TEXTILES.ORG
In the time between starting to write this blog post and completing it, the U.S. went to war. The events that certain protective textiles markets prepare for are underway, and the textile products used in supporting this effort are now engaged in performing as planned. Nobody wants this kind of destruction. But if it happens, you sure want to know that you have what you need when you need it. That creates an opportunity for providers of the required technology, materials and end products.
Anecdotally, I would say that the growth of the protective textiles market since I first started writing about it is impressive. The technology has improved, the number of end products commercially available has expanded, and the adoption of these products now permeates areas of the globe that didn’t have them perhaps as little as 10 years ago. In some cases, much less time.
The market, generally, covers an extensive range of market segments from healthcare, to outdoor occupations, military uses, manufacturing environments, emergency workers and home use, too. Cut proof or bullet proof, fire resistant or hazmat resistant, pathogen protection and antibacterial—all these and more encompass a large, and expanding, industry. Textiles have an enormous role to play.
But you don’t have to take my word for it. Our feature writer, Dr. Seshadri Ramkumar, has done the research to document where the protective market is going in his feature, “Are protective textiles the future?” Given the extensive possibilities where textiles can contribute to protective products, it’s not such a stretch to make the claim.
But there’s a larger question, isn’t there? Protective materials cover a lot of market “real estate,” with highly specialized products in medical fields, critically important protections for warfighters in combat environments, and garments and gear for workers in industrial settings, too. But this falls short of the larger picture, which encompasses products we’d find in our homes, such as the gloves I wear every time I put wood in our burning woodstove, the fire-resistant materials used in our new garage, and the face masks I keep on hand for air travel. It’s a big, big industry, when you think of it that way. And I do.
Nevertheless, it’s hard to not be preoccupied with the bombs exploding continuously in the Middle East and the repercussions millions of ordinary citizens in our global society are facing, and will continue to face when the skies are quiet. In that scenario, textile products will be there to provide shelter, warmth and comfort as an entire region of our planet goes about the task of reclaiming and rebuilding their futures.
Janet Preus is senior editor of Textile Technology Source. She can be reached at janet.preus@textiles.org.