Academic report on
Advanced Textiles
Matteo Carbone
Louise Guiot
Gaia Salizzoni
Agenda
History and
01 evolution
Definition and
applications
02
Ecosystem &
03 innovation process
Industry 04
characteristics
Focus:
05 MedTech
01 History and evolution
History of the industry
Ancient
Felt and linen as very first textiles used for clothing Stone Age
times and other implements
The silk Produced in ancient China, silk soon led to the Middle Ages
greatest trade network in the world
road
The cottage Textiles were produced by hand on a domestic
Renaissance
basis, utilizing animal and plant fibers
stage
• Production moved from home to factories
• Mass consumption Industrial Revolution
Automatization • New inventions
• Emergence of the British textile industry (25% of
the total exports)
Synthetic Natural fibers replaced by petroleum-based
synthetic fibers. 20th Century
Fabric Developed by Wallace Carothers in the 1930s
Textile Rise of active textiles thanks to Contemporary era
nanotechnology and miniaturization of
revolution computers
(R)evolution of the textile industry
Conventional textiles Advanced textiles
Main uses: protection, Main uses: specifics scopes and
comfort, decoration functional properties
Labor-intensive Capital-intensive
Low automatization High automatization
Low R&D investments Massive R&D investments
Few categories of application Plenty of categories of
(low flexibility) applications (high flexibility)
02 Definition and
applications
Definition of
advanced textile
“ Textile materials and products
manufactured primarily for
their technical and
performance properties
rather than their aesthetic or
decorative characteristics
The Textile Institute
Different perspectives
By Material
Cheap stretch fibres; synthetic polymers; regenerated fibers;
mineral metal; nano-technology
By Process
Woven; knitted; non-woven; multi-layer lamination
By Application
Plenty of applications
Applications
Source: Techtextil and Ossoka (2018)
InduTech ClothTech ProTech
MobilTech SportTech MedTech
GeoTech PackTech HomeTech
AgroTech BuildTech Oekotech
Application area trends
40% PackTech
SportTech (7%), BuildTech (4%),
MedTech (4%), ProTech
(3%), AgroTech, GeoTech, OekoTech 15% ClothTech
13% HomeTech
MobilTech 8%
Source: Textiles for Industrial Applications;
R. Senthil Kumar (2014)
E-Textile
Refers to the use of electronics in
textiles products to add functional or
decorative effects.
They are sometimes called smart
textiles and wearable electronics.
“ The 4th industrial revolution for the
textiles and fashion industry
Research&Markets
E-textile growth
140
130
120
42% growth of
100 European
Global market from
80 18% CAGR 2014 to 2019
Billion dollar
increase
60
from 2013 to
2018
40
20 14
4
0
2012 2018 2025
Source: European Technology Platform for the Future of Textiles and
Clothing (2016), RnRMarketResearch (2018)
Characteristics of E-Textile
High concentration
market
High production
costs
03 Ecosystem and
innovation process
Main stakeholders
Academia and research centers Regulatory bodies Intellectual property issues
Crucial role in the process of discovery Developing standards
Evaluating safety
End-users
Most demand comes
Companies Governments from end‐use industries;
problem of
Manufacturers; Research grants; tax relief and incentives;
non-commercialization
importers and exporters; vocational education programs;
traders; distributors; network and knowledge transfer
row material suppliers;
consultants
Technical textile end-users
Lancaster Space
Individuals
B2B
Cheapness
rather than B2C
Big firms transactions
Minimum
thresholds
Performance
Innovation process
Material innovation: Process innovation:
specific requirements of combination of technologies
some market segments with textiles in response to
emerging needs
Science-based R&D-based
innovation innovation
Academia, research R&D departments of
centers, etc. firms
Innovation in collaborative networks
Interconnected globalized economies
Technological
Increasingly complex innovative dynamics
networks
Accelerated process of technological obsolescence
“ Our organization could definitely break into several new markets by
working with a strategic partner
Trelleborg AB survey
Advantages of strategic partnership
New and shared skills
30%
Sharing costs and risks 38%
Reach new markets
32%
Source: Trelleborg AB survey
Types of partnership
• Acquisition of technology license
• Sharing R&D laboratories
• Joint exploitation of innovation
• Technology clusters
• Division from parent company
04 Industrial characteristics
Total market 300
size 250 244
200
The global demand 160
Billion dollar
158
for technical textiles 150
125
134
has increased
as a result of their 100
rising base of applications in 60
end‐use industries 50
0
1997 2007 2012 2015 2018 2022
Sources: Handbook of technical textiles (2018)
World exports
Europe
28%
USA +1%
13%
-5%
China
India 37%
16% -3%
-6% Share of world exports
Annual percentage change from 2015 to 2016
Source: Gherzi (2016)
Value of the leading exporters
Billion dollar, 2017
0 20 40 60 80 100 120
China 110
European Union 69
India 17
United States 14
Turkey 11
Republic of Korea 10
Chinese Taipei 9
Pakistan 8
Honk Kong 8
Vietnam 7
Source: Statista (2018)
Import-export in EU
Extra-EU imports of Textile products, Extra-EU exports of Textile products,
2017 2017
1 1
5 4 Natural fibers 5 4 4 Natural fibers
21 Man-made fibers
5 Man-made fibers
8
14 Yarns & Threads Yarns & Threads
Woven fabrics Woven fabrics
5 Knitted fabrics Knitted fabrics
Techical textiles 28 Techical textiles
20 Carpets 27 Carpets
Home textiles Home textiles
24 5 Other textile 7 Other textile
Source : CITH, EUROSTAT (2017)
China, India and Vietnam USA, Mexico and Honduras, Brazil Germany as Europe’s
will grow due to strong Canada’s markets (despite recession) will market leader in technical
industrial base and depend heavily on new experience an textiles
significant rise in demand technologies exponential growth
05 Focus:
MedTech
“ The need for long-term,
unobtrusive monitoring of patients
at home will stimulate quick
development (of the industry).
In five years' time, I believe we'll
get to see many innovative textile
solutions in healthcare.
Luciano Boesel, Empa (2018)
Innovation process
Driving forces • Lack of willingness to inve
st in research projects (wait-
and-see approach)
• Demographic factors • Few successes for private
• Increase in chronic use products
diseases • Collaboration required
• Environmental factors
• Construction of new
medical facilities
• Increasing customer Limitations
expectations
Non-
implantable Implantable
Applications
Hygienic Extra-
Material properties
products corporeal • Softness
• Lightness
• Flexibility
• Absorption
• Filtering
MedTech market value
20BN $ in
Non- 2026
implantable Implantable CAGR 4,9%
Applications
Hygienic Extra-
products corporeal
12BN $ in
2016
Source : FMI (2017)
Case study:
Reflective heartbeat
sensor based on
polymer optical fibres
Empa (Swiss Federal Laboratories for Materials
Science and Technology)
Zurich University Hospital
Customer Problem Solution
• Hospitals • No capacity to monitor patients Flexible, individualized,
at all times and wearable sensors
for long-term measurement
• Current monitoring systems of heart rate.
• Patients with complex that detect developing wounds
health conditions are often obtrusive and can
lead to additional injuries
(pressure ulcer)
How does it work?
Prototype of sensing hat
Sensing technique
Sensor while illuminated
(emission: red, detection: blue)
Back to Advanced Textiles
What to expect in the nearest future?
• Global market from 160$ billion
today to 244$ billion in 2022
• MedTech and SportTech
lead the growth
• Catch-up by
developing countries
• Increasing certification issues
Thank you
for your attention!
