort to produce PPE

Massachusetts Emergency Response Team helps manufacturers produce personal protective equipment and other medical devices for...

AFFOA Continues to Make Progress on Fiber Computing Technologies

It’s been almost two years since we wrote about the work that Advanced Functional Fabrics of...

AFFOA Board of Directors Announces Appointment of Dr. Alexander Stolyarov as CEO

AFFOA Board of Directors Announces Appointment of Dr. Alexander Stolyarov as CEO   CAMBRDIGE, MA,...

Testing whether uncertified N95 masks are effective

Lincoln Laboratory joins MIT and others in testing N95 and similar, imported respirator masks to...

AFFOA Board of Directors Announces Appointment of Dr. Alexander Stolyarov as CEO

CAMBRDIGE, MA, ISSUED MAY 12, 2020. The Board of Directors of Advanced Functional Fabrics of...

Opening Up New Supply Chains

The Covid-19 pandemic has forced health care providers to dramatically increase their use of swabs,...

AFFOA secures supply of 45,000 domestically manufactured N95 respirator masks & works with MA Manufacturing Emergency Response Team

CAMBRIDGE, MA : As the COVID-19 crisis began to exacerbate in the US, Cambridge, MA...

PPE Testing Resources

Baker-Polito Administration Launches Manufacturing Emergency Response Team To Support Supply Production

Baker administration launches emergency response team, allocates $10M in funding to support production of PPE

BOSTON (WHDH) – Massachusetts Gov. Charlie Baker on Monday announced a new initiative and over...

Update on AFFOA’s COVID-19 Response Efforts

On March 17th, AFFOA issued a “Call to Action” to its membership seeking to activate...

IPC E-Textiles Committee Launches COVID-19 Response Community – Open to All to Engage

The IPC D-70 E-Textiles Committee has launched the IPC D-70 E-Textiles Committee COVID-19 Response Community....

Baker-Polito Administration Launches Online Portal for Personal Protective Equipment, Volunteers to Support COVID-19 Outbreak

BOSTON — The Baker-Polito Administration announced an online portal where individuals and companies can easily...

FEMA COVID-19 Critical Supply List

In response to current shortages of certain supplies due to COVID-19, The Federal Emergency Management...

KARL MAYER buys STOLL

As part of its growth strategy, the KARL MAYER Group has concluded an agreement to...

Nufabrx® Partners with Mike Tyson’s CopperGel Brand to Create GroundBreaking Line of Pain-Relieving Clothing

CopperGel and nufabrx® announced today a partnership to create a ground-breaking line of pain relief,...

Innovation event shapes collaborative approach to Soldier wearable sensor technologies

NATICK, Mass. — The U.S. Army Combat Capabilities Development Command Soldier Center (CCDC SC) is...

Lincoln Laboratory researchers develop a fabric that can sense chemical vapors

The self-reading “pH fabric” could deliver early warning of an exposure to a harmful chemical.

5 Manufacturing Innovations That Will Change the World

What happens when you combine the strength of the American worker with investment in cutting-edge...

That New Yarn?! — Wearable, Washable Textile Devices Are Possible With MXene-Coated Yarns

Producing functional fabrics that perform all the functions we want, while retaining the characteristics of...

Secretary of the Army approves new advanced manufacturing policy

Secretary of the Army Ryan D. McCarthy has approved a new policy on advanced manufacturing...

Wolf Administration Announces $1.5 Million Investment to Bolster Advanced Textile Manufacturing in PA

Philadelphia, PA – Today, the Department of Community and Economic Development (DCED) announced that a $1.5...

With Pentagon dollars, Drexel seeks to revive Philly’s vanished garment business

Drexel University on Wednesday will open a new center that its leaders hope will revive...

Drexel’s new 10,000-square-foot Center for Functional Fabrics opens today

Drexel University is debuting its new Center for Functional Fabrics, a project that’s been in the works...

Funding Opportunities

Bonbouton Accepted Into MetLife Digital Accelerator Powered by Techstars

AFFOA Member Bonbouton Accepted Into MetLife Digital Accelerator Powered by Techstars

IPC E-TEXTILES 2019 – Discounted Rate for AFFOA Member

MIT and Fashion Institute of Technology join forces to create innovative textiles

Advanced functional fabrics workshop, held jointly with AFFOA and industrial partner New Balance, develops concepts...

Small Business Innovation Summit Pitch Session

Small Business Innovation Summit Pitch Session The Department of Defense (DOD) Office of Small Business...

AWE Partners with Accessories Project to Deliver the Ultimate Augmented Reality-Powered Swag Bag

The Augmented Fabric at #AWE2019

Could fabrics be the next technology disruptor? The short answer is yes if the predictions...

The 5 Coolest Things on Earth This Week

AI-trained robots are learning to read their surroundings based on just a few visual cues,...

Fabrics poised to become the new software

Basic research advance leads to production of more than 250,000 chips embedded within fibers in...

E-textiles in health monitoring

The potential, progress and challenges for next generation smart garments.

STEAM Innovation Program: Advanced Functional Fabrics (AFF) Product Design Challenge

STEAM Innovation Program: Advanced Functional Fabrics (AFF) Product Design Challenge How can you use Advanced...

IPC E-Textiles 2019 Call for Participation

IPC Issues Call for Participation for IPC E-TEXTILES 2019 IPC invites innovators, technologists, materials suppliers,...

Making clothes that can communicate

Scientists at MIT say they are able to weave diodes into fabrics

LOOks Kickstarter Campaign

LOOks now available on Kickstarter!

Smart fabrics not yet a perfect fit

Yoel Fink wants a fund that would invest in startups working on products that use...

Ministry of Supply will tailor this sweater to your body while you wait

The collaboration with MIT’s Self-Assembly Lab points to the future of customizable fashion.

MassChallenge HealthTech Announces 2019 Cohort of Top Digital Health Startups

December 13, 2018 (BOSTON) – MassChallenge, a global network of zero-equity startup accelerators today announced...

AFEP Team Radian Kickstarter: Finally, Women’s Jeans with Deep Pockets!

Women’s jeans with deep yet subtle pockets, performance stretch, temperature regulation and much more!

Women of Wearables Boston – December Event

Come to the Women of Wearables (WoW) Boston Chapter December event, in partnership with CIC...

Knitting for Civility

As part of their community service requirement, the FIT student chapter of the American Association...

IFAI Tent Expo 2019

Tent Expo is the biggest show of its kind in North America for the tent...

What If? The Inspiration Of U.S. Textile Innovation

“What if?” It is the question where innovation begins, and few companies have asked it...

You’re Invited! “Fabrics- The New Software” Networking Event, November 29

Recent breakthroughs in fibers and fabrics are transforming these age-old materials into high tech for...

NextFlex Workshop: Mechanical Test Methods for Flexible Electronics

Come and Join us on November 29th, 2018 at 1:30pm at UMass Lowell, Saab ETIC...

The Heroes of Science Who are Unlocking the Brain

True stories of indefatigable researchers, heroic engineers, and champions of, neuroscience who are finally turning...

Dr. Yoel Fink Speaks at MIT’s Convocation Address to the Class of 2022

Water and Light Music – Diode Fibres for Fabric-Based Optical Communications

A new take on Handel’s classical water music. Rein et. al., Diode Fibres for Fabric-Based...

Fiber Computing: The Next Industrial Revolution

The mission of Advanced Functional Fabrics of America (AFFOA) is to enable a manufacturing-based revolution—what...

Introducing the latest in textiles: Soft hardware

Researchers incorporate optoelectronic diodes into fibers and weave them into washable fabrics.

AFFOA CEO Yoel Fink on Sci-Tech Now

Everyday items like watches and backpacks can now be turned into wearable technology. But what...

MIT and FIT Join Forces to Design the Clothing of the Future

A T-shirt that can change color to complement your mood (and help you pare down...

At UML, a stitch in time sublime at new Fabric Discovery Center

New Fabric Discovery Center hailed by state, local leaders

FIT, MIT Students Create 3-D Knitting Concepts

The initiative brought resources and talents from both institutions together.

Members Only Workshop June 13-14

We are excited to host our annual Members Only Workshop on June 13-14. This event...

Whither VR/AR?

Prediction: much-maligned QR codes, often camouflaged except to machine eyes, will become the de facto...

The Future Is Knit: Why the Ancient Art of Knitting Is High-Tech Again

Smartphone-controlled, color-changing fabric is coming to your clothes and furniture

Researchers at the University of Central Florida have developed the first color-changing fabric that can...

Ateios is Awarded NASA Space Exploration Innovation Awards

More than $2M given out at 2018 Rice Business Plan Competition

AFFOA Partners With MIT-Venture Mentoring Service (MIT-VMS) To Launch A Program For Entrepreneurs With A Passion For Advanced Fabrics

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE April 13th, 2018 Contact: Leigh Drori, AFFOA LEIGH@AFFOA.ORG; 617.817.1522 AFFOA Partners With MIT-Venture...

AFFOA and VMS launch Advanced Fabrics Entrepreneurship Program

Year-long program will give early-stage entrepreneurs a leg up in the functional fabrics industry.

Future Wear

If one MIT researcher has his way, our fabric could be the next great technological...

Gore and Bonbouton Revolutionize Smart Fabric Technology for Practical Digital Health Applications

Silicon Valley-based Gore Innovation Center enters joint development agreement with graphene sensor startup Bonbouton

AFFOA and Greater Lawrence Technical School Launch Pilot Advanced Fabric Curricula Development Program

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: February 16, 2018 Contact: Leigh Drori, AFFOA LEIGH@AFFOA.ORG; 617.817.1522 AFFOA and Greater Lawrence Technical...

IPC E-Textiles 2018

Registration is now open! Mark your calendar for September 13, 2018. IPC E-Textiles 2018 will...

MicroAward Pilot Program

MicroAward Pilot Program  Rapid and frequent advances in fiber materials (“Moore’s law for fibers”) and...

Next Generation of Fabrics will Protect Public

UMass Lowell Partners on Research to Prevent Catastrophic Failures of Buildings, Bridges and More

Why Made-in-USA Fashion is Turning Heads

Is the Apparel Industry Primed for a Return to the US?

VF Corporation, NC State University collaborating

VF Corporation and North Carolina State University are collaborating for student development at NC State...

VF Corporation exploring servitisation to champion circular economy

Global clothing giant VF Corporation is exploring rental and service-based business models to promote the...

Clothing you can feel good about at URI

A class taught by a University of Rhode Island professor of biomedical engineering has inspired...

Advanced Fabrics Entrepreneurship Program

Do you have an idea for an innovative advanced fabric product and want to form...

COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT THROUGH ADVANCED FABRICS

NuVu Studio, a full-time innovation school for middle and high school students based in Cambridge,...

Baker-Polito Administration Announces $3.9 Million Grant for Research into Advanced Fibers and Fabrics for Defense Sector

Second award from Mass. Manufacturing Innovation Initiative (M2I2) grows partnership between MIT Lincoln Laboratory, U.S....

Advanced Fabric Entrepreneurship Program

If you have an idea on an innovative advanced fabric product or service that can...

Lincoln Laboratory celebrates opening of the Defense Fabric Discovery Center

In a small industrial building at MIT Lincoln Laboratory, a 20-foot fiber draw tower is...

DREXEL AIMS TO STRENGTHEN AMERICA’S STANCE IN COATED FABRICS MARKET

The Philadelphia-based Drexel University has recently partnered with the DoD-supported AFFOA (Advanced Functional Fabrics of...

Drexel to Host Pennsylvania’s Center For Advanced Fabric Manufacturing Innovation

The Department of Defense’s effo rt to bring America to the forefront of textile technology...

The future of getting dressed: AI, VR and smart fabrics

Cher Horowitz’s closet from the film “Clueless” had a futuristic computer system that helped her...

Defense Fabric Discovery Center established to develop smart textiles

At the Defense Fabric Discovery Center (DFDC), engineers develop advanced fiber technologies for a range...

Textile Industry Is Alive And Well

A common perception, even by some here in the Upstate, is that textile manufacturing is...

Future Textile Awards: winners revisited

Earlier this year, pioneering developments in the technical textiles industry were recognised at the Future...

Nanowear SimpleSense garment selected as a finalist in Phillips Challenge

One small town sock maker’s fight to keep jobs and make it in a different America

FORT PAYNE, Ala. – If you go back roughly 15 years, there was a good...

How an advanced fiber backpack just might unlock the future of US jobs

One of the first things you pick up about Yoel Fink at the Massachusetts Institute...

Baker announces $7M for manufacturing projects

The Baker Administration has awarded $7 million in funding to help support seven advanced manufacturing...

Funding Opportunity: DHS seeks energy harvesting fabrics

Here’s How UK is Making Kentucky a World Leader in Manufacturing

Manufacturing Day℠, which occurs on the first Friday in October, is a celebration of modern...

Watch: LiFi – Lighting Up The Digital Highway System

Drexel gives freshman ‘smart’ backpacks

Incoming freshmen received a “Welcome Week” treat during move-in weekend — a smart backpack that...

Researchers to Develop Sensing Fabrics for Monitoring Civil Infrastructures

A team of UMass Lowell researchers has partnered with a research and development company to...

A Handshake in a Backpack – Drexel Freshmen Among First to Try Out Programmable Packs

In the midst of moving in, meeting new roommates and exploring campus, Drexel freshmen will...

Drexel University Freshmen Get ‘Smart’ Backpacks

Back to school special Members of MIT’s class of 2021 get a free backpack — and a glimpse at the future of “smart” fabrics.

As part of this year’s freshman orientation at MIT, new students encountered the typical lineup...

MIT Freshmen Receive AFFOA-Devleoped Smart Backpacks

Members of the Class of 2021 received a surprise gift upon checking in to MIT...

5 Things I Wish Someone Told Me When I First Started: Jerry Wilmink, CEO of WiseWear

The inspiration for WiseWear was my grandfather Dominic Cameratta. He suffered from a condition called...

Nominations Being Accepted for First-Ever Manufacturing USA Awards

Manufacturing USA wants to honor the best and brightest minds in manufacturing by recognizing students...

AFFOA CEO Featured in Special Inside Science Video About High-Tech Fabrics!

AFFOA Update: Project Call 1.0 Project Selection Update

Selected Projects   Capacitive Touch Sensor & Interface              ...

Defense Department Hosts Hackathon for Advanced Functional Fabrics in Challenging Environments

August 8, 2017 Webinar on E-Textile Standards Development

AFFOA Members are invited to join us for an informational online webinar regarding e-textile standards...

MIT News: Hacking functional fabrics to aid emergency response

Hacking functional fabrics to aid emergency response MIT and other innovators design novel solutions for...

N.Y. Textile Preview: AFFOA Looking to Drive Innovation for Functional Fabrics

LUMEN by Jenny Sabin Studio – 2017 MOMA Young Architect Program Winner

As winner of the MOMA Young Architect Program, my co-author and long-standing collaborator, Jenny Sabin, has a...

MIT News: Researchers design moisture-responsive workout suit

AFFOA FDC Grand Opening

On June 19, 2017, Advanced Functional Fabrics of America (AFFOA) celebrated the opening of its...

The Bloomberg Baystate Business Hour: Immune Systems and Fabric

AFFOA Opens $10M HQ, Unveils Two Advanced Fabric Product Platforms

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: June 19, 2017 Contact: Leigh Drori, AFFOA LEIGH@AFFOA.ORG; 617.817.1522 AFFOA Opens $10 Million HQ...

Boston Herald: Smart fabrics firm opens new HQ in Cambridge

AFFOA opens National Fabric Innovation Centre

CNN Tech: JanSport’s high-tech backpack shares your social media

Boston Globe: MIT lab shows off smart threads that can send messages, change color

MIT News: AFFOA launches state-of-the-art facility for prototyping advanced fabrics

WBUR: National Fabric Innovation Center Opens In Cambridge With A Hat That Streams Audio

Advanced Manufacturing: AFFOA opens state-of-the-art facility for protoyping advanced fabrics

T.EVO News: National Fabric Innovation Centre opens

Electronics 360: New Facility Opens for the Development of Smart Fabrics and e-Textiles

GearBrain: Your next backpack may send a help message when lost

Gant News: JanSport’s high-tech backpack shares your social media

MIT News: Advanced Functional Fabrics of America opens headquarters steps from MIT campus

Metro: AFFOA opens Cambridge headquarters by unveiling hat that transmits audio

Hackathon: Advanced Functional Fabrics in Challenging Environments

MIT News: Hacking apparel becomes lucrative business for alumni

Clothing tinkerers innovate fashion with science-based performance dresswear and 3-D knitting.

Bluewater Defense Inc. is dedicated to serving those who serve us

NSF Supporting Fundamental Research to Enable Innovation in Advanced Manufacturing at Mfg. USA Institutes

AFFOA’s Advanced Fabric Revolution Could Mean Rebirth of Lowell Textile Industry: Lowell-Based Fabric Discovery Center Receives $10 Million

Lowell – May 31, 2017 – Today, Governor Charlie Baker, along with University of Massachusetts...

AFFOA Reaches Milestone in Fabric Revolution Mission; Massachusetts-Based Defense Fabric Discovery Center Receives $2.2 Million

Lexington – May 25, 2017 – Today, Advanced Functional Fabrics of America (AFFOA) celebrated an...

Loomia Announces “Textile Trackpad”

PhilaU and Regional Partners Poised for Big Moves in Smart Fabrics

Elizabeth Whelan Design wins top prize at FT Awards

Fashion Exposé at NCSU College of Textiles

Collaborative efforts support growth in the smart textiles industry

In Appalachia’s Foothills, a Leaner Textile Industry Rises

Bonbouton Wins at Wearable Technologies Innovation World Cup

Watch: FIT Winner of Biodesign Challenge

Watch: New biomedical textiles show potential of smart, human-centered service systems

March 21-22: Programmable and Wearable Molecular Composites Workshop

PhilaU Team Wins U.S. Defense Department Chembio Suit Design Challenge

Hi-tech fabric could revive textiles

A group of researchers at the University of Georgia are on the leading edge of...

URI biomedical engineering professor creating smart gloves to monitor Parkinson’s disease patients

KINGSTON, R.I., Oct. 19, 2016—Prescribing a medication plan for a patient with Parkinson’s disease is...

PhilaU Team Helps Develop Protective Garment for Military

A Philadelphia University-lead team recently completed work on two prototypes of protective suits for the...

Jefferson medical school meets design school

Manufacturing Day, Oct. 7, 2016

Manufacturing Day℠ is a celebration of modern manufacturing meant to inspire the next generation of...

Olympians’ outfits have ties to Carolinas

Inman Mills produced the combed cotton used in the white bottoms athletes will wear. The...

Spotlight on College of Textiles Dean David Hinks

David Hinks became dean of the NC State College of Textiles in January 2016 after...

The Washington Post: Robots, swarming drones and ‘Iron Man’: Welcome to the new arms race

“At a recent conference put on by Defense One, a website that provides news and...

Bloomberg.com Global Tech Issue Five Substances of the Future

“These fibers are to fabric what the neuron is to the brain, or the transistor...

TechTimes: Public Private Consortium Pours $317 Million For AFFOA: What The Project Is About

Consider this as the weave of the future. A U.S. public-private consortium receives $317 million...

FedScoop: DOD-MIT partnership will invent the “Internet of Fabrics”

AFFOA is working to create the “the Internet of Fabrics,” MIT President Rafael Reif said....

The Hill: Defense chief announces $317M hub to integrate tech into textiles

“As I often say, we in the Pentagon need to think outside of our five-sided...

Reuters: Pentagon awards $75 million for advanced textiles institute

The initiative announced on Friday is one of a series of “Manufacturing Innovation Institutes” established...

Associated Press: Futuristic Textile Facility to Open in Massachusetts

Massachusetts has been chosen to host a $317 million futuristic textiles manufacturing center with a...

Washington Post: Time to change a diaper or car tire? Futuristic fabrics will let you know.

While the tech industry talks of “wearable” devices such as smartwatches, next-generation fabrics would literally...

WLVT-TV (Knoxville, TN): UT partners with MIT exploring innovations in fibers and fabrics

UT is one of 31 universities in the fiber institute’s ecosystem and will assist by...

Business Record: Iowa State a partner in new textile manufacturing institute

“Iowa State University is part of a new $317 million public-private partnership working to improve...

The Gazette: Iowa State University tapped for $317 million protective apparel project

“A lab at Iowa State University has been tapped to participate in the “Advanced Functional...

Spartanburg Herald Journal: $317M US textiles announcement expected today

“U.S. Secretary of Defense Ash Carter is expected to announce a $317 million initiative for...

GSA Business: Clemson, Milliken, Inman Mills team on textile project

“U.S. Secretary of Defense Ashton Carter has announced the Advanced Functional Fabrics of America plan...

Athens Banner Herald: UGA joins public-private partnership to transform fiber materials and manufacturing

“The AFFOA mission is to transform traditional fibers, yarns and textiles manufacturing into a highly...

Independent Mail: Clemson to be part of $317M overhaul of textile industry

“Clemson University researchers will be part of a $317 million rethink of America’s textile industry...

WSPA South Carolina: Clemson University to play major role in textile industry overhaul

“Clemson University says its experts will focus on creating virtual reality training programs to help...

Upstate Business Journal: Clemson, MIT to build $317M project for US textiles overhaul

“The project will operate under the Advanced Functional Fabrics of America, a non-profit founded by...

Greenville Online: Clemson working with Defense Department on $317 million textile project

“The project, led by new group Advanced Functional Fabrics of America, will be announced by...

Orlando Business Journal: 7 things to know today, plus UCF scientist part of $317M project to revolutionize textiles

“It is an honor to be working in partnership with MIT on a major project...

Orlando Sentinel: UCF partners with MIT in major federal high-tech research

“[University of Central Florida], in partnership with Massachusetts Institute of Technology, will research textiles that...

Al Dia News: Drexel brings Advanced Functional Fabrics to Philadelphia

“Secretary of Defense Ashton Carter recognized AFFOA as a part of the White House’s National...

FOX 43 Harrisburg: Drexel University receives $75 million DOD grant to research fibers and fabrics

“AFFOA, led by MIT, is a national public-private partnership that brings together geographically diverse academic,...

Philly Voice: Drexel leads textile manufacturing innovation in $317M DoD initiative

“The research initiative will be headquartered in Cambridge, Mass., while Drexel will lead a local...

Philadelphia Business Journal: Defense Dept. taps Drexel, PhillyU & Temple for $317M national research institute

Philly.com: Philly universities about to get a DOD windfall for smart fabrics

NECN Tonight: Futuristic textile facility to open in Massachusetts

This story features a number of clips from the event at MIT, with voiceover by...

WHDH-TV: MIT to create ‘smart garments’ through federally funded program

“MIT won a national competition to host a federally-funded program that will work to turn...

WWLP-TV: The feds are partnering with MIT to develop revolutionary clothing

WWLP’s Tiffany Chan filed this report from MIT. She tells viewers the federal government is...

Worcester Telegram: Massachusetts to be “smart” fabrics hub with Worcester links

“Our institute, with the help of significant support from the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, and with...

WBUR News: Mass. Chosen To Lead National Textile Manufacturing Innovation Hub

Imagine wearing a T-shirt that’s connected to the Internet or allows you to charge your...

State House News Service: Defense Department funding high-tech fabrics institute in Cambridge

“Our institute will go everywhere a fiber and fabric goes,” said a statement from Yoel...

CNN: Radiation-detecting clothing may be thing of the present

The innovation hub will be organized by the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and bring together...

FOX25 Morning News: Textiles hub coming to MIT

A multi-million dollar manufacturing hub is coming to Cambridge… Carter will make the announcement today...

Reuters (AM): The Pentagon Is Getting Into the Textile Business with MIT

The Pentagon said on Friday it awarded $75 million for the creation of an institute...

WBUR Morning Edition: What the New National Textile Innovation Center Means for Massachusetts

Katie Stebbins, the state’s assistant secretary for technology, innovation and entrepreneurship, joined WBUR’s Morning Edition...

Politico: Carter to announce new tech manufacturing hub

The new manufacturing initiative is the latest effort in Carter’s push to marry the tech...

Military Times: SECDEF unveils $317 million deal for high-tech textiles at MIT

Carter has prioritized technology and innovation initiatives since taking over the Pentagon‘s top job last...

Boston Business Journal: Mass will play central role in $317M textile innovation effort

“The textile industry is hugely responsible for making Massachusetts into what it looks like today,”...

Boston Herald: MIT sews up smart fabrics center

This story appears at the top of the “BizSm@rt” page. Forget the Internet of Things,...

Boston Globe: U.S. backs MIT-led research into wearable devices

This story appears on the front page of the Business section with the headline “MIT-led...

New York Times: U.S. Textile Industry Turns to Tech as Gateway to Revival

The advanced fabrics project, which is being announced on Friday, represents a new frontier for...