Recently, sporadic or clustered epidemics have occurred in many places across the country. As people’s awareness of hygiene and health increases, antibacterial fabrics have become popular in the textile market in recent times. Major textile companies have tested the waters and developed various antibacterial fabrics.
Global companies are seizing the “blue ocean”
Since the outbreak last year, antibacterial fabrics have become increasingly popular It is becoming more and more common in the textile market.
“The outbreak of the epidemic has made consumers no longer simply satisfied with dressing beautifully, but also dressing healthily. Antibacterial functional textiles have become a development hotspot for textile companies. We Based on this demand, antibacterial fabrics made of long-lasting antibacterial cotton yarn, Ivy antibacterial yarn, mint antibacterial yarn and pure cotton antibacterial elastic yarn have been developed.” The relevant person in charge of Weiqiao Textile Co., Ltd. said that enterprises should keep up or advance Perceive people’s consumption needs, especially people’s inner needs in terms of spiritual, psychological and cultural connotations.
In response to the impact of the epidemic, Liansheng (Fujian) Textile Technology Development Co., Ltd. promptly launched a series of graphene antibacterial protection fabrics to meet the needs of clothing brands and the consumer market. According to the relevant person in charge of the company’s R&D center, in 2020, the company will increase its efforts in the development of new products, develop a series of new “antibacterial and antibacterial” products, and regularly launch high-quality products that lead market consumption. At present, the company has reached strategic cooperation relationships with a number of clothing brands, which has basically offset the overall impact of reduced export orders on corporate operations.
In order to comply with market demands for antibacterial and environmental protection, Dezhou Huayuan Ecological Technology Co., Ltd. has focused on developing a series of seaweed fiber antibacterial products. Li Yubin, the company’s executive deputy general manager, said: “With the change in domestic consumption concepts and the improvement of consumers’ awareness of health, functional fabric products are very popular. Many Huayuan products are in short supply, which also verifies our early plans. Judgment. In the future, we will continue to pay attention to the changing trends of the domestic textile market, select high-quality raw materials, and develop products needed by downstream companies.”
Not only domestic companies, but also foreign fabric companies We are stepping up efforts to develop new antibacterial fabrics. Albini Group is Europe’s largest supplier of shirt fabrics. The company’s production arm collaborated with Swiss company HeiQ to develop the ViroFormula antibacterial fabric range. This technology helps reduce the risk and speed of contamination and transmission by preventing fabric surfaces from becoming a breeding ground for harmful viruses and bacteria.
Teijin Frontier, the fiber processing division of Japan’s Teijin Group, cooperated with Murata Manufacturing to develop a Pieclex piezoelectric fabric with antibacterial properties. This product combines piezoelectric technology composed of electronic components with fabric technology, allowing the fabric to convert movement into electrical energy through human body movements, thereby producing antibacterial properties.
Product quality varies
There is no doubt that today, people are still concerned about antibacterial textiles. The requirements of antibacterial fabrics are getting higher and higher, and antibacterial fabrics have received unprecedented attention. Clothing brands using antibacterial fabrics are also emerging one after another. According to a survey report on the global textile market, the market share of antibacterial and antiviral products has reached US$10.48 billion and is expected to grow to US$20.5 billion in 2026, nearly doubling.
However, behind the rapid growth of antibacterial fabrics, there are hidden worries.
Recently, the Zhejiang Ningbo Consumer Rights Protection Committee released the comparative test results of functional clothing. The test results showed that among the 12 antibacterial garments tested this time, 5 were unqualified, and among them, the antibacterial properties of 4 products did not meet their stated product standards. Among the substandard products, Dongguan Caitian Garment Co., Ltd. has responded. The relevant person in charge of the company said that the fabric and lace suppliers used by the brand are all well-known domestic companies, including partners of Victoria’s Secret. Regarding the test results, the person in charge said that the company will focus on investigating the matter, verifying and following up.
Coincidentally, the Shanghai Consumer Rights Protection Committee also recently conducted a comparative test on 40 antibacterial underwear (pants) samples. The results showed that although all samples had antibacterial effects to a certain extent, the antibacterial effects of these products showed large differences in comparative tests. Among them, 8 samples reached Class A antibacterial requirements, 2 samples reached Class AA antibacterial requirements, and 10 samples reached Class AAA antibacterial requirements.
Some industry experts analyzed the results and pointed out that fabrics with poor antibacterial effects usually use post-processing technology, that is, antibacterial agents are added to the fabric through the subsequent shaping process. Fabric up. “Such a process is relatively simple. As the number of times clothing is washed increases, the antibacterial effect of this type of fabric will drop significantly, so that it will no longer have the antibacterial effect. Such products will eventually be eliminated from the market.”
Work together to take advantage of the situation to break the situation
For fabric companies, developing antibacterial products is both a challenge and an opportunity for breakthrough development. Everyone wants to take advantage of the popularity of antibacterial fabrics. However, some fabric companies have long faced problems such as lack of talent, and the antibacterial fabrics they produce have more gimmicks than substance. How to deal with this dilemma?
The Sateri Group is a world-renowned manufacturer of regenerated cellulose fiber. It released EcoCosy® last year.�Taibei fiber uses injection spinning technology to evenly disperse active antibacterial substances on the surface and inside of the fiber, which has an inhibitory effect on microorganisms such as bacteria, fungi and viruses. The person in charge of the product said: “Due to the use of pre-spinning injection technology, the active antibacterial substances are more evenly distributed, resulting in excellent antibacterial performance and longer lasting, and the excellent antibacterial effect is still maintained after 50 washes. Antaibe fiber It is also conducive to reducing body odor, effectively eliminating odor, and has good gas adsorption. After multiple washings, the antibacterial and deodorizing effect is still obvious.”
“Last year, we Joined the Sateri BV Fiber Product Development Technology Innovation Alliance. As EcoCosy’s preferred fabric partner, this cooperation has brought the company a wealth of development elements and room for value improvement, and promoted communication and interaction between fabric companies and upstream yarn mills. , and also strengthened cooperation with suppliers.” Yan Xinhua, general manager of Xinsheng Printing and Dyeing Knitting Factory, said in an interview with a reporter from China Textile News, “In the post-epidemic era, antibacterial fabrics can directly address the pain points of consumers, allowing the company to have more More advantages to convince customers.”
In addition, scientific research cooperation with universities has also become the choice of many fabric companies. Previously, at the research and development seminar on new antibacterial and antiviral fabrics held by Changzhou Textile and Garment Vocational and Technical College, Yadong (Changzhou) Technology Co., Ltd., Changzhou Dongheng Printing and Dyeing Co., Ltd., Changzhou Oasis Textile Co., Ltd., and Changzhou Hualida Garment Group Co., Ltd. Relevant persons in charge of the company, Changzhou Dongfang Yisite Dyeing and Weaving Co., Ltd., Changzhou Yuyuan Lingtai Fabric Technology Co., Ltd., and Jiangsu Hoosheng Department Energy Technology Co., Ltd. all said that in the post-epidemic era, the research and development of antibacterial and antiviral fabrics is of great significance. There is a broad market prospect. In the future, we hope to cooperate with the college to solve technical problems in this area, implement research and development tasks, and achieve technological breakthroughs as soon as possible, so as to seize market opportunities. </p
