The federal government has given textile innovation and sustainability a spotlight.
The National Science Foundation ( NSF ) has revealed the recepients of its Regional Innovation Engines program, which aims to bring benefits associated with scientific and technological innovation to various communities nationally, with a focus on small and rural areas.
One of 10 the awardees of the program has a direct stake in apparel. The North Carolina Textile Innovation and Sustainability Engine (NCTISE) will be tasked with advancing technology in the textiles industry.
The engine will be based in the cities of Raleigh and Gaston, N.C., but will have a reach that extends throughout other parts of the state, as well as parts of South Carolina, Tennessee and Virginia.
Sara Chester, co-founder of the economic development organization The Industrial Commons (TIC), submitted a concept note outlining her vision for the engine to the NSF in June 2022.