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Performance: the critical factor The performance textiles market
companies are developing innovative technologies to enhance product performance in the sector. For example, last year (2021) sportswear giant Puma launched its Ultraweave technology. According to the company, Ultraweave is its lightest-ever performance apparel technology engineered to optimise a footballer’s performance. And, a fibre that senses movement
much it is stretched or compressed and provides immediate tactile feedback in the form of pressure, lateral stretch or vibration. Such fabrics, the team suggests, could be used in garments to help wearers’ recover their breathing patterns. Also, the increased demand for athleisure has led to a new knitting technique called E-Knit, developed by MAS Holdings. Made with Stoll technology, the knit is created from a combination of staple and filament yarns and the process allows for manipulating the core properties of the fabric. Characteristics such as thickness, breathability and heat regulation can all be tweaked and the result is a garment that fits well and provides adequate support and enhanced comfort to the wearer. Such material advancements and demand for performance garments have enabled textile manufacturing businesses to return to pre-pandemic levels, according to the International Textile Manufacturers Federation’s (ITMF) 10th Covid-19 survey. Performance, therefore, is the key value when it comes to purchasing decisions in the sports and activewear markets. Sustainability will always come second to this. While players in the market and emerging start-ups are focusing on sustainability and attempting to improve the ingredients in their products and the way they are made, if the performance value decreases the switch to that more sustainable substitute is forsaken and more research and development (R&D) must take place. However, the industry is making inroads towards a more sustainable performance textile market. A lot of R&D is going in to discovering more environmentally-friendly solutions. A noteworthy development to mention comes from HeiQ. The Swiss company has created a continuous filament cellulose yarn capable of replacing polyester and nylon called AeoniQ. Carlo Centonze, co-founder and CEO, HeiQ, says: “At HeiQ, we’re trying to solve the problem of how to dress eight billion people sustainably. Eighteen million tonnes of polyester and nylon
(sportswear) has grown exponentially over recent years. The boom of the athleisure industry throughout the Covid-19 pandemic has compounded this growth with consumers demanding comfort and becoming increasingly concerned with fitness and wellbeing during national and regional lockdowns. The demand for a healthier lifestyle has propelled the activewear market to new heights. Performance will always be the determining factor for sportswear textile products and a number of
and provides immediate tactile feedback has been created by
researchers at Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) in the US. Dubbed OmniFiber, the fibre can sense how
E-Knit is created from a combination of staple and filament yarns
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