A foldable bike helmet for safer cycling

February 1, 2020  |  Swatches

It’s foldable, it’s lightweight and it can take multiple impacts. That’s the beauty of a bike helmet made with a specially designed flexible material. The Hedkayse One was developed by Tony Walker and Andy Creak, two university friends who started their U.K. company Hedkayse to build a better …
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Protect your gear for life with the Khyte messenger bag

February 1, 2020  |  Swatches

You’ve got precious cargo: a laptop, a smartphone, important papers … the list goes on. Keeping those goods protected and secure in all weather conditions is now one less thing to worry about thanks to the folks at Mission Workshop. The San Francisco, Calif.-based maker of technical bags and…
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Ski jacket for smarter sweating

February 1, 2020  |  Swatches

It may be cold on the slopes, but on a downhill run it’s easy to build up sweat. Skiers understand all too well the discomfort of sweat trapped inside clothing. The post-activity chill that results from having saturated inner garments is not only uncomfortable, it’s hard on your muscles and can …
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Peak performance lava gear

February 1, 2020  |  Swatches

What does one wear when working on an active volcano near lava ranging from 1,300 to 2,000° F? It’s a real dilemma for volcanologists—geologists who study the formation and eruptive activity of volcanoes. Alan Whittington, chair of Geological Sciences at the University of Missouri, was vexed by…
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A fort for the record books

January 1, 2020  |  Swatches

Remember as a kid the fun of building a fort with your friends? The folks at Time4Sleep, a U.K.-based bed and bedroom furniture retailer, channeled those good memories when they decided to build a record-breaking fort made out of blankets. The Time4Sleep team chose Millennium Square in Leeds, U.K., …
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Smart seat covers for planes

January 1, 2020  |  Swatches

How can you have a better experience flying economy? The answer may lie in smart textiles and their ability to respond to individual needs. That’s the idea behind Move, a digitally knitted seat cover that puts the airplane passenger in control. The cover “reads” your body and enables you to ma…
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Crafting social change

January 1, 2020  |  Swatches

A unique project in the Maai Mahiu region of Kenya empowers communities by employing local women to create bags, jewelry and shoes. Ubuntu Life started as a center for children with disabilities. Once the children received the care they needed, the mothers started looking for employment opportuniti…
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Wheat straw gets a wearable makeover

January 1, 2020  |  Swatches

Wheat straw, long regarded as agricultural waste, is getting a makeover as a unique textile. The first knitted T-shirt, jacket and skirt were introduced in October 2019 at the Textile Exchange Sustainability Conference in Vancouver, Canada. The pieces featured the woven material on organic cotton wa…
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A community space, upcycled

January 1, 2020  |  Swatches

What do you see in used scrap material? Designers Ann Ha and Behrang Behin saw a work of art. Their Behin Ha Design Studio LLC was commissioned to create a temporary shade structure by the Pomerene Center for the Arts in Coshocton, Ohio.  The setting was artPark, created by the Pomerene Center at t…
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Want a smart fabric? Print it.

December 1, 2019  |  Swatches

What if you could create a smart fabric in just minutes—one that can store energy? Scientists at RMIT University in Australia have developed the technology to make this possible. They’ve developed a laser-printing process to rapidly fabricate textiles that are embedded with energy storage device…
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