Abstract
It is with profound honour and an immense sense of responsibility that I assume the role of Editor-in-Chief of the Journal of Industrial Textiles (JIT), beginning with Volume 56. The journal was originally established to bridge the gap between traditional textile science and modern engineered fibrous materials, thereby enabling the JIT to carve out a highly specialised niche dedicated exclusively to technical textiles. Over the years, the JIT has established itself as a respected platform for disseminating high-quality research across a diverse spectrum of technical and industrial sectors, including, but not limited to, Agrotech, Buildtech, Clothtech, Geotech, Hometech, Indutech, Medtech, and Nanotech. This standing is a direct reflection of the sustained efforts of the Editorial Board, reviewers, authors, and the wider research community who have contributed to its growth and reputation.
I would like to begin by expressing my sincere gratitude to Dr. Dong Zhang, who formerly served as the Editor-in-Chief of the JIT. Under his stewardship, the journal ushered in a new era of developments in technical textiles, as well as emerging state-of-the-art research areas including sustainable and circular materials, textile recycling and life-cycle assessment, and bio-based and biodegradable fibres. His leadership enabled the journal to successfully adapt to major transformations in the publishing landscape, including the transition to a fully Open Access platform and a substantial expansion of its international presence, while maintaining an unwavering commitment to rigorous peer review.
I would also like to sincerely acknowledge the invaluable contributions of the outgoing members of the Editorial Board, Zeki Candan, Xiaogang Chen, Lawrance Hunter, Pibo Ma, Christine Sun, Youjiang Wang, and Weilin Xu. Their dedication, wisdom, and steadfast commitment to the journal have played a vital role in upholding its scientific quality and integrity. Through their unconditional guidance and careful editorial efforts, they have been instrumental in shaping the journal into a respected platform for impactful and meaningful research in industrial and technical textiles. On behalf of the journal, I extend my heartfelt appreciation for their service and commitment.
At the same time, I am pleased to welcome the newly appointed Associate Editors, Levent Onal and Javed Nabibaksha Sheikh, as well as the newly appointed Editorial Board members, Jonathan Y. Chen, Gökhan Erkan, H. Kübra Kaynak, Yordan Kyosev, Sohel Rana, James Robinson, Roshan Paul, Sumit Sharma, Anuj Shukla, and Akram Zamani. These colleagues bring diverse expertise spanning advanced fibrous materials, functional and smart textiles, composites, filtration systems, sustainable materials, batteries, and emerging areas such as digitalisation and data-driven approaches in textile engineering. A concerted effort was made to broaden the intellectual scope of the journal while ensuring robust representation across major research domains, geographical regions, and gender diversity.
The expansion and renewal of the Editorial Board come at a pivotal time as the field of textiles undergoes rapid transformation. The ever-increasing demand for high-performance materials across energy, healthcare, mobility, and environmental protection has placed textile-based systems at the forefront of innovation. Rising global concerns related to climate change, sustainability, resource efficiency, and circularity are fundamentally transforming the way textile materials are developed, manufactured, utilised, and assessed. In this evolving landscape, the role of the journal becomes even more critical, not only as a repository of knowledge but also as a platform that enables meaningful dialogue between disciplines and between academia and industry.
Moving forward, our focus will remain on strengthening the quality, relevance, and impact of the work published in the journal. We aim to encourage submissions that provide clear scientific insight while also demonstrating practical significance. Particular emphasis will be placed on studies that advance the understanding of structure–property–performance relationships in fibrous materials, develop innovative and sustainable material systems, and address real-world challenges through rigorous analysis, experimentation, and characterisation. The journal especially welcomes contributions in emerging and transformative areas such as sustainable and circular materials, textile recycling and life-cycle assessment, bio-based and biodegradable fibres, mitigation of microplastic release, smart and intelligent textiles, wearable electronics, energy harvesting and storage fabrics, additive manufacturing, and high-performance applications in filtration, biomedical systems, mobility, and environmental protection. We also recognise the growing importance of computational modelling, multiscale analysis, digital twins, artificial intelligence, machine learning, and other data-driven approaches in advancing textile science and process optimisation, and we welcome contributions that integrate these tools with fundamental textile materials research, standards, safety, environmental performance, and advanced engineering applications. We invite submissions from researchers, scientists, engineers, and industry professionals to contribute novel insights, fundamental understanding, and innovative applications across these evolving domains.
In addition to publishing high-quality original research, the journal also seeks to foster constructive scientific dialogue through critical discussions and scholarly comments on published work, an important aspect of academic discourse that has become increasingly limited in recent years. We also aim to support the next generation of textile researchers by encouraging tutorial papers, methodological notes, perspective articles, and reviews that provide clarity on emerging research directions and fundamental textile principles, thereby enabling the JIT to serve as both a leading research platform and a valuable educational resource for young scholars.
In closing, I would like to thank the authors, reviewers, readers, Associate Editors, members of the Editorial Board, and the publishing team at SAGE for their continued support and commitment to the journal. I look forward to working closely with the Associate Editors, Editorial Board and the broader scientific community to further advance the journal and reinforce its position as a trusted forum for high-quality and impactful research in industrial textiles.
