Reebok’s adaptive shoes

August 1, 2022  |  Swatches

Reebok has teamed up with Zappos Adaptive to launch a sneaker collection specifically designed to empower people with disabilities. Named ‘Fit to Fit’, the adaptive footwear is envisioned for functionality and inclusivity without compromising on style. There are two sneaker models in the collect…
Read More
Sourcing from the sea

August 1, 2022  |  Swatches

Textile dyeing is a large and polluting industry. Synthetic dyes are a threat to the environment because of the dangerous chemicals that they often contain. One company, the Netherlands-based startup Zeefier, is taking a natural approach to changing that. Dutch designer Nienke Hoogvliet teamed up wi…
Read More
Alternative leather from cows?

July 1, 2022  |  Swatches

We’ve seen all kinds of alternative leather products made from such things as mycelium, pineapple leaves, coconuts, apple waste and more. But how about an “alternative” leather product that isn’t really an alternative? It sounds odd, but VitroLabs Inc., a California-based biotech company, is…
Read More
Color by nanocrystal

July 1, 2022  |  Swatches

Colorful fabrics are beautiful, but creating them is one of the world’s largest sources of water pollution. Textile mills have been known to dump residual dyes and hazardous chemicals into canals, streams and rivers. 
Read More
Weaving in Wi-Fi

July 1, 2022  |  Swatches

For most of us technology becomes part of our day almost from the moment we wake up. At the Simon Fraser University School of Interactive Art and Technology (SIAT), researchers are weaving “threads” of Wi-Fi into fabric as a way of pushing boundaries to further understand how technology impacts …
Read More
Cotton, polyester … and okra

July 1, 2022  |  Swatches

Many commercial textiles today are made of cotton and polyester blends and can be found in everything from T-shirts to canvas products. But researchers in Lahore, Pakistan, are adding a new ingredient to the list: okra. The stem waste from okra—also known as ladyfingers—is being used to create v…
Read More
Company pays towns for used textiles

July 1, 2022  |  Swatches

The town of Bow, N.H., will soon join 17 other communities in the Northeast, in a program that pays the town to let a company pick up used clothing, textiles and shoes at people’s homes so they can be reused rather than trashed.
Read More
Spider silk replica made from brewed protein

July 1, 2022  |  Swatches

Spider silk is incredibly strong—five times stronger than steel—and it has been used in far-ranging applications, including wear-resistant lightweight clothing, ropes, parachutes, biodegradable bottles, surgical bandages and more.
Read More
Improving the design of soft, assistive wearables

July 1, 2022  |  Swatches

Scientists from MIT’s Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence Laboratory (CSAIL) have devised a scalable pipeline to computationally design and digitally fabricate soft pneumatic actuators. Called “PneuAct,” it has resolved the challenge with soft robotics, which have required manual desi…
Read More
Ionic skin could improve prosthetic devices

July 1, 2022  |  Swatches

Researchers have worked to build a smart skin that can mimic the sensing capabilities of natural skin, but until now, this has been elusive. A team of scientists at the University of British Columbia (UBC) have had success with ionic skins made of flexible, biocompatible hydrogels that use ions to c…
Read More