Fabrics for the New Millennium

Introduction

Technologies and innovations are making use of wireless phenomenon to revolutionize the textile industry, making it innovative like never before. Researchers in smart fabrics and intelligent textiles (SFIT) are collaborating with the textile and fashion industry to bring new looks to these technical fabrics, keeping in mind the changing consumer needs. These include colour-changing or perfume-emitting jeans, wristwatches that work as digital wallets, and running shoes like the Nike +iPod that watch where you're going (possibly allowing others to do the same). Products featuring high technical and high value-added textiles called "technical fabrics", “smart fabrics”, or “wearable technology” offer a real potential for companies to diversify a traditional industry that is facing competition from developing countries.

Favourable Cultural Shifts towards Technical and Performance Street wear Fabrics

Cloth and clothing production, trade, and consumption are currently undergoing dramatic upheavals in the world. Domestic production of “traditional” textiles for local consumption, once the backbone of post-independence manufacturing strategies, are ceasing since the year 2001. Significant changes in the global regulatory environment affecting the world, including preferential trade arrangements with the European Union and the United States (the African Growth and Opportunity Act, passed by the U.S. Congress in 2000) (Miller, 2005, p. 10-16), have resulted in tremendous growth in nascent export apparel production just prior to the upcoming end of the Multi-fibre Agreement in 2005.

Many cultural aspects of promoted initially by the natural fabrics, are replaced by these smart fabrics who does not only provide clothing to hide human bodies but also come with additional features. These wearable technologies contribute towards socio-economic progress of the country as performance fabrics come with environmental safety and protection, making lives easier and safer (Barmash, Gold, Sheinman, Siegelman, 2005, p. 98). Many developments require considerable work to reach a maturity which can ensure ...