Innovative textiles generally refer to fabrics with novel functionalities that help solve existing problems or make new areas of application accessible. The production of innovative textiles involves finishing with special additives, applying coatings, incorporating technical components, or developing materials not previously used in textile applications.
Examples of products featuring special ingredients: Aloe vera mattress covers, anti-odor shirts, insect repellent, antibacterial towels, scented textiles
Examples of coating applications: Corkshell, protectors with ceramic dot coatings, climate-regulating textiles, Gecko textiles, shock absorbers
Examples of technical component integration: highly visible textiles with integrated LED lighting, heated jackets, pressure-sensitive flooring for senior living facilities
Examples of new materials: bamboo fibers, paper, spider silk
What are innovative textiles used for?
The origin of various innovative materials can be traced back to developments in space travel or military uses. Outlast's temperature-regulating technology, which acts like a reusable pocket warmer, originally was designed for astronaut suits. The technology was intended to protect the crew from rapid cooling during a spacewalk by storing heat and slowly releasing it again in cold ambient temperatures.
Protection against vectors – i.e. mosquitoes, ticks, mosquitoes and other blood-sucking insects – was originally developed for military purposes, too. Fabrics equipped with a potent insecticide (permethrin, DDT) are processed into sleeping bags that are used in malaria areas and are intended to protect soldiers from infections.
Are there limits to innovative textiles?
From its original purpose, both the Outlast technology and the vector protection have paved their way into civilian applications. Temperature-regulating properties are now implemented in outdoor jackets, bedding, underwear, shoes or even in medical devices. Protective fabrics against insects are used to assemble hunting clothing, workwear, mosquito nets or tropical protective clothing. However, the use of these innovative textiles has to be investigated with care. Commercially available Outlast materials, for example, only perform in a relatively small temperature range. Reliable vector protection, on the other hand, requires a closed system: Since mosquitoes track carbon dioxide emitted in people’s breath the whole body has to be enclosed by a treated fabric. Therefore, malaria nets should be completely closed, ideally attached under the mattress.
Do you want to know more about innovative materials, their benefits and limitations or are you planning a textile innovation? Please contact us if you require a textile engineer’s profound skills in textile finishing and a deep knowledge on innovative textiles.
