Textiles

13. Textiles

13.1 Raw Material Source

13.2 Yarn Formation Method

13.3 Textile Formation

13.4 Preparation

13.5 Coloration

13.6 Additional Coloration and Finishing

13.7 Chemistry Certifications

Textiles

Textiles is a material category composed of flexible materials made from natural and synthetic fibers. Textiles can be very diverse, with different materials and yarns commonly blended together into a single textile material.

At minimum, the primary raw material content (also known as material or fiber content) needs to be known to select an appropriate textile material option in the Higg MSI. If raw material content is the only aspect of the material known, then the Example Materials can be used without further customization. When the main Textile Formation method of a material is also known, that information should be used to customize the material, to more accurately model the impacts on other Production Stages.

Textiles can be customized at the following Production Stages:

  • Raw Material Source
  • Yarn Formation Method
  • Textile Formation
  • Preparation
  • Coloration
  • Additional Coloration and Finishing
  • Chemistry Certifications

There are twenty-three different Example Materials in the Textiles category that can be selected and customized.  These can be differentiated primarily by raw material source. Each raw material source can further be customized in the Raw Material Source Production Stage.

  • Acetate, Triacetate fabric should be selected when the raw material type is an acetylated regenerated cellulosic (cellulose acetate). This includes both acetate and triacetate fibers.
  • Acrylic fabric should be selected when the raw material type is an acrylic fiber, including modacrylic. Both acrylic and modacrylic are synthetic polymers that use an acrylonitrile monomer.
  • Alpaca fabric should be selected when the raw material type is fiber sourced from the fleece of any breed of alpaca, including Huacaya and Suri.
  • Aramid fabric should be selected when the raw material type is a synthetic polyamide material where at least 85% of the amide bonds are directly attached to two aromatic rings.
  • Carbon fiber fabric should be selected when the resulting fiber is a carbon fiber, regardless of the raw material type used as the input into the carbonization process.
  • Cotton fabric should be selected when the raw material type is a natural fiber from the cotton plant ().
  • Elastane/Spandex fabric should be selected when the raw material type is an elastane/spandex fiber. Elastane/spandex is a long chain synthetic polymer comprised of at least 85% of a segmented polyurethane which has high (>100%) stretch and recovery functionality.
  • Flax fiber fabric should be selected when the raw material type is a natural bast fiber from the flax plant (). Flax fiber fabric is also commonly called linen.
  • Glass fiber fabric should be selected when the raw material type of the fiber forming substance is glass.
  • Hemp fiber fabric should be selected when the raw material type is a natural bast fiber from the hemp plant (Cannabis sp.)
  • Jute fiber fabric should be selected when the raw material type is a natural bast fiber from the jute plant (Corchorus sp.).
  • Lyocell fabric should be selected when the fiber is a regenerated cellulosic made using direct dissolution (no substitution of the hydroxyl groups and no chemical intermediates)in the organic solvent N-MethylmorpholineN-oxide (NMMO).
  • Modal fabric should be selected when the fiber is a high wet modulus regenerated cellulosic manufactured through a modified viscose process.
  • Nylon fabric should be selected when the raw material type is a synthetic polyamide polymer, where less than 85% of the amide bonds are directly attached to two aromatic rings. Nylon fabric is applicable for all polyamides besides those that are classified as aramid fabric.
  • Novel Polysaccharide fabric should be selected when the raw material type is an enzymatic polysaccharide.
  • Polyester fabric should be selected when the raw material type is the synthetic polymer polyethylene terephthalate (PET) or elasterell-p. Elasterell-p is an inherently elastic, bicomponent fiber consisting of two substantially different forms of polyester, also referred to as “T400.” Other specialty polyesters, including polytrimethylene terephthalate and polylactic acid are found in other material types in this list.
  • Polylactic Acid (PLA) fabric should be selected when the raw material type is a polymer composed of at least 85% by weight of lactic acid ester units derived from naturally occurring sugars.
  • Polyethylene (PE) fabric should be selected when the fiber is made of either low or high density polyethylene.
  • Polypropylene (PP) fabric should be selected when the raw material type is a long chain synthetic polymer composed of at least 85% by weight ofpropylene. For now, other olefin fabrics such as polyethylene fabric should select polypropylene fabric as the closest proxy.
  • Polytrimethylene Terephthalate (PTT) fabric should be selected when the raw material type is a polyester where the glycol is at least 90 mole percent 1,3-propanediol. Polytrimethylene terephthalate (PTT) fabric is also known as triexta fabric.
  • Polyurethane (PU) fabric should be selected when the raw material type is a polyurethane polymer that doesn’t otherwise classify as elastane/spandex. This can include thermoplastic polyurethanes.
  • Silk fabric should be selected when the raw material type is protein fiber and most commonly obtained from the cocoons of silkworms.
  • Viscose/Rayon fabric should be selected when the fiber is a regenerated cellulosic manufactured through the viscose process.
  • Wool fabric should be selected when the raw material type is fiber sourced from the fleece of any breed of sheep (Ovis sp.). For now, specialty wools other than alpaca should be selected as wool fabric.

If a material has more than one type of raw material, then create a blend of each constituent part, beginning with each constituent part’s respective raw material type. For instance, a cotton/polyester material would be created with two constituent parts, starting by customizing both a cotton material and a polyester material. The percentages of each blend component can be specified afterward, in the final material.