As the weather becomes more volatile, brands are looking to materials that can handle extreme temperatures.
Now, two textile companies known for their additive expertise have rolled out new lines that battle weather and climate swings brought on by global warming, while maintaining performance and comfort attributes for apparel and home goods.
HeiQ Cool
HeiQ has launched a dual action textile cooling technology, HeiQ Cool, which delivers instant contact cooling and continuous evaporative cooling. Addressing the importance of body temperature control where overheating and feeling chilled are problematic, HeiQ Cool-powered fabrics constantly regulate the skin temperature with a dual cooling capability.
In a first step, melting energy absorption delivers instant contact cooling before the first sign of sweat and delays the build-up of heat, followed by a vaporizing energy action that mimics the skin’s thermal regulating system by providing continuous evaporative cooling as long as the body is hot and sweaty. Suitable for all fabrics, the initial launch focuses on home textiles, especially sleeping products such as mattress ticking, pillows and bed linen because of its benefits helping users get a good night’s sleep.
Instantly cool to the touch, the components synergistically recharge the surface layer to ensure a consistently cool, dry and comfortable body climate. A biobased, vegetable oil-derived thermo-functional polymer absorbs heat energy, giving an instant cooling sensation. If the body continues to heat up, perspiration is generated and the patented hydro-functional polymer transports moisture away together with the heat, creating a continuous cooling effect that stops once cooling is complete.
The combined formulation of HeiQ Cool contains more than 50 percent U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) certified biobased content. It is also Oeko-Tex class 1 suited and meets most brand restricted substances list (RSL) requirements.
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“Since the pandemic started, consumers are investing more in enhancing the comfort of their homes,” HeiQ chief marketing officer Hoi Kwan Lam said. “We spend one third of our time sleeping, which is why it is important that we invest in products that give us a good night of sleep…Not only is the HeiQ Cool treatment based on more sustainable components than anything you will find on the market, the fact that it helps to efficiently balance your temperature probably means you can cut down on the energy consumption for the air conditioner.”
HeiQ co-founder and CEO Carlo Centonze said the launch of HeiQ Cool is further testimony to the company’s philosophy that “innovation is the only way forward and that sustainable technologies are within reach if we set our minds and hearts to achieving them.”
“I trust that consumers now have the means to getting a good night’s sleep and going about their sports and lives in greater comfort,” Centone added.
Founded in 2005 as a spin-off from the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology Zurich and listed on the London Stock Exchange Main Market, HeiQ combines three areas of expertise–scientific research, specialty materials manufacturing and consumer ingredient branding–to create differentiating and sustainable products and capture the added value at the point of sale.
With its 14 offices, seven manufacturing sites and seven R&D hubs, HeiQ has a total capacity of 45,000 tons of specialty chemicals per year and serves more than 1,000 industrial customers in over 60 countries. The company employs 240 professionals, and its consumer goods and medical devices can be found in 56 countries.
TurboDry Warm
NexTex Innovations, an Atlanta-based textile technology developer that builds strategic partnerships with brands, entrepreneurs and manufacturers to bring textile innovations to market, will introduce its new TurboDry Warm collection at the Outdoor Retailer Snow Show on Jan. 26 in Denver.
TurboDry Warm leverages TurboDry technology and captures the body’s energy to maintain dryness, warmth and comfort in the harshest cold weather conditions. Patented TurboDry technology fabric construction harnesses the same capillary forces as the root systems in trees, moving moisture away from the skin to keep users dry, comfortable, and more equipped to efficiently maintain their core body temperature.
“Our TurboDry Warm collection has gone through rigorous testing to ensure endless comfort and lasting performance” NexTex CEO Chad Lawrence said. “We are excited to include our Warm Collection to our extensive TurboDry technology portfolio developed to provide consumers with the most comfortable and sustainable performance textiles.”
The new TurboDry Warm collection includes six fabric groups. The Dynamic collection utilizes infrared yarn to capture the body’s heat for added warmth. The Loop Fleece collection is engineered to reduce microplastic shedding and offers modularity in aesthetics allowing for novel design opportunities. The two fabric groups are best suited for breathable mid layers and technical hoodies.
The Winter Legging collection features technology-packed fabrics that offer patented moisture management and patented stretch-and-recovery performance designed for leggings, joggers and thermals. The Wool Blends Collection expands exploration into the benefits natural fibers provide. It was developed with mid-layers and base-layer tops in mind.
A Lamination line, engineered for the elements, combines multiple layers of performance materials to move sweat away from the skin while providing a barrier to wind and moisture. It is most suitable for soft shells and windproof layers. The Winter Natural collection spans a diverse range of weights and uses cotton, modal, lyocell, rayon and acrylic content to focus on warmth with premium, soft-hand fabrics perfect for everyday hoodies, joggers and winter leggings.
NexTex invents, co-creates and licenses environmentally conscious textile technologies for the apparel, accessories and textile industries.