AFFOA collaborates with University of Oregon and Bemis Associates

Advanced Functional Fabrics of America (AFFOA) has announced that its Transdisciplinary Workshop model will be brought to the West Coast, in partnership with the University of Oregon’s sports product design graduate program and Bemis Associates. This initiative invites students to collaborate in studio teams to prototype advanced tactical apparel and gear utilizing Bemis’ EverFit™ Sewfree® elastic replacement adhesives, aimed at both commercial and Department of Defense applications.

“Oregon is a hub for innovation in the sports apparel industry, and we are excited to facilitate this collaboration,” says Robert Finnegan, AFFOA’s director of education and workforce development. “We believe that transformative advancements in design and manufacturability occur when interdisciplinary teams work together to tackle real-world challenges. The University of Oregon’s sports product design program exemplifies this commitment, and we look forward to the groundbreaking solutions the students will create.”

“This initiative offers our students a diverse array of potential applications in both consumer and defense markets for radically innovative advanced textile products. We can’t wait to see how they leverage AFFOA’s expertise and Bemis’ EverFit technology to develop next-generation solutions,” says Susain Sokolowski, Ph.D., professor of product design at the University of Oregon.

“We see this innovative collaboration as a way to create a ‘prosumer’ use case. If a design can be effective in Department of Defense applications, we are confident it will excel in the commercial sector,” says Daniel Calabrese, director of design and applications at Bemis Associates and alumnus of the University of Oregon’s sports product design program.