In the rapidly evolving world of textiles, the integration of technology is not just a trend but a revolution that’s transforming the industry. From innovating wellness fabrics to developing apparel that offers adaptive features in extreme conditions, technical textiles play a pivotal role in modern industries, offering numerous functionalities beyond conventional fabrics.
In this guide, we will explore the 12 categories of technical textiles, highlighting emerging applications of fabric technology advancements and how they are shaping the technical textiles of the future. Among these textile innovations, infrared technology continues to make waves, offering a unique wellness solution that has applications across the full spectrum of technical textiles.
According to industry market research, technical textiles account for approximately 30% of the total textile market worldwide. The global technical textiles market is projected to reach a value of over $220 billion by 2025, with a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of around 6% from 2021 to 2025, evidencing the increasing consumer demand for textile products that go above and beyond their basic capabilities.
Technical textiles represent a specialized segment of the textile industry focused on function over form. This area of textile technology encompasses materials and products designed for specific technical performances and functionalities across various industries. Unlike conventional textiles which primarily prioritize aesthetics and comfort, technical textiles are engineered to fulfill functional or performance-oriented requirements such as added durability, strength, or responsiveness to various environmental factors.
There are applications for technical textiles across various industries including automotive, aerospace, healthcare, apparel, agriculture and sports, among others. Technical textiles encompass a wide range of products including, but not limited to, home textiles, medical textiles, protective clothing, automotive textiles and smart textiles. These innovative materials play a crucial role in enhancing product performance and providing solutions to complex challenges in modern manufacturing processes. Technical textiles continue to drive advancements in material science, offering versatile solutions to meet evolving industrial and consumer needs.
Technical textiles are organized based on their functionalities and applications. The 12 main categories of technical textiles are:
Technical textiles are a testament to the evolution of textile innovation, addressing critical needs in both everyday life and specialized fields by offering solutions that are both practical and revolutionary. While the impacts of technical textiles are primarily designed to meet customer needs, textile innovation has benefits for brands and manufacturers as well as their customers. In fact, companies that prioritize innovation are growing at 16% higher rates than those who do not. Yet, less than a quarter of companies deliver disruptive innovations each year. Joining forces with an innovation partner, such as an ingredient brand, can facilitate the integration of cutting-edge technology into technical textile products and beyond, marrying materials science with functionality to expand the boundaries of what textiles can achieve.
While some functional fabric features have become more common across technical textiles and are even expected by consumers, such as moisture-wicking, four-way stretch and antimicrobial fabric treatments, material innovation continues to propel the technical textiles sector forward. The next generation of textile innovation is rooted in the development and adoption of advanced and next-gen materials that integrate responsive features, such as wearable technology or infrared technology, to enhance their benefits and effectiveness. These emerging textile technologies denote a shift in focus from simply adding physical features to fabrics, to creating fabrics that actually deliver physiological benefits.
Let’s take a closer look at infrared technology applications within relevant categories of technical textiles, exploring opportunities for infrared technology to further differentiate advanced fabrics.
Infrared textile technology is an emerging innovation that harnesses the health and wellness benefits of infrared light and adds them into textile products ranging from apparel and sports gear to upholstery, car and airplane interiors, medical fabrics and more.
CELLIANT®, a proprietary blend of bioceramic minerals that have the ability to emit infrared light, is a leading infrared technology that can be embedded into fibers and yarns or printed on the surface of fabrics. CELLIANT works by capturing heat that escapes from the body and converting it into IR energy, which is then reflected back to the body and absorbed into muscles and tissues.
The primary physiological effects of CELLIANT are increased local circulation and increased cellular oxygenation. These changes result in numerous health and wellness benefits, including:
The diverse benefits of infrared can elevate product applications across nearly all categories of technical textiles, offering enhanced benefits to consumers and helping brands differentiate their textile products.
Infrared technology is a natural fit for clothtech innovation, which includes the textile components of clothing and footwear, due to the close proximity of these products to the body. CELLIANT infrared apparel and footwear deliver physiological and wellness benefits directly from the fabric to the wearer. Depending on the application, infrared technology can be a key ingredient in clothtech textiles that are designed to help the body regulate temperature, enhance performance, speed recovery or promote restful sleep.
CELLIANT has several partners who are innovating clothtech products, ranging from Duluth Trading Co.’s CELLIANT-powered underwear and loungewear collections, to technical infrared socks from Oxeego, to Under Armour x CELLIANT athletic apparel and infrared footwear, and beyond.
Considering the average American spend approximately 70 percent of their time inside their residences, incorporating additional benefits into hometech textiles that make up our interiors is essential. Infrared technology can differentiate upholstery, mattresses and bedding with properties that can boost overall well-being and even promote restful sleep. The application of infrared in home furnishings marks a significant advancement, as it helps to transform everyday living spaces into environments that support health and wellness.
CELLIANT partnership with Crypton, experts in cleanable, durable performance fabrics, and Kravet, the industry leaders in the home furnishings space, works to achieve just that. Together, we innovated the first hometech textiles for well-being, the Wellness Textures collection, which has been hailed for its innovation by Architectural Digest.
Hometech textiles in the sleep and bedding industries were one of the first applications that the team behind CELLIANT infrared technology explored, and still remain a key pillar of our business today. We are proud to be partnered with global leaders in sleep products, such as BEAR Mattress, Purecare, Sleepletics, SleepHive, Schlarafia, Isbir and more.
Infrared technology has been clinically demonstrated to provide measurable physiological benefits down to the cellular level. When incorporated into meditech textiles, infrared technology offers a way for consumers to take their health into their own hands and positively impact their overall well-being with non-invasive therapeutics, all from the comfort of their home.
For example, CELLIANT IR tech powers CURAD’s Performance Series of infrared support products, designed to help athletes perform stronger and recover faster following physical fatigue. CURAD is a sub-brand under Medline, a healthcare company, manufacturer, distributor and solutions provider focused on improving the overall operating performance of healthcare.
Our partners at Omnipemf have developed a PEMF therapy device, designed to promote comfort and faster recovery, that features a CELLIANT-infused cover for extra health benefits derived from infrared light therapy.
In the mobiltech textiles sector, which serves the automotive and aerospace industries, the application of infrared technology introduces a new level of passenger comfort and wellness. Utilizing infrared textiles in vehicle interiors, such as seat coverings, enhances thermal regulation, helping passengers maintain a consistent temperature that can adapt to changing external conditions. This helps to improve passenger comfort during long journeys to ensure a more pleasant travel experience, showcasing how infrared technology can easily integrate into the fabric of our daily commute.
Infrared technology’s ability to increase local circulation can be especially helpful in aircraft textile applications, from airline seat fabrics to in-flight accessories like blankets and pillows. Often, we remain seated for extended periods of time on airplanes. Long periods of sitting have been shown to contribute to poor circulation in the body. Incorporating textiles that can boost local circulation into transportation fabrics is a perfect application for infrared technology within the mobiltech space.
There is a significant amount of potential for infrared technology to enhance protech textiles. CELLIANT fabrics are what we refer to as bio-responsive, meaning they use inputs from their environment to create a biological response. For example, CELLIANT infrared technology has been demonstrated to support the body’s ability to regulate temperature, whether you run hot or cold. Because of this, it is a key textile ingredient suited for more extreme weather conditions.
CELLIANT brand partners have already begun to put IR tech to the test: DFND has several CELLIANT-powered collections, including their Hybrid Compression collection which features apparel that has been tested and worn by all branches of the U.S. Military. DFND’s Hybrid Compression Shirt has even become standard issue for many units for its performance and recovery benefits.
Infrared technology’s benefits for performance – increased energy, stamina, speed, strength and endurance, along with faster recovery – are vital for athletes looking to optimize their training and competitive performance. This integration of technology into sporttech textiles is not just about comfort; it’s about providing athletes with a competitive edge, enabling them to achieve new levels of excellence in their respective sports.
CELLIANT is also a key technology in recovery innovations, such as KT Tape’s Pro Oxgyen line of infrared kinesiology tape and even IR sauna linens and accessories for Sunlighten Saunas.
Are you looking for a technological innovation to set your brands’ textile products apart? CELLIANT may be the partner you need to take your existing products to the next level or re-imagine your product hierarchy altogether.
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