From the Sector

The Paris 2024 Summer Olympic Games are just around the corner and a global sports frenzy is underway. However, intense summer workouts often lead to sportswear absorbing excessive sweat, becoming clingy and cumbersome, causing discomfort and potentially impacting performance. A research team from the School of Fashion and Textiles at The Hong Kong Polytechnic University (PolyU) has developed the iActive™ sportswear range which features a root-like liquid transport system and a skin-like active perspiration dissipater and utilises nature-inspired, anti-heat textile fabrics to expedite sweat removal, effectively reducing the weight and stickiness of activewear caused by sweat accumulation during exercise.

The human body has millions of sweat glands that are vital for regulating body temperature by dissipating sweat for evaporation to cool the skin’s surface. With unabating greenhouse gas emissions, the number of very hot days annually is expected to increase significantly. This will lead to elevated energy consumption and increased sweating during physical activity and outdoor labour. Even when wearing highly breathable clothes with good sweat-wicking properties, individuals may still experience discomfort due to excessive sweat accumulation.

A research team led by Dr SHOU Dahua, Limin Endowed Young Scholar in Advanced Textiles Technologies and Associate Professor of the School of Fashion and Textiles at PolyU, has invented the iActive™, intelligent, electrically activated sportswear with a nature-inspired active perspiration function.

Its nature-inspired technologies, including low-voltage-driven artificial “sweat glands” created by skin-like anti-heat textile fabrics and a root-like branching liquid transport system that aligns with the body’s sweat map, can actively and programmably remove sweat to a perspiration dissipater at the lower region of the sportswear. The all-textile sweat dissipater is compact and operates at a safe output voltage of approximately 5-9V, and its battery is easy to detach from the clothing, making it convenient for users to repeatedly wash the clothing by hand or in a washing machine to maintain hygiene. When the human body’s sweat rate is low, iActive™ can still be used independently without the battery.

Based on the optimised wettability pattern and gradient, the research team utilises a skin-like textile fabric to transport sweat one-way quickly and dissipate it from the inside to the outside. This feature reduces the stickiness and weight of clothing, improves breathability and ensures the garments remain dry and comfortable to wear. Experimental findings indicate that iActive™ creates a breathable and dry skin microclimate by dissipating sweat at a rate that is three times faster than the maximum human sweating rate. This innovation can also prevent discomfort from coldness and moisture after a workout. In comparison to traditional fabrics, the textile materials in iActive™ are 60% lighter and 50% less clingy when soaked, providing the wearer with all-round comfort and enabling sports enthusiasts and athletes to perform at their best.

Furthermore, a mobile app further aids personalised sweat management by wirelessly adjusting the sweat level of iActive™. This innovation is versatile and can be seamlessly integrated into a variety of textile materials to facilitate sustainable mass production. Beyond sportswear, iActive™ is also well-suited to protective clothing and workwear for individuals engaged in prolonged, high-intensity physical labour and outdoor occupations, including healthcare professionals, construction workers, firefighters, law enforcement officers and others, thereby significantly enhancing their work performance.

Dr Shou Dahua stated, “The extreme weather and high temperatures resulting from global warming have elevated the importance of heatstroke prevention and cooling measures on a global scale. Drawing on the vivid phenomena of thermal insulation and directed liquid flow in nature, we aim to foster innovation and sustainable advancement in garment manufacturing by inventing intelligent clothing and materials to address global challenges. We seek to harness the power of technology to infuse fresh perspectives into the traditional clothing industry, thereby enhancing its competitiveness.”

His research team has also developed a premium fabric named Omni-Cool-Dry™, drawing inspiration from volcano dwelling beetles. This fabric not only provides ultra-fast sweat dissipation and ensures all-day comfort with its dry and breathable features under dynamic thermal conditions, but also reflects solar radiation and emits body heat into the cold universe, enabling passive cooling. The team is working hard to leverage the benefits of both inventions to further enhance the sweat-dissipating and cooling capability of iActive™ sportswear.

Dr Shou Dahua, a core member of the PolyU Research Institute for Intelligent Wearable Systems and the Research Centre of Textiles for Future Fashion, has recently been bestowed with the 2023 Distinguished Achievement Award by The Fiber Society for his outstanding contributions to the fields of personal thermal and moisture management, intelligent wearables and soft robotics. The accolade is presented annually to an individual researcher worldwide. He has also received international innovation awards, including consecutive TechConnect Global Innovation Awards in 2021 and 2022. Moreover, his research papers have been published in various internationally renowned academic journals including Science Advances, PNAS, Advanced Functional Materials, and Advanced Energy Materials. Dr Shou will be chairing The Fiber Society Spring 2025 Conference at PolyU.

The German Institutes of Textile and Fiber Research Denkendorf (DITF) are coordinating the research project, which is funded as part of the European Union's Horizon Europe research and innovation program. The aim of BioFibreLoop is to develop recyclable outdoor and work clothing made from renewable bio-based materials. The kick-off event took place in Denkendorf on June 26 and 27, 2024.

The textile industry is facing two challenges: on the one hand, production must become more sustainable and environmentally friendly and, on the other, consumers are expecting more and more smart functions from clothing.

In addition, the production of functional textiles often involves the use of chemicals that are harmful to the environment and health and make subsequent recycling more difficult.

Intelligent innovations must therefore ensure that harmful chemicals are replaced, water is saved and more durable, recyclable bio-based materials are used, thereby reducing the usually considerable carbon footprint of textile products. Digitalized processes are intended to ensure greater efficiency and a closed cycle.

For example, the BioFibreLoop project uses laser technology to imitate natural structures in order to produce garments with water and oil-repellent, self-cleaning and antibacterial properties. At the end result of the research work will be affordable, resource and environmentally friendly, yet high-performance and durable fibers and textiles made from renewable sources such as lignin, cellulose and polylactic acid will be available. All processes are aimed at a circular economy with comprehensive recycling and virtually waste-free functionalization based on nature's example. In this way, greenhouse gas emissions could be reduced by 20 percent by 2035.

The technology for the functionalization and recycling of bio-based materials is being developed in three industrial demonstration projects in Austria, the Czech Republic and Germany. At the end of the project, a patented circular, sustainable and reliable process for the production of recyclable functional textiles will be established.

The BioFibreLoop project has a duration of 42 months and a total budget of almost 7 million euros, with 1.5 million going to the coordinator DITF.

The consortium consists of 13 partners from nine countries who contribute expertise and resources from science and industry:

• German Institutes of Textile and Fiber Research Denkendorf (DITF), Coordinator, Germany
• Next Technology Tecnotessile Società nazionale di ricerca R. L., Italy
• Centre Technologique ALPhANOV, France
• G. Knopf’s Sohn GmbH & Co. KG, Germany
• FreyZein Urban Outdoor GmbH, Austria
• BEES - BE Engineers for Society, Italy
• BAT Graphics Vernitech, France
• Interuniversitair Micro-Electronica Centrum, Belgium
• Idener Research & Development Agrupacion de Interes Economico, Spain
• Teknologian tutkimuskeskus VTT Oy, Finland
• Det Nationale Forskningscenter for Arbejdsmiljø, Denmark
• Steinbeis Innovation gGmbH, Germany
• NIL Textile SRO, Czech Republic

adidas unveils its FW24 London Tennis Collection – a range of apparel crafted with comfort in mind – including seamless material construction, to help players focus whilst performing in major moments on grass court.

Although a pure-white color spectrum is found across the entire collection, raised structures implemented on the base of select pieces, create the appearance of darker shadows that flow throughout - celebrating the different shades of light seen on a grass court during the summer months.

Supporting the demands of grass court tennis, the collection has been crafted for added mobility, unlocked by adidas’ FreeLift Construction – which incorporates adaptive stretch areas under the arm of each garment, to offer players a greater range of motion.

To help players in the heat of the moment, the collection also includes adidas’ AEROREADY technology, which uses sweat-wicking or absorbent materials to keep players feeling dry. This combines with AIRCHILL for the AIRCHILL FreeLift T-Shirt Pro – an adidas technology that supports players feeling cool through thermally zoned, raised pattern motifs and mesh layers, helping to optimise airflow during high-intensity workouts and matches.

The collection premiers at the summer London tournaments and will be worn by athletes including Caroline Wozniacki, Elina Svitolina, Xinyu Wang, Dana Mathewson, Jessica Pegula, Maria Sakkari, Angelique Kerber, Camila Osorio, Daria Kasatkina, Stefanos Tsitsipas, Alexander Davidovich-Fokina, Felix Auger-Aliassime, Martin de la Puente, Francisco Cerundolo, Jakub Menšík, Alex Michelsen and Luca Nardi.

From 20 to 22 July 2024, Innatex will once again host international green fashion labels presenting their collections for Spring/Summer 2025 at Messecenter Hofheim Rhein-Main near Frankfurt. The motto of the upcoming trade fair, ‘BLOOM’, emphasises the confidence in more sustainable solutions despite challenges in the green fashion industry.

The organiser is seeing an increase in enquiries from first-time exhibitors and design dicoveries who work with remnants or waste from the textile and other sectors. The summer fair aims to emphasise this form of circularity.

In keeping with this, three of the five Design Discoveries selected so far are located in the area of textile waste reduction. Tentation uses discarded tents to create modern, mostly outdoor-compatible pieces. While Halt.clothing stands for an innovative upcycling concept, the underwear label Avonté works with deadstocks. Softclox with flexible soles and the very feminine women's fashion Verlinne from Romania enrich the special area.

The trade fair is responding to feedback from buyers and, in cooperation with the Hesse Retail Association, is offering a special expert panel on the last day of the event to provide effective sales strategies. Innovative sustainable space concepts have been developed in collaboration with the Akademie Mode & Design AMD Wiesbaden. The students of the Interior Design degree programme use old materials from the INNATEX trade fair construction.

The exhibition “Acquired! Shaping the National Design Collection” at Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum, which opened on 16 March, features a STOLL work that has been part of the museum’s permanent collection since 2017.

Visitors can expect more than 150 works that have been compiled from the museum’s collection and new acquisitions since 2017. The selection, which includes works by design pioneers of the recent past, also includes a highly functional balaclava from STOLL.

Blend of design and functionality.
The flat knitted balaclava from STOLL is part of an exhibition area that visualises the defining themes of our time. Alongside a hijab, it stands for considering inclusivity in design. The balaclava offers protection from extreme cold, is stylish and is the result of a combination of creativity and technology.

The balaclava integrates an NFC chip for near-field communication, a heater to warm breathable air, a positive and negative power connector and reflective strips for passive visibility, all knitted directly into the fabric. STOLL’s state-of-the-art flat knitting technology is the basis for straightforward integration. Circuits and conductive yarns can also be incorporated in a fully automated process exactly where they are needed.

Other performance features do not require additional components. A knitted-to-shape 3D design – made possible by the goring technique – offers a perfect fit by following anatomy and eliminating the need for complex tailoring.

At the "International Conference on Cellulose Fibers 2024" in Cologne, Germany, the Nova Institute for Ecology and Innovation awarded first place in the Innovation Prize to the project partners of the EU-funded HEREWEAR project. They presented a dress made of cellulose fibers, which is entirely made of straw pulp.

HEREWEAR is an EU-wide research project that brings together partners from research and industry. They are working to establish a European circular economy for locally produced textiles and clothing made from bio-based raw materials.
The HEREWEAR consortium consists of small and medium-sized enterprises and research institutions. HEREWEAR covers all the necessary expertise and infrastructure from academic and applied research and industry from nine EU countries.

The HEREWEAR approach includes technical and ecological innovations in the production of fibers, yarns, fabrics, knitwear and garments, as well as the use of regional value chains and the circular development of fashion items.

New technologies for wet and melt spinning of cellulose and bio-based polyesters, e.g. PLA, from which yarns and fabrics are produced, form the technical basis. Coating and dyeing processes have been developed and tested as part of the project. In addition to reducing the carbon footprint of the product, another environmental goal is to reduce the release of microfibers throughout the textile manufacturing process and life cycle.

Improving the sustainability and recyclability of the developed garments is ensured by design for circularity and digitally networked production means. On-demand production is realized in so-called "microfactories", which are individualized and produce only for actual demand. This production method can be achieved through regional, networked value chains and enables the traceability of materials and manufacturing processes.

The dress presented at the award ceremony is an example of the cooperation and the different qualifications of the project partners: TNO (Netherlands Organization for Applied Scientific Research) provided sustainably produced pulp. The HighPerCell fibers were produced in DITF's spinning facilities. At the same time, designers from the fashion label Vretena created the design for the flexible, two-piece dress, which can be knitted without cutting waste. DITF textile experts worked with the designers to develop the knitting pattern. DITF textile engineers and technicians produced the knitted fabric and assembled the dress at the institutes’ technical center. DITF computer scientists and engineers created the "value chain" and "digital twins" for digital traceability of the production processes.

The innovation prize was awarded to the HEREWEAR consortiu for their joint achievement. Representatives of DITF Denkendorf and Vretena accepted the award on behalf of the EU project partners.

Active Apparel Group (AAG), manufacturer of performance apparel for the leisure/lifestyle and active market, announces the seventh anniversary of their partnership with the sustainable textile finishing brand FUZE Technologies.

AAG is the first apparel manufacturer to adopt FUZE’s permanent, chemical-free textile finish, and the only company in China able to apply FUZE in a closed-loop system. AAG leverages the platform to provide a range of performance characteristics to customers, including odor control, UV protection, moisture management, and cooling.

The FUZE finish utilizes gold and silver particles permanently bonded to a wide variety of natural and synthetic materials to achieve a range of performance characteristics. AAG customers employing the FUZE finish create apparel for the yoga, active lifestyle, workout, golf, and swimwear markets. 

Messe Frankfurt will extend its footprint in the Central Asian market by establishing seven brand events in Tashkent, Uzbekistan. The country’s strategic location as a crossroads of Europe and Asia positions it as a promising trade gateway and transportation hub, facilitating the economic development of neighbouring countries and access to the wider region. The company’s stronger presence in the market will promote business opportunities and foster the sustainable development of pillar industries, including cosmetics, textiles and clothing, automotive, logistics and transportation.

Uzbekistan has a promising consumer market with significant potential. It is the largest in Central Asia and is expected to increase due to population growth, rising incomes and the modernisation of economic and industry sectors.
 
The nation has actively sought to diversify its economy in recent years, undertaking reforms for greater entrepreneurial freedom and opening up to more international and regional cooperation. The country already exports precious metals, textiles and agricultural produce. It imports machinery, equipment, means of transportation, and vehicle components from foreign trading partners. Attracting overseas investment is also apparent through incentives such as tax benefits, reduced import duties and simplified procedures for overseas investors.
 
In addition, shifting global supply chains and trading patterns could also drive opportunities in the region. The nation benefits from its geographical location owing to its position between Asia and Europe, to which the Uzbek Government recognises the prospects of investing in infrastructure, such as transportation and logistics, to create an efficient transit hub. Against this backdrop, China acknowledges the importance of developing routes along the Belt and Road while Europe has expressed a readiness to support Uzbekistan’s efforts to diversify transport corridors.

Line-up of shows include:

• Automechanika Tashkent; Futuroad Expo Tashkent; and, Scalex Tashkent: 23 – 25 October 2024
• Heimtextil Uzbekistan; Texworld Tashkent; and, Apparel Sourcing Tashkent: 6 – 8 November 2024
• Beautyworld Central Asia: 21 – 23 November 2024

RUDOLF announces a significant leap in textile performance with the introduction of bio-based innovations for its HYDROCOOL® technology, a moisture management product line.

HYDROCOOL® technologies have long been the standard for wicking moisture away from the skin to keep athletes and active people comfortable and dry. RUDOLF has taken this performance to a higher level with the integration of bio-based raw materials and their new products, RUCO®-PUR BIO SLB and FERAN® BIO ICR. These bio-based ingredients, derived from renewable sources offering:

• Reduced environmental impact: By using bio-based materials, RUDOLF reduces its reliance on traditional petroleum-based raw materials, minimizing the environmental footprint of its products.
• High performance: The new bio-based formulations are as efficient as the traditional HYDROCOOL® products and offer maximum wash resistance.
• RUCO®-PUR BIO SLB is a bio-based finishing agent that is ideal for synthetics, cellulosic and blends. It offers a bio-based content of 43% and is therefore an important step towards a more sustainable textile industry.
• FERAN® BIO ICR is a bio-based soil release agent specially developed for polyester and its blends. It has a 87% bio-based content, further underlining the commitment from RUDOLF for sustainable innovation.

SEEK is not only presenting the first edition of its new chapter in January 2024 but is also welcoming a new partner on board: UNION Showroom. The new alliance from Berlin combines the strengths of both formats intending to offer buyers from all over the world an even more comprehensive experience in Germany's fashion capital.

With united forces, the two teams led by Marie-Luise Patzelt (SEEK) and Felix Engelmann (UNION Showroom) are showcasing their new project "THE JUNCTION". A selection of brands will be presented in Station Berlin's exclusive loft spaces, including Nudie Jeans, Tenue, Viberg, White Sand, Paltò, Freenote Cloth, Ootoo Boots and A New Sweden. At the same time, the lofts are the transition to the UNION Showroom, taking place at the neighbouring Kühlhaus. The collaboration embodies the idea of a cooperative platform that enables buyers to discover the best collections from both platforms.

THE JUNCTION starts simultaneously with UNION on 14.01.24 and ends with SEEK on 17.01.24.