Functional textiles

“Adopt the multi-functional fibre”

For more information, contact us.

■  Innovating to stand out from standardised and globalised productions is an industry priority. In the textiles field in particular, the last thirty years have shown what can come about in economic and social terms from heightened competition between countries that pay their labour based on the previous century's standards.

■  Thus, making products intelligent is a major innovation focus of a growing number of industries. We know, for example, that textiles no longer fulfil the sole purpose of clothing, but have one or more added-value and added-perception services.

■  New fabrics evacuate perspiration and are water-proof; they keep bad smells in and diffuse pleasant ones; they protect our skin from the sun; they provide controlled thermal comfort; they protect wearers of pacemakers from electromagnetic disturbances, etc.

■  The European market alone of breathable and waterproof fabrics today represents around 3 billion Francs and has been growing at an annual rate of 8% since 1992. More generally, the market of climatic fabrics for sport, trekking or casual wear is particularly rich in innovations, regularly generated by material suppliers and development partners. Existing fibres are perfected by playing with their structure; surface coatings are being developed to make clothes lighter, comfortable and nice to wear.

■  In the same way as the “health foods” concept was developed, the current trend for “health clothes” is developing thanks to bioactive fabrics. It is thus possible to protect ourselves from insects, bacteria and mites with our clothes.

■  Beyond clothing, functional textiles – woven and non-woven – have potentially innumerable applications; they have a sure future in vehicle interiors (chairs, fittings, self-cleaning filters) and under the bonnet (fire retardant, thermal and acoustic barriers), in the building sector (heating and air conditioning, cable cladding), the health sector (compresses, active dressings, operating fields, compression strips), the hygiene and cosmetics sector (super-absorbents, anti-bacterial, fungicides, anti-mite, algaecides), the environment (active membranes), the public works sector (drains) or in agriculture (solarisation and biological control).

■  The success of multi-functional products, which fulfil consumer trends, are leading industrial players (including in Asia) to double their creativity and intensify their research and development efforts. Around five hundred patents have been published in the last twelve months, securing a series of original applications.

■  At a time when innovation in this field is experiencing astonishing international growth, and in order to enable industrial players concerned to imagine the applications they could adopt, Innovation 128 and its network of international correspondents has been proposing, since 1999, a Technological Watch Programme, TechWatch, which intends to regularly select technical and economic information validated by the best experts.

Main themes

■  Functionalisation of polymers, fibres and textiles

  • Chemical functionalisation (by chemical reaction of modification of the composition; by coating, cladding, etc.; by reactive plasma; other)
  • Biochemical functionalisation
  • Modification of functions by physical method (irradiation; non-reactive plasma; mechanical action; gluing or lamination; mixing)
  • Decoration and colouring

■  New functions of fibres and textiles

  • Functions of a physical nature (thermal properties; resistance to high temperature and to fire; protection from rays; electrical and anti-static behaviour; anti-ballistic properties)
  • Functions of a chemical nature
  • Functions of a biological nature (anti-bacterial/anti-microbial/anti-fungal treatment; anti-odour behaviour; anti-dirt protection; anti-allergic behaviour)

■  Applications and markets

  • Comfort
  • Health and hygiene
  • Clothing
  • Sports and Leisure
  • Protection
  • Industry and environment
  • Transport industry
  • Housing industry

■  The Tissue Library

This is a selection of innovative fibre or textile samples corresponding to different functions. Technical data sheets are given to participants.