Engineered fabrics for durable apparel

Innovation pathway relevant to

  • Mechanical engineers
  • Healthcare professionals
  • Automotive professionals
  • Nanotechnology professionals
  • Sports industry professionals

Background & introduction

Fast fashion is leading to a mountain of clothing being thrown away each year and has a huge impact on the environment. In 2020, about 18.6 million tons of clothing .up in landfill. Clothing is hard to recycle due to its complex nature of materials; it also takes nearly 200 years to decompose in a landfill, during which it releases harmful greenhouse gases.

Thus, designing garments for durability and longevity, as well as using sustainable materials is critical to minimize clothing ending up in landfills.

Engineered fabrics using nanotechnology and other advanced technologies could enable fashion brands to design clothing with durability and longevity for specialized applications such as medical, textiles, transport, sporting etc.

What are the key sustainability benefits?

Use of engineered fabrics could significantly extend the life of garments, while also minimizing the environmental impacts of landfilling them. They have low density, high moisture and abrasion resistance and involve easy manufacturing techniques.

How does this work?

Engineered fabrics are limited to woven, nonwoven, knitted and braided fabrics manufactured by modified fabric manufacturing techniques. Engineered fabrics involve the use of different fibre materials which are first separated into two or more sheets and prepared for weft insertion. Secondary motions are incorporated to make the provision for the supply of warp and weft warp yarns and for the cloth.

Most of the engineered fabrics are manufactured by assembly of fibers, yarns and/or strips of material which have a very high surface area in comparison to their thickness and have sufficient mechanical strength.

Keywords

  • Engineered fabrics
  • Non-woven textiles
  • High strength textiles
  • Durable textiles

Knowledge resources

Introductory Chapter: Engineered Fabrics

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Fabric properties and their characteristics

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A new Textile Economy: Redesigning Fashion's Future

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Experts within Engineered Coated Fabrics

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Chemical-free Thermoregulation Fabrics

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Updates