Business and Commerce News

“We want to discover new processes to assist or enhance human performance through functional design, and the way we engineer fabric and construct garments,” says NZM Research, Development and Product Innovation Manager, Dr Scott Champion.

“Instead of producing garments that look or feel nice and selling them for a range of uses, we want to understand consumer and participant requirements within a particular sector and have a range of test methods that allow us to construct a fabric specifically to suit.” Scott Champion uses the example of mountain biking, where factors such as moisture absorption and moisture transfer, air permeability, and wind resistance would be tested so the most suitable fabric could be created for a biker’s jersey.

The research will give Designer Textiles and NZM scientifically sound information about the properties of merino and merino blend fabrics which can be used as a marketing story around the world. It will also establish a credible point of difference and a competitive edge over synthetic fibre.

Designer Textiles has increased its commitment to merino, moving away from substitute or synthetic fibre. Technical Development Manager, David Carter, says the advanced knowledge will enable the creation of new fabrics for purpose-made garments. “We are gaining more customers in the United States and Europe and the scientifically defensible claims give us the technical information to take to the market, giving the product credibility and backing up its pedigree,” he says.

Scott Champion says that from Technology New Zealand’s point of view the research is important because it creates a commercial environment way beyond the life of this funding. “It means we can tell the merino story in a robust way in the marketplace, involving good education, and it provides ongoing value to the growers,” says Scott Champion.