Teijin Frontier Co., Ltd. has developed a heat insulating structure that combines sweat absorption and quick drying of innerwear and heat insulation of intermediate wear, or middler, worn between the innerwear and outerwear to retain heat.
The company is positioning this new structure as a key material for outdoor wear for fall/winter 2021. Applications of this new structure will include outdoor wear, sportswear, casual wear and uniforms, targeting annual sales of one million meters in fiscal 2025.
The new type of bulky plush structure is not brushed. It is a double raschel knitted fabric cut in half with high precision. Its middle nodes are made with Octa, Teijin Frontier’s highly modified hollow-core fiber with eight projecting fins aligned in a radial pattern. It also uses a distinct dyeing technology to maximize Octa’s crimping function and stabilize its high-quality plush structure. Unprecedented comfort is enhanced with heat insulation (lightweight bulkiness and warmth) and yarn tips on the skin side that evenly absorb sweat and dry quickly.
The warmth of outdoor wear is determined by outer, middler and inner garments, which are added or excluded by the wearer in accordance with the level of activity and usage environment. However, the expanding everyday use of outdoor wear has raised the demand for single layers offering two-layer functionality, in particular, a compact layer with both middler and inner functions. Whereas brushing yarn is mainly used to achieve heat insulation in the middler, the inner layer typically requires sweat absorption and quick-drying performance. Until now, however, it has not been possible to combine middler and inner functions because the uneven surface caused by brushing yarn decreases sweat absorption and quick-drying performance.
