The Smart Fabrics Market is expected to grow at a CAGR of 19.89% over the forecast period 2020 to 2025. R&D toward wearable textile-based personal systems, like health monitoring, protection and safety, and healthy lifestyle gained strong interest over the last few years.
- Smart clothing is revolutionizing the healthcare practices, and it is expected that the growing adoption of smart clothing to monitor health and support treatment may reduce reliance on costlier equipment and healthcare system.
- Additionally, with an increase in chronic disease cases globally, such as diabetes, cancer, respiratory disorders, and heart diseases and the growth in the number of surgeries performed in the key matured healthcare markets, such as the United States and Europe, the demand for smart fabric in healthcare is expected to grow exponentially.
- In April 2020, MIT developed smart clothing that follows the most important indicators of human health i.e., heart rate, respiratory rate, and temperature. This was achieved through sewing into the fabric of sensitive sensors that fit to the skin.
- Advancement in nanotechnology and lithography is further enhancing the smart fabric technology in various ways. For instance, coating a fabric with nanoparticles is gaining adoption in the textile industry to enhance the performance and functionality of textiles. Nanotechnology can provide high durability fabrics by adding permanent effects.
- Due to the outbreak of novel COVID-19, the market may not experience a substantial growth. This is because manufacturing of smart fabric require high degree of automation and advancements in textile processing techniques such as electronic controlling system, computer-aided design, automated inspection etc. The industry does not come under essential services segment, as a result of which factories are currently not under operations. Thus, there is lack of supply and even lower demand, which is expected to continue till the pandemic ends.
Key Market Trends
Fashion and Entertainment Industry to Have Significant Market Share
- The fashion and entertainment industry is using smart fabrics to incorporate unique aesthetics into clothing. Appearance features, such as color, size, or shape of garments, can be altered using technology woven into fabrics.
- In fashion industry, the market studied is driven by innovations of the designers coming up with new and aesthetically pleasing outfits, integrated with a useful technical architecture capable of relaying information. Many brands, ranging from Uniqlo to Lululemon, are using smart fabrics to set their collections ahead of the pack.
- The French startup Spinali Design makes high-end beachwear with integrated ultraviolet light sensors that tells the wearer when it’s time to apply sunscreen, and distance trackers that tells the parents when the kids have wandered too close to the surf.
- Since the past few years, Google was working with Levi Straus on a future smart jean jacket under Project Jacquard, that would eventually lead to a jean jacket with smart fabric sleeves with built in touch controls. In November 2019, the project was commercialized on new Jean jackets from Levis. The jacket costs USD 198 – USD 248.
North America to Account for a Significant Market Share
- North America is expected to hold a prominent share in the smart fabrics market, with the United States accounting for the major share in the region. Connected wearable products have been gaining significant traction in the region and have been around in various forms, such as fitness bands, smart watches, and smart glasses, among various others.
- According to the Consumer Technology Association, in 2018, around 46.1 million wearable devices were forecasted to be shipped in the United States. Thus, increasing adoption of wearable electronics devices is expected to open new avenues for the smart fabrics market in the region as they offer significant enhancements to human comfort, health and well-being.
- International technology giants, such as Google and Microsoft have increased their investments into wearable technology, extending into the fashion design field. For instance, Microsoft has been working on a smart scarf that will notify users on various things by vibrating and heating up. The scarf can ideally be used to soothe those with disorders, such as autism that have trouble maintaining control of their feelings.
Competitive Landscape
The Smart Fabrics Market has limited players. These companies are trying to come up with innovative ideas for better smart fabric products, to stand out in the market which is creating competition among major players. Major players include AIQ Smart Clothing, Inc., Adidas AG, ThermoSoft International Corporation, among others. Some of the recent developments in the market are:
- April 2019 - Under Armour launched its new smart UA Rush training line designed to offer benefits to the body as an infrared sauna.
- July 2018 - OTEX expanded its product portfolio of narrow-woven, high-performance textiles, which is qualified by Underwriters Laboratories (UL), testing to National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) standards.
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