Leather company sponsors 2023 Florida Python Challenge

August 1, 2023  |  Swatches

INVERSA Leathers sponsored the $10,000 grand prize award for Florida’s 2023 Python Challenge, an annual 10-day event that tasks participants with humanely removing as many Burmese pythons from the Everglades as possible.
Research produces a supercharged textile finish

August 1, 2023  |  Swatches

Scientists have developed a simple metallic coating treatment for clothing or wearable textiles that can repair itself, repel bacteria from the wearer and even monitor a person’s electrocardiogram (ECG) heart signals. Researchers from Flinders University in South Australia, North Carolina State U…
Microscale knots double tensile strength of new material

August 1, 2023  |  Swatches

Knots are known for boosting the strength of materials, including the tiniest twists of DNA. The California Institute of Technology (Caltech) in Pasadena reports that engineers there have developed a new material consisting of microscale knots and shown that it’s far tougher than a version of the…
Biomaterial created from bacterial fermentation

August 1, 2023  |  Swatches

Biotechnology company Modern Synthesis has developed a biomaterial from bacterial fermentation that can be used to create a low-carbon alternative to traditional clothing fabrics. The biomaterial was developed in the company’s London, England, lab by growing nanocellulose (a lightweight material p…
LEDs to replace fluorescent and incandescent lighting

August 1, 2023  |  Swatches

Because of the U.S. phaseout of incandescent and fluorescent bulbs begun in 2007, organizations are in search of equivalent lighting replacements to be used for product testing methods, such as appearance, crease retention and stain-release tests. 
Detecting exhaustion with smart yarn, no chips required

August 1, 2023  |  Swatches

Pushing fatigued muscles past the exhaustion point can cause injury. Prevention—through the detection of exhaustion—is the goal of a new textile sensor that ETH Zurich researchers are working on in the Biomedical and Mobile Health Technology Lab. 
Cellulose film could lower buildings’ energy use

August 1, 2023  |  Swatches

Keeping buildings cool typically means releasing greenhouse gases. Researchers from the University of Cambridge in England recently unveiled a bio-based film that gets cooler when exposed to sunlight and does not require an external power source. And it comesin colors, without using dyes.
Fog collector helps neighborhoods without city water access

August 1, 2023  |  Swatches

Condensing fog on fabric in arid and/or high-elevation locations is not a new concept, though a small-scale fog collector is not an everyday sight in people’s backyards. In Colombia, not everyone has in-home access to municipal water infrastructure, especially in low-income, informal neighborhoods…