The 2014 winners for the FabricLink Network's top 10 innovation awards include: CRAiLAR, Edema Stocking, ELUTE, EQ-Top Seismic Wallpaper, Geckskin, GeoDetect, Mushroom Materials, PurThread, and QMilk, and RamTect.
The award recognises outstanding new developments in textile fabrics across a variety of industries, including technical sports textiles, industrial, medical, safety/protective and home furnishings. The selection is made by the FabricLink Network based on a review of new products currently in the marketplace.
The products under the winning category include: CRAiLAR Flax, a new, high-quality, sustainable natural fibre, which surpasses the comfort of cotton, but exhibits performance characteristics similar to a synthetic. It is said to reduce chemical and water usage and is designated as a 100 per cent biopreferred product by the USDA. </br>
The Edema Stocking, on the other hand, developed by Ohmatex, is a smart electronic textile device that monitors and measures changes in leg volume for patients suffering from edema of the lower limbs. ELUTE is a biodegradable, drug-loaded fibre delivery system, developed by TissueGen, which can be used in implantable medical devices.
EQ-Top Seismic Wallpaper, developed by the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology and Bayer’s Material Science division, is a composite of strong, stiff glass fibres, crisscrossed in various directions to distribute energy evenly when the walls of a building shake during an earthquake. Geckskin, developed by scientists at the University of Massachusetts Amherst, is a new attach-and-release material that replicates the feet of the gecko. The material peels away easily on any surface, leaving no residue, and can hold up to 700 lbs, the company reports. GeoDetect, developed by TenCate, is a combination of geotextile performance and fibre optic sensing technology to provide actionable information related to soil strain and temperature changes of geo-structures.
Mushroom Materials, developed by Ecovative, are a new class of home-compostable bio-plastics with a mycelium base, which are said to be a high-performance and an environmentally responsible alternative to traditional polystyrene plastic foam packaging material, insulation, and other synthetic materials. PurThread Technologies' high-performance fabrics are embedded with an EPA-registered antimicrobial agent developed by Eastman Kodak. The antimicrobial agent, a form of silver salt, works to keep fabrics fresh by inhibiting the growth of odour-causing bacteria, mould, mildew, and fungus.
Qmilk, a biopolymer fibre manufactured by Qmilch, is a compostable fibre based on casein milk protein. It can be obtained both as a staple fibre and filament. And RamTect is a 100 per cent American wool insulation product, developed by Hobbs Bonded Fibres, to serve as insulation for outdoor garments.
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