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A significant increase in the consumption of recycled fiber products has been observed worldwide, and the industry is forced to solve the challenges of recycled fiber quality and add strength agents and/or virgin fibers to reach sufficient properties. In order to investigate whether the mechanical and air permeability properties of waste fiber (WF) material can be significantly improved by adding wood kraft fibers (KF), hemp soda fibers (HF), and ammonium persulfate oxidated cellulose nanofibrils (CNF), different fiber blends were prepared and tested. Results revealed the excellence of hemp fibers over wood fibers regarding the improvement of WF products. The results of WF after the addition of 10% mixed fibers (KF + HF) were higher than the results of a 50% KF addition. The impact of CNF depended on fiber composition and properties. A formula for modeling the CNF impact on different fiber compositions was proposed. Obtained fiber material samples showed suitability for home composting, thus contributing to the goals of the European Green Deal regarding reducing landfill waste and the development of cleaner products.

Under industrial daily business conditions, a heterogeneous group of employees with different backgrounds and activity fields was trained to function as a hand-feel panel to evaluate internal developments and optimizations, and to predict customer preferences in the main textile segments. Using sets of fabrics of typical constructions, different descriptors related to hand actions were elaborated and an evaluation method based on scaling, as well as ranking, was defined, based on AATCC 5-2006. Group performance was investigated by statistical concordance factors, by correlation with physical hand-feel assessment methods, and with a reference panel. Using a different fabric set, the panel’s ability to predict the average preferences of a larger consumer group was tested. Furthermore, the correlations of the system parameters of the different physical methods for the used fabrics were studied and discussed, showing the agreement and the disagreement aspects of the methods for the investigated fabrics.

Today, the textile sector is one of the largest economic sectors globally in terms of production amount, labor employment, and gross domestic product. At the same time, it is also one of the least sustainable sectors due to its profound negative environmental and social impacts. In the absence of a single legislative body at the global level, as well as a lack of global inter-governmental cooperation, there is also no unified legislation regarding the sustainability of the textile sector. However, the Earth is a single interconnected ecosystem; therefore, the responsibility for mitigating the negative consequences must be shared. The transition of the textile sector to a sustainable model requires a complete transformation of perception and behavior patterns at the governance, industry, and consumption levels. This research contributes to the existing literature about the social, environmental, and economic assessment of the textile sector focusing on the sustainability challenges in all three domains; furthermore, the paper provides a broad overview of existing and planned global and regional policies, regulations, and initiatives related to the transition of the textile industry to a sustainable development model.

During the COVID-19 pandemic, the provision of appropriate protective clothing for medical staff who must continue to perform their duties at this period is of particular importance. Physiotherapists are not allowed to suspend working during this time either, and the specifics of their work is close contact with the patient within various movements during the therapy process. Inadequate (intended for general use) protective clothing affects work capacity in the aspects of movement restriction, thermal comfort and thereby increasing energy consumption. For the design and supply of personal protective equipment (PPE) and protective clothing of the best possible quality, PPE should be explored in a systemic approach (holistics) to assess anthropometric fit and ergonomics, material properties and thermal performance. This study investigated anthropometric characteristics of target group representatives; sizing, fit and design flaws of protective suits for physiotherapists; provision of mobility in the protective clothing of physiotherapists; the protective suit fabric layer interaction with the human body and the importance of subjective evaluation of fit and ergonomics of PPE (made by specialists and wearers). The results of the study promote the usage of objective knowledge of anthropometry and ergonomics as well as subjective assessment findings in the development of protective suits for physiotherapists.