The National Council of Textile Organizations (NCTO) has launched the Rhode Island Textile Innovation Network (RITIN) at the Slater Mill Museum in Pawtucket. RITIN unveiled its new website and held an expo featuring local manufacturers. The activities supplemented NCTO’s We Make Amazing campaign that promotes the US textile industry. The network fosters collaboration among textile industry leaders, designers, academia and government with a mission to make Rhode Island a leader in advanced textile manufacturing and to develop solutions to recruit and train the sector’s future workforce.

Created in late 2016 by US Senator Sheldon Whitehouse and the University of Rhode Island Business Engagement Center, RITIN operates with planning grants received in late 2017 from Real Jobs RI and the Rhode Island Commerce Corporation. Polaris MEP, an affiliate of the National Institute of Standards and Technology’s Manufacturing Extension Partnership (NIST MEP) provides RITIN’s program management.