Functional Textiles for Sustainability and Value Addition
Nowadays, textile has gone beyond the production of fabrics for clothing, fashion items, and products used in everyday life because consumers have embraced the idea of sustainability to reduce the impact on the environment. Every industry, including the garment and textile industry, has consequently adopted this trend, thus giving a twist to functional textiles as an emerging trend to look out for in 2025.
What makes functional textiles popular ?
Functional textiles are textiles that have been developed to incorporate special properties, such as fabrics that are fire-resistant, waterproof, or have antibacterial properties throughout their lifespan. This year, functional textiles have been developed to become more sustainable and environmentally friendly since they are made from environmentally friendly materials or by processing used materials and turn them into fibers. This eco-friendly trend is gaining popularity in America and the European countries thanks to the textile’s versatility and its upcycling of plastic bottles and waste which help preserve the environment, so it is an opportunity for the textile and garment manufacturers in Thailand to pivot to accommodate the increasing demand for this type of products.
The development of innovations for environmentally friendly textile fibers has been under way for many years in Thailand. For example, a fabric made from graphene fibers extracted from graphite which can prevent the growth of bacteria and viruses, is UV-resistant, lightweight, and helps reduce carbon emissions. The Thailand Textile Institute extimate that using 1 meter of this fabric can reduce carbon emissions by over 10 kg of carbons and has been certified by ECO Tech standard in Europe. There are already many fashion brands that highlight eco-friendliness as one of their main features such as Mat Archer that upcycles used fishing nets and truck tires into lifestyle bags. Another example is the brand of swimwear Girlfriend Collective which uses ECONYL material--a nylon fiber made from recycled fishing nets and leftover materials--and has already launched 3 series of swimwear that focus on the environment.
NYL-ONE is another textile material made from discarded fishing nets. It is considered an environmentally friendly functional textile that can be used to produce clothing, bags, and hats, thus providing a new option for brand owners and consumers. At the same time, exercise apparel that use environmentally friendly fabrics has become a huge wave in the market. MoodActiv is an example of a brand that turns used plastic bottles into materials for gym outfits that are flexible and breathable. One shirt is made from 20 PET bottles of 600 ml, while one pair of pants is made from 7 plastic bottles. In total, one set of this outfit uses 27 plastic bottles, which is really attractive for health-conscious and eco-conscious consumers.
These functional textiles and many more eco-friendly garment & textile innovations will be showcased at GFT 2025, the 25th Edition of ASEAN's Most Comprehensive Exhibition for Garment and Textile Manufacturing Industry. If you are interested, don’t miss the chance to check out the event during 23-26 July 2025 at BITEC, Bangkok.
References:
- กลยุทธ์อุตฯเครื่องนุ่งห่มดึงนวัตกรรมส่งfunction garmentท้าทายธุรกิจ
https://www.bangkokbiznews.com/business/economic/1151486
- "Functional Textile นวัตกรรมสิ่งทอส่งผ้าผืนไทยก้าวไกลสู่ตลาดโลก”
https://www.ryt9.com/s/prg/2979750
- จากสิ่งของที่ถูกใช้แล้ว สู่การกลับใช้ใหม่ในแบบของ ‘Mat Archer’ กระเป๋าสุดเท่ที่รักษ์โลก
https://thematter.co/thinkers/mat-archer/233553
- MoodActiv x Earthology แปลงขวดพลาสติกให้เป็นชุดออกกำลังกาย