Infrared Technology: A Key Improvement for Fabric Technology

Infrared technology is an excellent fit for a wide range of industries with textile products. The manufacturing of infrared textiles has come a long way in the past few years, making infusing IR technology into products both easier and applicable to a much wider range of fiber types. At CELLIANT®, we’ve been leading the charge in infrared-infused fiber types, especially sustainable fibers, as it is a primary focus for our research and development team. 

Infrared technology also gives brands a number of ways to differentiate their products with wellness benefits and storytelling. CELLIANT infrared technology has a number of physiological benefits for people, including increased local circulation, improved cellular oxygenation and improved thermoregulation. These benefits create a powerful motivation for wellness or performance-minded consumers to choose products powered by CELLIANT. Importantly, our benefits are backed by science. 

Let’s look at the product applications, the physiological benefits and associated research before diving into manufacturing, fiber types, and existing brands and industries that are seeing real value from a CELLIANT partnership. 

CELLIANT Has Researched Key Applications of Infrared Energy

Along with innovating new fiber types to embed CELLIANT into, our research and development team looks for new product categories that are a fit for infrared technology, working with our Science Advisory Board to create peer-reviewed studies to validate claims and strengthen storytelling. Here’s a breakdown of two key product areas that CELLIANT IR fabric technology is well-suited for.

INFRARED TECHNOLOGY FOR MATTRESSES & BEDDING

CELLIANT is a great fit for mattress and top of bed brands. Many of us have endured long nights where being too hot or too cold has kept us awake, tossing and turning. This is because temperature is a great indicator of homeostasis, when your body is in a state of balance and optimal function. When your body temperature fluctuates outside of its usual window, it can cause discomfort and other unwanted side effects that can disrupt sleep.  

While some may assume that CELLIANT is strictly an infrared heat technology that warms you up, CELLIANT actually supports temperature regulation, meaning it helps keep you cool when you are warm and helps keep you warm when you are cold. When infused into bedding and mattresses, CELLIANT captures your body heat while you sleep, converting it into infrared energy which is then reflected back to the body, increasing local circulation and improving cellular oxygenation to increase comfort, regulate temperature, promote restful sleep and speed recovery. Thermoregulation and recovery from physical activity are important, in particular, for sleep brands looking to stand out in a crowded space, and CELLIANT fabric technology can help these brands deliver. 

Bear Mattress uses CELLIANT® in all of their mattress styles.

As it was a pilot study, the results are encouraging but it should be noted further study is warranted. CELLIANT is currently in the early stages of a new sleep-focused clinical trial, which we are excited to share more about in the future.

IR FABRIC TECHNOLOGY FOR PERFORMANCE APPAREL

Performance apparel is another perfect fit for CELLIANT infrared technology and one where our brand and infrared clothing manufacturer partners have seen great success. CELLIANT-powered performance apparel includes workwear, athleisure and sports apparel embedded or printed with IR-emitting bioceramics. Like infrared bedding, IR apparel works by capturing and converting body heat into infrared energy and re-emitting that infrared energy back into the body’s tissue and muscle. This increases local circulation and improves cellular oxygenation, boosting endurance, stamina, speed and strength as well as speeding up post-workout recovery.

Many of our studies validate our performance claims but one study in particular stands out: Apparel with Far Infrared Radiation for Decreasing an Athlete’s Oxygen Consumption During Submaximal Exercise. This study showed that at lower cycling intensities, the subjects consumed statistically significantly less oxygen when wearing the CELLIANT-infused apparel compared to the control garment, despite performing the same amount of mechanical work.2
Infrared Socks and Gloves

Infrared socks and gloves are among the most popular accessory types for infrared textiles, and pair perfectly with IR performance apparel. CELLIANT-infused socks help keep feet fresher, while gloves infused with CELLIANT help increase grip strength and aid in thermoregulation.

Our study, Effect of CELLIANT® Armbands on Grip Strength in Subjects with Chronic Wrist and Elbow Pain: Randomized double-blind placebo controlled trial, showed that the mean percent increase in grip strength over two weeks was +7.8% for the placebo and +16.8% for CELLIANT.3 
When it comes to socks and feet, our study, The Test Report on the Impacts of Subject Socks with the Application of Celliant® Technical Fibers on Transcutaneous Oxygen Pressure on a Man’s Foot, showed that, compared with control socks, CELLIANT socks can significantly improve local transcutaneous oxygen partial pressure at the foot dorsum in a stable state.4 

How Does CELLIANT Apply Infrared Technology to Fabrics?

Now that we have explored some of the main product applications of infrared technology, as well as the research behind it, prospective partners may wonder how, exactly, CELLIANT can be integrated into their own fabric technology.

CELLIANT FABRIC TECHNOLOGY MEDIUMS

CELLIANT is available in a number of mediums to best suit our partners’ needs. 

Staple Fiber

CELLIANT staple fibers are available in standardized, staple lengths as well as different cut lengths to achieve desire lengths.

Filament & Spun Yarn

CELLIANT yarns are available in a spun form comprised of staple fiber, as well as in continuous filament yarns, and can accomplish the main kinds of interlacing.

Fabric

CELLIANT works best with partners who have their own fabric spinner that can fulfill their preferred fabric solution with the CELLIANT fibers or yarns we provide.

Print

Applying CELLIANT Print to a textile’s surface allows for maximum concentration and direct contact with the wearer’s skin. CELLIANT Print is compatible with partners’ existing preferred fabrics.

Non-Woven

CELLIANT nonwovens can be embedded into products and provide the same efficacy as spun yarn and CELLIANT Print. 

Insulation

CELLIANT can be used in insulation and provides the same benefits as in yarn and CELLIANT Print. 

CELLIANT® Mediums

WHAT FIBER TYPES WORK WITH CELLIANT?

Our research and development team works hard to bring CELLIANT to new fiber types, particularly sustainable fibers. This has led to partnerships with world leaders like Kelheim Fibres and REPREVE® as well as numerous awards from prestigious textile institutions. Currently CELLIANT is available as follows: 

What Brands Use Infrared Technology in their Manufacturing Process?

Discover some of our flagship partners who are actively using CELLIANT fabric technology to differentiate their products.

Under Armour uses CELLIANT infrared technology in their UA RUSH™ line

The popular UA RUSH™ line has a wide variety of apparel and we’re proud to say that each piece is powered by CELLIANT. Designed to be worn at ‘the time of sweat’, UA RUSH™ is an excellent example of CELLIANT in a performance apparel product line. We help UA RUSH™ differentiate in the crowded performance apparel market because, with CELLIANT, their line reflects the body’s energy to help athletes work harder and recover faster. 

Bear Mattress uses CELLIANT infrared technology in all of their mattresses

Bear Mattress has been partnered with CELLIANT since 2017. Each of their 5 mattress products is infused with CELLIANT and our benefits of improved thermoregulation, better sleep and faster recovery are a perfect fit for Bear’s mission to improve sleep quality.

Oxeego uses CELLIANT fabric technology in their IR socks

Oxeego creates technologically advanced IR socks for sports enthusiasts that are both highly functional and beautiful to wear. CELLIANT infrared technology is part of their commitment to their customers to innovation and functionality. And these customers fit perfectly among CELLIANT’s key customer demographics as well providing a great synergy in target market for Oxeego and CELLIANT.

KT Tape uses CELLIANT in their popular PRO OXYGEN™ collection

KT Tape is the world-leader in kinesiology tape and CELLIANT powers their newest product line, PRO OXYGEN. When KT Tape learned about CELLIANT and the wellness benefits of full-spectrum infrared, it was clear that our partnership was a natural fit and could add value for KT Tape, helping keep them as leaders in kinesiology tape.  

If you’re looking to incorporate infrared into your brand’s fabric technology and textile products, CELLIANT infrared technology is an innovation that brings wellness benefits to your consumers that are backed by science. We also work very closely with our brand partners to ensure the success of any powered by CELLIANT product. Get in touch with a member of our team by filling out the form below. 

GET IN TOUCH

*Results not achieved by all subjects in the pilot study. Further studies are warranted before drawing conclusions as to CELLIANT® sleep benefits.

1CELLIANT Pilot Sleep Study, Dr. Marcel Hungs & Dr. Annabel Wang, University of California – Irvine Medical Center, 2010.
2Apparel with Far Infrared Radiation for Decreasing an Athlete’s Oxygen Consumption During Submaximal Exercise, Dr. Jay Worobets, Dr. Darren Stefanyshyn & Emma Skolnik, University of Calgary, 2011.
3Effect of CELLIANT® Armbands on Grip Strength in Grip Strength in Subjects with Chronic Wrist and Elbow Pain, Dr. Ian Gordon & Dr. Michael R. Hamblin, Long Beach VA Memorial Hospital, 2021.
4The Test Report on the Impacts of Subject Socks with the Application of CELLIANT® Technical Fibers on Transcutaneous Oxygen Pressure on a Man’s Foot, Dr. Li Shaojing, Wu Chuanhong, Gao Jian, Zhu Li & Wen Liwei, Academy of Chinese Sciences, 2012.

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