9 Fabric Technologies That Are Revolutionizing the Textiles Industry

While the textiles industry has always emphasized innovation, the last few years have seen the sector embrace innovative technologies like never before. Partially driven by environmental concerns, this emphasis on new textile technologies is changing the way we conceive of fabric manufacturing and providing consumers with greater choice and the ability to consume textile products in a way that reflects and accommodates their personal values.

With this in mind, we wanted to examine the most influential emerging textile technologies in 2024. Covering everything from odor-control fabric solutions to biodegradable fibers, this is a comprehensive guide to the nine fabric technologies revolutionizing the textile industry.

2024’s biggest textile industry technology trends

To understand why certain fabric technologies are having such a significant impact, we must look at the key trends driving innovation in the industry.

1. Sustainability

Arguably the most important concept in today’s textile industry, sustainability is the word on everyone’s lips. Brands are more and more aware that consumers are rejecting environmentally unfriendly products, and most companies are looking for ways to introduce greater sustainability into their material sourcing, manufacturing processes, and supply chains. Essentially, climate change and environmental concerns are forcing textile manufacturers to rethink how they operate and enact change.

2. Increasing production costs

For many manufacturers, increasing production costs mean they must find efficiency savings wherever possible. Rising costs put companies under considerable financial pressure and typically necessitate innovation while encouraging businesses to minimize waste. Only the innovative tend to survive when things get tough.

3. Shifting consumer attitudes

Over the next decade, we will see Gen Z overtake millennials as the dominant economic force in society. With this, consumer attitudes will shift drastically, too. Gen Zers are typically more eco-aware and have an expanded definition of sustainability. For these younger consumers, sustainability also incorporates factors like fair labor practices and the circular economy. We can expect to see this reflected in the way brands court this financially powerful and increasingly influential customer demographic.

4. Rejection of fast fashion

Going hand-in-hand with the emphasis on greater sustainability is a rejection of fast fashion. The dominant business model for much of the last two decades, fast fashion emphasized the regular purchasing of short-term, replaceable clothing. Unfortunately, this has had terrible economic consequences, with the Center for Biological Diversity estimating that the fashion industry was responsible for 10% of all global carbon dioxide emissions during this period. Today, this simply does not wash with consumers, and there is a concerted move away from consumables and toward durables.

5. Manufacturing advances

Finally, we should also consider the extensive manufacturing advances taking place. AI, 3D printing, and robotics are all enabling manufacturers to develop and deliver new products while improving efficiency, reducing costs, and limiting wastage.

Our top nine innovative fabric technologies

The textile and clothing industries are constantly evolving as brands attempt to capture consumer imaginations and distinguish themselves. This makes the industries hotbeds of innovation. With this in mind, here are our top nine innovative fabric technologies for 2024.

1. Odor-control textile technology

Odor-control textile technology is having an incredible impact on the textile and clothing industries, enabling manufacturers to create products that stay fresher for longer and require less washing. For consumers, this means they can wear clothes more frequently without having to wash them or worry about unpleasant smells. As a result, wearers are more confident and comfortable.

But odor-control technologies also have a positive impact on product sustainability. By reducing the need for washing, they reduce the energy and resource costs associated with maintaining and cleaning textile products. Because the fabrics are not washed as often, they also last longer, helping consumers and brands transition from replaceable consumables to long-lasting durables. A recent Life Cycle Assessment on an odor-control Polygiene-treated T-shirt demonstrated that the technology generates considerable sustainability benefits by enabling consumers to skip every other wash. It showed that skipping every second wash:

• Reduced the T-shirt’s total environmental impact by a third.
• Saves up to 51 kWh every year.
• Saves approximately 3,800 liters of water every year.
• Frees up four full days that would otherwise be spent on laundry.

By combining performance and sustainability benefits, odor-control textile additives are quickly becoming one of the most exciting fabric technologies on the market. Though they can work in several ways, solutions that utilize silver ion or silica-based technologies are most effective. You can find both types of textile technologies in the Polygiene solution portfolio.

The antimicrobial Polygiene StayFresh™ solution features silver chloride, a naturally occurring salt that prevents the growth of odor-causing bacteria on textiles. It works by preventing cellular growth, inhibiting the enzymes responsible for energy production, and interrupting cellular DNA and replication. Polygiene OdorCrunch™ eliminates environmental odors by using silica particles to capture the odor particles that cling to fabric fibers, break them down and release them.

Learn more about Polygiene StayFresh™ and Polygiene OdorCrunch™ solutions.

2. New fibers

Many companies are also experimenting with new fibers and fabrics. Partly driven by the desire for more sustainable fibers and partly by an interest in improving textile performance, innovators are constantly searching for unique fabric sources in the hope that they hit upon the next cotton or polyester.

SeaCell is just one of these new fibers. Made from knotted wrack seaweed that is traditionally grown in Icelandic fjord farms, the fiber is completely biodegradable, skin-safe, and sustainable. The seaweed is typically mixed with cellulose to create a usable fiber and potentially benefits from anti-inflammatory qualities. Startups are also exploring the potential of spider silk. Stronger than steel but remarkably flexible, spider silk is currently far too difficult to farm, labor-intensive, and expensive for mass production. However, these startups are experimenting with synthetic equivalents based on the proteins found in spider silk that could find applications in the textile industry.

3. Smart fabrics

We live in a connected world and, with the advent of the Internet of Things (IoT) technology, it was only a matter of time before smart fabrics became the next big thing in textiles. Smart fabrics leverage sensors and other relevant digital technologies to collect information about our bodies and environment. In passive smart textiles, this data is simply made accessible to the warmer. This category can include fabrics that measure heart rate or body temperature. In active smart textiles, this data also informs textile performance.

For example, Wearable X Nadi X Smart Yoga Pants feature haptic feedback technologies that vibrate to guide you through yoga poses and improve your positioning. While early applications focus primarily on the medical, sports and military sectors, we can expect to see these advanced fabric technologies filter through to consumer textiles in the near future.

4. 3D printing

3D printing is impacting a wide variety of industries, including the textiles and fashion sectors. In clothing design and manufacturing, it enables more complex and detailed designs, as well as making it easier to integrate other fascinating technologies, such as sensors and electronics. At the same time, 3D scanning and manufacturing tools can help designers tailor clothing to specific silhouettes, resulting in more bespoke apparel.

Interestingly, 3D printing is also helping clothing manufacturers to eliminate waste, reduce resource consumption and improve sustainability in the industry. With performance-focused apparel and equipment, such as sports clothing, 3D printing is revolutionizing design. Latticing techniques and complex cut-out constructions enable manufacturers to remove weight from shoes, clothes, and other equipment without impacting overall strength and durability. The Adidas 4DFWD running shoes are arguably the best-known example of this.

5. Robotic manufacturing methods

In the manufacturing realm, developments in robotics are helping to reduce costs, enhance productivity and drive greater efficiency. One of the clearest examples of this is robotic sewing machines. Capable of performing the highly repetitive sewing work required by the clothing industry with increasing precision and accuracy, robots reduce the scope for error and help to achieve consistency across an entire product range.

Sewing robotics are also being complemented by automated cutting machinery and more automated manufacturing plants. Cutting machinery improves manufacturing speed and minimizes waste, while AI technology enables manufacturing facilities to become increasingly self-operational. In many instances, this is encouraging manufacturers to return to territories where traditional manufacturing was previously off-shored.

6. Personalization textile technologies

Fashion is one of the most widely accepted means of personal expression. Our choice of clothes says a lot about who we are or how we want to present ourselves. As a result, consumers often seek out unique items that reflect their individuality and sense of self.

In the textiles industry, innovative personalization technologies are making bespoke clothing a reality for a much broader range of customers. 3D scanning and modeling are central to this new wave of personalization solutions, as they allow consumers to collaborate with designers and manufacturers to create made-to-fit items with a truly personal touch. However, other forms of personalization are also making waves. For example, VR and AR technologies enable consumers to try on products and adapt them in a virtual environment. Behavioral data also allows brands to deliver tailored product suggestions and create items to meet emerging customer needs and demands.

7. Recycled fabrics

Textile technology innovation is not just for market disruptors. Even the world’s biggest and most established clothing brands are getting in on the act. For instance, Levi’s now manufactures jeans using 100% recycled cotton sourced from old T-shirts. It plans to use only third-party preferred or certified more sustainable primary materials by 2030 and has introduced its first fully recyclable model, Levi’s Circular 501 Jeans, removing all elements that would disrupt reclamation and recycling processes, such as pocket detailing, labels, and any synthetic fibers.

Other organizations are taking similar steps, with H&M aiming to only use recycled polyester in clothing by 2025 and to ensure 50% of all materials used in the brand’s products are recycled by 2030 (H&M). UNIQLO has also implemented an in-store recycling program, through which consumers can return UNIQLO items to one of the collection boxes in its stores for proper recycling.

8. Biodegradable textiles

Sustainability is not just about product origins. It encompasses end-of-life considerations, too. For this reason, many fabric companies are experimenting with biodegradable textiles. Biodegradable textiles have the potential to be bioengineered from living organisms, such as bacteria, algae, fungi or yeast. These living organisms can eventually be broken down into completely safe and non-toxic waste products.

Biodegradable textiles could play a significant role in minimizing textile waste and tackling the problem of fast fashion. Crucially, fibers made from algae display all the qualities you need of fabric used in commercial applications. They are strong, flexible, and can be colored with non-chemical dyes. Even more promisingly, some fibers can be grown in molds, ensuring the exact amount is produced and further reducing waste in the manufacturing process.

9. Antimicrobial fabric treatments

Antimicrobial fabric treatments and odor-control technologies often cross over. In fact, Polygiene StayFresh is both an odor-control solution and an antimicrobial fabric treatment. However, the use cases for antimicrobials extend far beyond eliminating unpleasant smells. Manufacturers can also utilize them to keep fabrics clean between washes – a particularly useful quality in hygiene-critical environments.

As textile companies recognize the power of advanced antimicrobial fabric treatments like Polygiene StayFresh, a growing number are incorporating them into their products. From medical applications, such as scrubs and hospital bedding, to products in the food industry, like chef’s whites and food packaging and storage solutions, antimicrobial fabric treatments are everywhere.

Explore Polygiene’s innovative fabric technologies

At Polygiene, we specialize in textile freshness technologies and are responsible for some of the most innovative fabric solutions on the market. While Polygiene StayFresh prevents the growth of odor-causing bacteria, Polygiene OdorCrunch eliminates environmental odors that cling to fabric fibers. Polygiene ViralOff™ takes antimicrobial protection to the next level, effectively reducing 99.99% of microorganisms on treated fabrics, including SARS-Cov-2 (COVID-19), Influenza A, bird flu, and Norovirus. All Polygiene solutions are integrated into fabrics at the point of manufacture, providing 24/7 protection for a product’s entire lifespan.

To learn more about Polygiene textile technologies, explore our Polygiene StayFresh™ Polygiene OdorCrunch™solutions pages, or reach out to the Polygiene team.

 

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