Textiles

This study investigates the thermal performance of additive-free bacterial cellulose (BC) aerogels and cryogels produced by Acetobacter xylinus under controlled static cultivation conditions. The influence of supercritical CO₂ (ScCO₂) drying and freeze-drying on the multiscale structure and functional properties of BC materials was evaluated. Since BC is biosynthesized by a living microbial system, minor biological variations in fibril organization and network formation may occur even under standardized cultivation conditions. To minimize variability, all samples were produced, purified, and processed using identical procedures prior to drying. The materials were characterized using SEM, DSC, and Alambeta thermal analysis, while environmental temperature and relative humidity were monitored during testing. The two drying routes produced differences in fibrillar organization, accessible pore characteristics, and thermal transport. ScCO₂-dried aerogels showed a more homogeneous nanofibrillar morphology, whereas the lyophilized cryogels exhibited thermal conductivity values of 0.032–0.041 W·m⁻¹·K⁻¹, comparable to those of the ScCO₂-dried specimens (0.040–0.042 W·m⁻¹·K⁻¹). Overall, the results demonstrate that controlled lyophilization can produce additive-free porous BC with thermal performance comparable to ScCO₂ drying under the investigated conditions. The lightweight, highly porous, fibrous character of these materials further supports their relevance for functional textile systems, including bio-based nonwoven or layered thermal-insulation structures, while lyophilization offers a comparatively simple processing route. Full article

Automated cotton-percentage identification underpins sustainable textile recycling, but established near-infrared and ATR-FTIR spectroscopy systems cost USD 10,000–25,000 per unit and remain inaccessible to small recyclers. We address this on the CottonFabricImageBD dataset (1300 RGB originals, 13 ordinal cotton classes from 30% to 99%) and report three contributions. First, the Learnable Residual LBP stem, which retains the pretrained ResNet50 first convolution intact and adds a fully differentiable Local Binary Pattern branch as an additive contribution gated by a single learnable scalar $\alpha$ initialized to zero, ensuring the model is numerically equivalent to the baseline at initialization (verified to a maximum absolute logit difference below ${10}^{-4}$). Second, a controlled six-variant comparison (vanilla baseline, CLBP, LBP-Conv, LBP-Residual, LBP+SVM, LBP+ANN) under identical stratified five-fold cross-validation on the 1300 dataset originals. Third, the isolation of pretraining preservation as the dominant architectural variable: the 7.08 pp top-1 gap between LBP-Conv (43.77%) and LBP-Residual (50.85%), both embedding the identical learnable LBP module, is statistically significant ($p=0.004$, uncorrected paired t-test, $df=4$) and consistent across all five folds. This gap mainly reconfirms, in the LBP setting, the established cost of discarding pretrained early-layer filters; by contrast, the improvement of LBP-Residual over the vanilla baseline (1.31 pp top-1) is consistent in direction but not statistically significant at the five-fold level ($p=0.229$), so LBP-Residual, CLBP (50.23% top-1), and the baseline (49.54% top-1) are statistically tied on aggregate accuracy and the ranking among them is exploratory. Classical LBP+SVM and LBP+ANN baselines reach 31.85% and 34.46% top-1, confirming a genuine but limited cotton-density signal in hand-crafted descriptors. Compared to the concurrent triplet-architecture approach of Wiedemann et al. (2025), which achieves 48.15% top-1 accuracy on the same dataset under identical five-fold cross-validation, LBP-Residual attains 50.85% top-1 using a single lightweight backbone rather than an ensemble of three. These results support the design principle: augment, do not replace. Full article

The development of multifunctional textiles with enhanced ultraviolet (UV) protection has attracted increasing attention due to the growing demand for protective and high-performance clothing. In this study, cotton fabrics dyed with reactive dyes at three dye concentrations (0.5%, 1.5%, and 3.0% owf) were functionalised with titanium dioxide (TiO₂) nanoparticles using a pad-dry-cure process. The influence of TiO₂ concentration and washing on colour strength, colour fastness, UV protection, fabric stiffness, and pad–dry–cure immediate washing resistance was investigated through colorimetric measurements, FTIR spectroscopy, SEM analysis, and ultraviolet protection factor (UPF) evaluation. TiO₂ treatment produced only minor changes in colour strength, while colour fastness and fabric stiffness were largely preserved. FTIR and SEM analyses provided evidence consistent with the deposition of TiO₂-containing material and its partial removal after washing. The most significant improvement was observed in UV protection, with TiO₂-treated fabrics exhibiting substantially higher UPF values than untreated samples, while maintaining enhanced protection after laundering. These findings demonstrate that TiO₂ nanoparticle pad–dry–cure treatment is an effective post-dyeing strategy for improving the UV-protective performance of reactive-dyed cotton fabrics without compromising their colour durability or handling characteristics. Full article

Cotton fiber length is a key determinant of yarn quality, and High Volume Instrument (HVI) measurements are widely used to assess fiber length characteristics. Recent research has shown that the complete HVI fibrogram contains substantially more information than the conventional HVI-reported parameters, enabling reconstruction of the full fiber-length distribution and calculation of additional length-related parameters. Before these measurements can be adopted for routine use, calibration procedures are needed to ensure agreement among instruments. This study developed and evaluated calibration procedures for fibrogram-derived length parameters calculated from reconstructed fiber-length distributions. Three calibration reference cottons representing short, medium, and long fiber lengths were established and tested on four HVIs over a six-month period. Calibration equations were generated using two-point and three-point linear regressions between reference and observed measurements and applied to USDA evaluation cottons and commercial samples. Instrument stability, calibration frequency, and the use of comb checks were also investigated. Stability analysis showed that measurement drift within individual HVIs was small over the study period, indicating that frequent calibration is unnecessary under well-maintained operating conditions. Calibration improved agreement among HVIs for both conventional HVI-reported parameters and fibrogram-derived length parameters. Two-point and three-point calibration produced similar results, suggesting limited benefit from the additional medium-length calibration standard. Calibration frequency and comb checks had minimal impact on calibration efficacy. Overall, the proposed procedures improve consistency among HVIs and support practical implementation of new fibrogram-derived length measurements. Full article

The accumulation of discarded denim waste in landfills is causing environmental pollution, creating an urgent need for sustainable solutions. This study demonstrates the recycling of denim by extracting the indigo dye and fabricating the treated fabric into a composite to develop eco-friendly and high-performance materials. The waste denim was treated with sodium borohydride under controlled conditions without damaging the fibers. To utilize the denim waste, the decolorized fabric was shredded into fibers and incorporated into two polymer matrices i.e., ethylene vinyl acetate (EVA) and vinyl acetate, (VA) to fabricate a fiber-reinforced composite. The prepared recycled denim composites were compared with composites based on raw cotton fibers. The surface morphology of the composites was studied through optical microscopy and SEM analysis to examine the structural properties. Mechanical tests including tensile, charpy impact, flexural bending and drop-weight tests were performed to evaluate performance. The results showed that the raw composite had a higher impact strength of 11.5 kJ/m², while the recycled composite had 9.89 kJ/m², showing a slight reduction but maintaining good mechanical strength and lightweight properties suitable for applications such as table tennis rackets, a sustainable sports product, thereby supporting a closed-loop denim recycling approach within a circular economy framework. Full article

Sustainable textile care formulations based on renewable and waste vegetable oils represent environmentally responsible alternatives to conventional laundry products while supporting circular bioeconomy strategies. However, the influence of formulation composition on EO transfer, textile persistence and multifunctional performance remains poorly understood. This study investigated the influence of formulation design on the physicochemical properties, encapsulation efficiency, EO transfer, textile persistence, washing performance and antibacterial activity of sustainable textile care formulations prepared from virgin and waste vegetable oils. All formulations exhibited appropriate physicochemical characteristics, including alkaline pH values (9.84–10.64), good foaming capacity and encapsulation efficiencies of 95.6–98.2%. Although encapsulation efficiency remained consistently high, formulation composition influenced EO transfer and persistence on textile substrates. Formulation V1-D exhibited the most balanced overall performance. Waste vegetable oil formulations achieved washing efficiencies of 86–92%, comparable to those of virgin oil formulations, while maintaining EO persistence on textile substrates. The developed soap formulations also exhibited pronounced antibacterial activity against Staphylococcus aureus and Escherichia coli. These findings indicate that rational formulation design, rather than encapsulation efficiency alone, primarily determines the overall performance of sustainable multifunctional textile care formulations by balancing washing efficiency, EO transfer, textile persistence, and the antibacterial activity of the developed soap formulations. Full article

Despite the rapid growth of global polyester production over the past two decades, the transition toward circular textile systems remains limited, particularly in emerging economies where industrial waste streams hold significant untapped potential for closed-loop recycling. This study investigates the structural barriers to textile-to-textile (T2T) recycling of post-industrial polyester waste in Indonesia, employing an integrated ISM–MICMAC approach and following expert-based content validation using the IOC. From an initial set of sixteen literature-derived barriers, nine core variables were retained for structural analysis. The results reveal that a lack of regulatory frameworks and limited fiscal incentives emerge as foundational drivers shaping technological readiness and stakeholder collaboration. These factors subsequently influence operational conditions, including collection, sorting, traceability, and standardization, ultimately affecting feedstock quality and availability. The findings further highlight that reliance on lower-value recovery pathways constrains the retention of material value, reflecting structural misalignment within the recycling system rather than material limitations. Accordingly, effective interventions should be staged and coordinated, prioritizing stronger regulatory frameworks and targeted fiscal incentives to support technological development and cross-sector collaboration. This study contributes to circular economy research by advancing a system-level understanding of the hierarchical and structural relationships among barriers and providing context-specific insights to support scalable T2T recycling systems in emerging economies. Full article

Polyester–cotton (PES/CO) blends represent one of the most widely used textile classifications globally, yet their fibre-to-fibre recycling remains technically challenging due to the chemical dissimilarity of the two fibres. Existing reviews typically address textile recycling in broad terms, leaving a gap in critically evaluating the specific separation chemistries, recovered-fraction quality, and industrial maturity of PES/CO recycling routes. This review addresses that gap by providing a focused and comparative assessment of technologies designed for PES/CO fractionation. The paper analyses both polyester-removal and cellulose-removal routes, covering depolymerisation (hydrolysis, glycolysis, methanolysis, aminolysis), dissolving systems (NMMO, ionic liquids, DES, cold alkaline), and enzymatic or acid-based degradation. Each route is evaluated using technical criteria including fraction purity, cellulose degree of polymerisation, polyester monomer recovery, fibre quality, chemical consumption and energy requirement, solvent recovery, reaction conditions, and scalability. The review finds that chemical depolymerisation of PES and selective dissolution of cellulose currently show the strongest potential for high-quality fibre-to-fibre recycling, particularly when solvent recovery systems are integrated. However, significant barriers remain, including incomplete fraction purity, degradation of cellulose DP, limited recovery of high-quality polyester intermediates, high chemical consumption, and insufficient industrial-scale demonstrations. Overall, this review provides a differentiated and critical synthesis of PES/CO recycling technologies, clarifying their readiness levels and outlining the key scientific and industrial challenges that must be addressed to enable circularity in blended textile waste streams. Full article

Clothing pressure is a critical design parameter in compression garments, yet its estimation in three-dimensional (3D) digital environments remains challenging because it depends on fabric mechanics, garment deformation, body geometry, and garment–body contact. This study developed a calibrated 3D vector-projection method for estimating clothing pressure from digital garment-mesh deformation. The method was based on the mechanical premise that garment extension generates in-plane tensile forces, whereas interface pressure is associated with the component of those forces acting normal to the body surface. Accordingly, corresponding flat and deformed garment meshes from CLO 3D were used to calculate edge-length strain and internal force; resultant forces were projected onto local avatar-normal directions and normalized by vertex-associated surface area to obtain uncalibrated pressure-related values. Five tricot fabrics and two pattern-reduction levels were used to produce ten compression tops, and pressure measured at five body locations was used for modulus-group-specific linear calibration to account for stiffness-dependent differences in deformation-to-pressure conversion. Under leave-one-garment-out cross-validation, the final linear model achieved an overall R² of 0.563, an RMSE of 0.587 kPa, and an MAE of 0.427 kPa. A 1–15 mm contact-distance analysis identified 10 mm as a conservative numerical stabilization point, with normalized means remaining within ±2% of the 15 mm reference and adjacent-threshold changes below 0.1 from 10 to 15 mm. The proposed method provides a transparent, mechanics-informed mesh-level procedure that converts digital garment deformation into calibrated body-normal pressure estimates and 3D spatial maps without treating commercial virtual-fitting pressure maps as direct physical predictions. Full article

Microencapsulation has become an indispensable technique across various industries that require the controlled release and stability of bioactive agents. In this study, the encapsulation of cinnamon essential oil (CEO), known for its antibacterial and anti-inflammatory properties, was study to enable controlled release when applied to textile substrates. This procedure involves defining and examining several steps to establish a stable, scalable complex coacervation methodology. To form a stable microcapsule matrix, CEO was emulsified using a combination of surfactants (Span 80, Tween 20, and Sodium Dodecyl Sulfate). After forming micelles containing CEO, two biopolymers (chitosan and gum Arabic) were used at various proportions to form a microcapsule shell via a layer-by-layer approach. Advanced characterization techniques, such as spectrophotometry and laser scattering, were used to evaluate microcapsule stability, size, and release kinetics, as well as to assess potential antibacterial activity. The presence of oil-containing microcapsules was confirmed using fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy and thermogravimetric analysis (TGA). The results demonstrate that Span 80 concentrations of 0.4 and 0.7 g/L provided the most stable encapsulation environment and enabled a controlled CEO release profile after being applied to cotton substrates. In addition, the influence of the fabric’s chemical characteristics was clearly illustrated in the drug delivery experiments. However, antibacterial efficacy was limited due to the low CEO concentration within the microcapsules, indicating the need for further optimization. These findings provide valuable insights into the broader application of essential oil encapsulation, particularly within the pharmaceutical, textile, and cosmetic sectors. Full article

This study comparatively examines the combined influence of hemp blend ratio, weft count and dual-core weft architecture on selected transport-related comfort indicators of hemp-blended denim fabrics. Eleven 3/1 twill denim fabrics were produced using two warp families, namely 100% cotton and cotton/hemp (69/31), together with rigid, single-core and dual-core weft yarns incorporating cotton, hemp, lyocell, elastane and PET/PTT T400^®. Air permeability was measured according to ASTM D737, and the water vapour transmission factor (WVPf) was determined using a wet-cup gravimetric procedure based on ASTM E96. Air permeability ranged from 96.68 to 252.96 mm/s, while mean WVPf values ranged from 102.89 to 204.28. The results indicated that weft architecture and fabric structure were more strongly associated with comfort behaviour than fibre composition alone. In particular, dual-core weft constructions generally promoted higher air permeability, whereas water vapour transmission remained dependent on a combined effect of fabric mass, sett and yarn design. Fabrics containing hemp contributed to moisture transfer performance, although the magnitude of this effect varied with constructional parameters. Multivariate evaluation further indicated that fabric mass, ends/cm and picks/cm were key variables governing the observed comfort response. Overall, the findings suggest that hemp-blended denim fabrics can be optimised through an appropriate balance of hemp content, weft count and dual-core yarn design to achieve improved breathability and moisture transport. Full article

Arc-flash protective textiles are specialized technical fabrics designed to endure extreme thermal energy and inhibit ignition during electrical faults. It is an industry driven by the enhanced use of machine learning models, autonomous technologies, and advanced analytics. Key sectors, including healthcare, automotive, retail, financial services, and technology, are making considerable investments in high-quality training datasets to improve AI performance. Consequently, there is an escalating demand for scalable and accurate data annotation services. This review has as its main objective to demonstrate the recent advances on arc-flash protective textiles, including arc-flash environment, material failure mechanisms, structural design, performance characterization, and new materials breakthrough. Full article

Developing durable multifunctional clothing with enhanced mechanical and comfort properties utilizing eco-friendly, cost-effective hybrid nano finishes is highly challenging. The reason behind the nondurable functionality is the lack of bonding ability of nanoparticles (NPs) with cotton fabric, and this additional coating has a great impact on the mechanical, thermo-physiological, and sensorial comfort properties of cotton fabric. Focusing on these issues, this paper attempts to develop biogenic chitosan-loaded CuO-SiO₂ hybrid nano finishes with three distinct formulations, namely Chi-CuO-SiO_2(5g/L), Chi-CuO-SiO_2(10g/L), and Chi-CuO-SiO_2(20g/L) hybrid nanofluids, to incorporate on cotton fabric by pad-dry-cure method. These hybrid nanofluids from biogenic Chi-CuO and rice husk SiO₂ NPs have been newly introduced for textile application. The NPs CuO and SiO₂ are synthesized from lemon peel zest extract and rice husk, respectively. Characterization of CuO NPs by Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy (FTIR), Field Emission Scanning Electron Microscopy (FESEM), Energy Dispersive Spectroscopy (EDX), and X-ray diffractometers (XRD) evidences that spherical-shaped, amorphous, and 60–80 nm sized NPs are synthesized. The hydrodynamic performance of hybrid nanofluids measured by Zeta Sizer shows that the chitosan-loaded CuO-SiO_2(5g/L) hybrid nanofluid is the most stable among the three, and the value is +29.4 mV. The presence of CuO NPs, SiO₂ NPs, and chitosan on cotton fabric was confirmed by FTIR, FESEM, and EDX spectra of the hybrid nanofluid-deposited fabric. The cotton fabric coated with chitosan-loaded CuO-SiO₂ hybrid nanofluids exhibits better durable antimicrobial efficacy, UV-protective properties, and thermo-physiological comfort properties than that of the uncoated fabric. More specifically, CuO-SiO_2(20g/L)-coated fabric demonstrates approximately 99.99% bacterial efficacy against both gram-positive and gram-negative bacteria even after 15 washing cycles, and excellent UV-protective properties. In addition, CuO-SiO_2(5g/L)-coated fabric displays around 75% enhancement of overall moisture management properties and 1.22% and 0.53% enhancement of tensile strength in warp and weft directions with excellent elongation compared to the pristine one. Moreover, assessment of the mechanical sensorial comfort properties of this fabric depicts that it is smoother, and has better thermal conductivity than that of the control one. In addition, CuO-SiO_2(5g/L) hybrid nanofluid-treated cotton fabric exhibited cell viability above 95%, which confirms its non-cytotoxicity. The outcomes of this study suggest that chitosan-loaded CuO-SiO_2(5g/L) hybrid nanofluid-treated cotton fabric can be considered as optimum and employed as biomedical textiles with better mechanical and comfort properties. Full article

Conventional cotton bleaching relies on hydrogen peroxide under high temperatures and alkaline conditions, leading to high water and energy consumption. This study evaluates ozone as a sustainable alternative oxidizing agent to improve process efficiency. An ozone-based process was investigated by analyzing the influence of pH, fabric moisture content, and chemical additives, including stabilizers and surfactants. Performance was assessed using CIELab coordinates together with evaluation of substrate integrity through degree of polymerization to ensure suitability for subsequent dyeing. Results indicate that bath composition is critical, with both acidic and alkaline media outperforming neutral conditions. Fabric moisture was identified as a key parameter, where periodic renewal of the impregnation bath significantly enhanced bleaching efficiency. Under optimal conditions, the process achieved notable bleaching levels within short treatment times and with low energy requirements. These findings demonstrate that ozone bleaching represents a promising, energy-efficient alternative for cotton pre-treatment, capable of providing substrates suitable for high-quality and sustainable textile colouration. Full article

Natural dyes are attracting increasing attention owing to their environmental compatibility and safety profile, particularly in contrast to synthetic dyes, which may contain hazardous compounds posing risks to human health and ecosystems. In this study, crude phycocyanin extract from the cyanobacterium Limnothrix planctonica (KU.B3) was evaluated as a natural blue color for textile screen printing. The investigation encompassed the optimization of curing temperatures and assessment of colorfastness under simulated-use conditions, including washfastness, lightfastness, and rubfastness. The results indicated that a curing temperature of 110 °C represented the practical upper limit for maintaining phycocyanin chromophore stability during the screen printing process. Among the additive compound evaluated, copper sulfate conferred the greatest resistance to UV-induced fading; the compound-treated fabric retained a K/S value of 0.83 ± 0.03 following 5 h of UV exposure, representing a decline of approximately 16% compared with approximately 25% in the untreated control. However, washfastness was poor across all treatment conditions (grey scale score 1), indicating that under the binder system investigated in this study phycocyanin may be more suitable for decorative rather than washable textile applications. Full article

Efficient adsorbents and nanozyme-like materials are of growing importance in environmental technologies. Here, we report a simple and potentially scalable approach for the immobilization of biochars onto nonwoven acrylic textiles, yielding composite materials with good retention of immobilized biochar during aqueous treatment and combined adsorption and peroxidase-like activities. The structure of native and biochar-modified textiles was characterized by scanning electron microscopy and small-angle X-ray scattering, confirming the presence of biochar particles on fiber surfaces and within the inter-fiber space, as well as nanoscale structural changes induced by biochar incorporation. Textile-bound biochars exhibited peroxidase-like activity toward N,N-diethyl-p-phenylenediamine in the presence of hydrogen peroxide and enabled effective decolorization of methylene blue. Adsorption alone resulted in 61% dye removal after 240 min, while the combined adsorption-catalytic process achieved 74% decolorization. Modification of the textile-bound biochar with copper ions further enhanced the peroxidase-like activity, increasing dye removal to 85% under identical conditions. The optional incorporation of a magnetic iron wire allows facile magnetic handling of the composite. Owing to its low cost, simplicity of preparation, and dual functionality, the textile-bound biochar composite represents a promising proof-of-concept platform that may warrant further development for dye removal and related environmental applications. Full article

The ongoing concern about advanced healthcare systems drives the development of highly functional medical textile products. However, despite rapid growth in fiber-based healthcare products, a comprehensive understanding of the relation between fiber and product properties remains limited. This review paper discusses the various fibers used in medical textiles, their classifications, applications, and properties. The existing pre-pandemic studies showed a narrow focus on classifications and applications. Therefore, in this review paper, very recent studies (post-pandemic) were analyzed, focusing on different physical, mechanical, biological, and chemical properties necessary for healthcare applications. The adoption of international standards for assessing these properties has enhanced the products’ global acceptance. Moreover, this paper explores recent innovations and challenges, indicating the future possibilities of medical textiles. The study summarizes a coalition between textiles and medical science to create a new field, Tex-Medical Engineering. Full article

Quality inspection is a fundamental pillar of textile manufacturing, as garment defects directly affect customer satisfaction, production efficiency, and overall brand reputation. In this context, automated inspection systems have become essential for ensuring consistent product quality and reducing reliance on manual inspection, which is often labor-intensive, inconsistent, and susceptible to human error. With the emergence of industry 4.0 and the increasing adoption of automation and smart manufacturing technologies in the textile sector, the demand for intelligent and automated quality inspection systems has significantly increased. Recent advances in deep learning and computer vision have opened new opportunities for precise and real-time identification of sewing defects. This study proposes a YOLOv11-based framework for detecting critical defects such as crooked seams and skipped stitches, aiming to enhance accuracy, speed, and reliability in garment inspection. The experimental results demonstrate the potential of the proposed method to significantly improve quality assurance processes within modern apparel manufacturing environments. Full article

The release of microplastic fibers from synthetic textiles during domestic laundering is a major contributor to aquatic pollution. Nanomaterial-based surface treatments have recently emerged as a potential route for minimizing microfiber shedding. This study investigates the use, for the first time, of metal oxide nanoparticles (TiO₂, ZnO, MgO) functionalized with fatty acids (oleic acid (OA) and stearic acid (SA)) as microfiber-retaining agents. The nanoparticles were modified via a simple adsorption process at room temperature, monitored by zeta potential analysis, and confirmed by DSC-TG and FTIR-ATR analysis. When applied to polyester fabrics during simulated washing cycles, the hydrophobicity of the polyester surface coated with functionalized nanoparticles was assessed via contact angle measurements, and the effect on microfiber shedding was evaluated by the filtration of wastewater and by weighing the mass of fibers retained in the filters. ZnO and MgO nanoparticles treated with stearic and oleic acid demonstrated a significant reduction in fiber shedding compared to commercial laundry detergent (approximately 46–70%). In contrast, fatty acid adsorption onto TiO₂ was less efficient (reduction in microfiber release ~23%), and the TiO₂-based systems showed limited improvement in microfiber shedding, possibly due to insufficient hydrophobic interaction. These results demonstrate that fatty acid functionalization of low-cost inorganic nanoparticles is a promising strategy for mitigating microfiber pollution in laundry effluents. Full article