Material reacts to body heat

November 1, 2022  |  Swatches

Japan-based Mitsui Chemicals has developed a new material that detects and responds to body temperature. Called HUMOFIT®, the material becomes flexible when heated, making it easier to deform. When cooled down, it becomes hard. The material was developed with the concept of “being close to people…
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U.S.- Honduran partnership to train textile students

November 1, 2022  |  Swatches

North Carolina colleges and universities are joining forces with a key Honduran university to educate and train thousands of students for the next generation textile workforce to meet a rising tide of nearshoring and onshoring in Honduras, Central America and the United States.
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Wear your medicine

November 1, 2022  |  Swatches

Jordan Schindler had a problem. After a dermatologist told him that pillowcases were a leading cause of his acne, he was given a topical medication and told to wash his pillowcase multiple times a week. Instead, Schindler came up with a radical solution—embed active ingredients and medications int…
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Esquel Group adopts sustainable practices

November 1, 2022  |  Swatches

Hong Kong and mainland Chinese companies in the textile and garment industry are trying to burnish their image and do right by the environment by adopting more sustainable practices.
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Textile filter could capture

November 1, 2022  |  Swatches

North Carolina State University (NC State) researchers found they could filter carbon dioxide from air and gas mixtures at promising rates using a proposed new textile-based filter that combines cotton fabric and an enzyme called carbonic anhydrase—one of nature’s tools for speeding chemical rea…
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Digitally knitted structure shelters an outdoor space

November 1, 2022  |  Swatches

Jenny Sabin Studios, Ithaca, N.Y., is known for using knitting technologies to create structural and architectural applications. Sabin’s “exoKnit” at Neue House in New York City is a recent example of the designer pushing knitting beyond its traditional boundaries. The exoKnit project is a com…
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Bionic clothing integrates AI to expand mobility

November 1, 2022  |  Swatches

Bionic clothing brand CIONIC has collaborated with Swiss industrial designer Yves Béhar and his firm fuseproject to unveil the Neural Sleeve, designed to improve mobility. The FDA-cleared “bionic” leg wearable uses artificial intelligence (AI) to enable greater independence for those living wit…
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Self-rising hoodie

November 1, 2022  |  Swatches

A Rice University mechanical engineer has created a hoodie jacket that can raise and lower its own hood at the push of a button without electronics. 
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Reusable mask offers alternative to disposables

November 1, 2022  |  Swatches

The Flo Mask, a new kind of reusable face mask promises to be light, comfortable and as protective as common disposable masks. Reusable face masks (elastomeric respirators) do exist; the two-chambered gas mask is most familiar—and not popular in the marketplace. But a larger surface area is needed…
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Inflatable stretcher secures patients

October 1, 2022  |  Swatches

An industrial design student at Shih Chien University in Taiwan has invented an inflatable stretcher made of reinforced vinyl to securely hold a patient immobile while being transported. This is important especially in the case of broken bones, back, neck and head trauma. Yu-Hsin Wu’s stretcher fo…
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