#Associations

2026-01-22

INDA announces future dates and locations for FiltXPO™ and IDEA® events

INDA, the Association of the Nonwoven Fabrics Industry, announced the future dates and locations for its FiltXPO™ and IDEA® events, reaffirming its long-term commitment to serving the global filtration, nonwovens, and engineered materials communities.

As part of this announcement, INDA confirmed that IDEA®, its flagship conference and exhibition, will return to its traditional three-year cycle following IDEA®27. While IDEA®27 will take place two years after the most recent IDEA® in 2025, this two-year timing is a one-time occurrence. INDA will maintain its long-standing cadence and value for this event moving forward. IDEA®27 will take place March 23-25, 2027 in Kansas City, Missouri.

IDEA® is the largest nonwovens and engineered materials exhibition in the Americas, bringing together global industry leaders, innovators, and decision-makers. In addition to the exhibition, IDEA® features a robust conference program that addresses key industry hot topics, with a strong emphasis on sustainability, market trends, and emerging technologies.

FiltXPO™ is a conference and exhibition focused exclusively on the filtration industry. The technical conference program delivers in-depth insights into filtration science, applications, and advancements, while the exhibition provides a comprehensive showcase of innovations across the full spectrum of air, water, gas, and oil filtration components and technologies. FiltXPO™ 2026 will be held October 28-29, 2026 in Minneapolis, Minnesota.

Future Dates and Locations

FiltXPO™ 2028

March 29–30, 2028

Charlotte Convention Center

Charlotte, North Carolina

IDEA®30

March 26–29, 2030

George R. Brown Convention Center

Houston, Texas

FiltXPO™ 2030 (Co-located with IDEA®30)

March 26–29, 2030

George R. Brown Convention Center

Houston, Texas

The co-location of FiltXPO™ and IDEA®30 in 2030 will provide expanded opportunities for cross-industry engagement, knowledge exchange, business development across the filtration and nonwoven sectors, and synergies for both exhibitors and visitors.

2026 World of Wipes Innovation Award® finalists revealed

INDA, the Association of the Nonwoven Fabrics Industry, announced the three finalists for the 2026 World of WipesInnovation Award®. The finalists are The Clorox Company for their Clorox™ Refreshables™, Lenzing Fibers, Inc. for their Lenzing™ DualWipe, and Rockline Industries for their First Defense™ Fentanyl Detection Wipe.

INDA honors four industry leaders with 2026 Lifetime Service and Technical Achievement Awards

INDA, the Association of the Nonwoven Fabrics Industry, has announced the four distinguished recipients of the 2026 INDA Lifetime Service Award and Lifetime Technical Achievement Award. Tom Daugherty, Pricie Hanna, Carey Hobbs, and CK Wong are being recognized for their exceptional leadership, innovation, and enduring contributions to advancing the nonwovens industry and strengthening the global community it serves.

Cotton Brazil Dialogues 2026 concludes with 50 international participants immersed in Brazilian cotton production

The Cotton Brazil Dialogues concludes its 2026 edition after a series of technical visits to farms, cotton gins and reference centers, as well as workshops focused on Brazilian cotton production. A total of 50 participants from 14 countries took part in the field trips. The initiative is led by the Brazilian Association of Cotton Growers (Abrapa) and the National Association of Cotton Exporters (Anea), with support from the Brazilian Trade and Investment Promotion Agency (ApexBrasil).

European textile industry calls for €10 handling fee on ultra-fast-fashion imports

The introduction of the €3 customs duty on low-value imports marks an important milestone in Europe’s efforts to address the challenges created by the rapid growth of ultra-fast-fashion imports. Together with the abolition of the €150 customs duty exemption, it demonstrates that policymakers are willing to act when market distortions become impossible to ignore. However, the European textile and clothing industry considers this a first step rather than the final destination.

Business situation weakens slightly, but the industry stays cautiously optimistic

The International Textile Manufacturers Federation (ITMF) has published the results of its 39th Global Textile Industry Survey (GTIS), conducted from 14 to 22 July 2026 among companies along the entire global textile value chain. Worldwide, 10% of participants rated their business situation as good, 53% as satisfactory and 37% as bad — a balance of -26pp, down from -17pp in May but still well above the 2023 lows. All regions are now in negative territory, from South Asia at -3pp to North & Central America at -58pp.

SHIMA SEIKI to showcase flat knitting and digital design solutions at Egypt Stitch & Tex

Leading Japanese computerized flat knitting technologist SHIMA SEIKI MFG., LTD. of Wakayama, Japan, together with its sales representative in Egypt, TTS (EL MASRIA FOR TRADE & TECHNICAL SERVICES), will participate in the upcoming 24th International Exhibition for Textile & Carpet Machineries, Printing Technologies and Accessories (Egypt Stitch & Tex) to be held in Cairo, Egypt this month.

Coats Digital launches AI-powered GSD RealMotion for motion analysis

Coats Digital has launched GSD RealMotion, an AI-powered solution designed to provide apparel manufacturers with greater visibility into factory-floor operations. By analysing shop-floor video and applying Coats Digital’s GSD methodology, the solution turns video recordings into structured, motion-by-motion method studies.