Contents
Contributor contact details ix
Woodhead Publishing Series in Textiles xi
Introduction xvii
Part I General overview of innovation and textile product development 1
1 Innovation and new product development in textiles 3
S. F RUMKIN , S. B RADLEY and M. W EISS , Philadelphia
University, USA
1.1 Introduction: incremental change versus disruptive innovation 3
1.2 Forces for innovation 6
1.3 Organizing for disruptive innovation 9
1.4 The textile industry and innovation 11
1.5 Trends in textile innovation: wearable electronics, biomedical, biomimetic and nano-textiles 12
1.6 Case studies in innovation in textile manufacture 14
1.7 Sources of further information and advice 20
1.8 Notes 20
1.9 References 21
2 Practical aspects of innovation in the textile industry 22
S. F RUMKIN , S. B RADLEY and M. W EISS , Philadelphia University, USA
2.1 Introduction and practical aspects of innovation 22
2.2 Meeting the needs of customers better than the competition 23
2.3 Innovation as a driver of new strategic issues in the apparel industry 26
2.4 Future trends in innovation 30
2.5 Sources of further information and advice 31
2.6 References 32
2.7 Appendix: glossary 33
3 Textile product development and defi nition 34
M. S TARBUCK , Ctext FTI Textile Consultant, Leicester, UK
3.1 Introduction 34
3.2 Nylon to Tactel 35
3.3 Sustainability 37
3.4 Future trends 41
3.5 Conclusion 41
3.6 Acknowledgement 41
3.7 References 41
3.8 Appendix: glossary 41
Part II New product development of textiles 43
4 New product development in knitted textiles 45
S. E VANS -M IKELLIS , A. U. T. University, New Zealand
4.1 Introduction 45
4.2 Seamless knitwear 45
4.3 Printing on knitwear 51
4.4 Computer aided knitwear design (CAD) and virtual knitwear 54
4.5 Sources of further information and advice 63
4.6 References 63
5 Fabrics and new product development 65
S. F RUMKIN and M. W EISS , Philadelphia University, USA
5.1 Introduction 65
5.2 Market demand 66
5.3 Functionality responses 67
5.4 Environmental sustainability responses 69
5.5 Sensing textiles responses 72
5.6 Marrying artisan techniques with synthetic technologies 75
5.7 Sources of further information and advice 78
5.8 References 78
6 New product development in automotive upholstery 80
J. M. E ASON , North Carolina State University, USA
6.1 Introduction 80
6.2 The automotive textile market, key drivers and supply chain 81
6.3 New product development process for automotive upholstery 91
6.4 Novel materials and processes in automotive upholstery 98
6.5 Future developments in automotive upholstery 102
6.6 Sources of further information and advice 106
6.7 References 107
7 Nanotechnology innovation for future development in the textile industry 109
F. N OOR -E VANS , KPMG – R&D Incentives, Australia,
S. P ETERS , Queen Mary University of London, UK and
N. S TINGELIN , Imperial College, London, UK
7.1 Introduction 109
7.2 Nanotechnology in the textile industry 110
7.3 Adoption of nanotechnology for textile applications 115
7.4 Conclusion 127
7.5 Future developments 128
7.6 Sources of further information and advice 129
7.7 Acknowledgement 129
7.8 Note 130
7.9 References 130
8 New product development in interior textiles 132
A. B ÜSGEN , Niederrhein University of Applied Sciences, Germany
8.1 Introduction 132
8.2 New product development of interior textiles – basics and general procedures 133
8.3 Case studies 140
8.4 Learning experiences for successful new product
developments of interior textiles 150
8.5 Future trends in interior textiles 151
8.6 Sources of further information and advice 152
8.7 References 153
9 New product development for e-textiles: experiences from the forefront of a new industry 156
P. W ILSON and J. T EVEROVSKY , Fabric Works LLC, USA
9.1 Introduction 156
9.2 Integration of electronics and fabrics 158
9.3 E-textiles product development challenges 161
9.4 What every company should know 165
9.5 Sources of further information and advice on e-textiles 173
9.6 Conclusions 174
9.7 References 174
10 Customer co-creation: moving beyond market research to reduce the risk in new product development 175
F. T. P ILLER and E. L INDGENS , RWTH Aachen University, Germany
10.1 Introduction 175
10.2 Challenges of identifying customer needs in the product development process 176
10.3 Notes 186
10.4 References 187
11 The development and marketing of SilverClear® 190
L. H ORNE , University of Manitoba, Canada and B. R OSE ,
TransTex Technologies Inc., Canada
11.1 Introduction 190
11.2 The medical device industry in Canada 192
11.3 The importance of market access 195
11.4 References 196
Index 197
Introduction
Toward the end of the 1990s, professionals from many sectors attempted to speculate on many aspects of life in the twenty-fi rst century. In an article entitled ‘The importance of clothing science and prospects for the future’, published in the International Journal of Clothing Science and Technology (2002, 14(3–4): 243–244), Masako Niwa wrote:
At the turn of the millennium, we must question the basic expectations of technology. As new technologies can have a great impact on industry and economy, much is expected of technology. Society expects economic results from technology. Ought not the fi eld of textile technology to change its direction to concentrate on meeting, through new inventions and discoveries, the most important and essential needs, such as widening our views of the world, creating new cultures, protecting our health, keeping us safe, and raising the quality of our daily lives and welfare?
Now, ten years into the twenty-first century, Masako Niwa’s aspirations for textile technology are becoming a reality.
New product developments in textiles have indeed widened our views of the world. The ever-growing spectrum of textile products for medical and health end users has created awareness of the implications of aging populations in various regions of the world. Wars and natural disasters have heightened our sensitivity to safety and protection of people and structures. The need for protective systems for the military has stimulated fruitful research and development into materials that are light in weight but durable, materials that form an effective barrier to block chemical or biological agents, or fi nishes that render materials less detectable. Natural disasters remind us of the need for safe structures. Textiles are being used to reinforce structures or to form barriers to protect properties and structures from the destructive force of rising waterways, wind and erosion. In man-made disasters such as oil spills, textiles play a role in environmental remediation.
In the twenty-first century, some countries will face the challenge of renewing their aging infrastructure; still more countries will be developing new infrastructure as they experience economic growth. These developments will, inevitably, stimulate a surge of demand for innovative technical textiles. The awareness of the impact of industrial activities on the environment has propelled governments to develop and implement policies for their industrial sectors. The environmental impact of producing textiles is already well known. The ‘green’ movement and the consumers who support it are encouraging textile scientists and engineers to develop appropriate processes and technologies to reduce the environmental footprint of textile production.
While the ability to develop and design innovative textiles and textile products is essential to the sustainability of textile industries in industrialized countries, the migration of textile production from high-income countries to countries that enjoy competitive advantage in terms of production cost has offered many valuable lessons. Textile and textile product production have continued to be effective engines of growth for developing economies. The same phenomenon has brought attention to both the plight and the latent capabilities of some of the least developed countries in the world. It has also rendered developed countries vulnerable when the manufacturing sector loses its strength as a major pillar of their economic growth. The evolution of the global textile landscape has given us an opportunity to become more aware of places, people and the environment that surrounds them.
The wide range of new developments represented in this book signals a paradigm shift. Textiles are no longer mere inputs into a fi nished product; they have become sources of solutions to issues that affect society. As textiles are being used with increasing frequency to create new products that serve very specific functions, this phenomenon calls for new business models, interdisciplinary collaboration, and new measures of textiles and product performance. As a corollary, there is a pressing need for critical examination of the manner in which higher educational institutions design and deliver textiles programs.
Finally, not only have the contributors to this book shared their expertise, they have also offered deeply meaningful reminders of the immeasurable value of textiles to the human condition.
Lena Horne