Cotton rules over the world of denim. It is treasured for its ability to soften, fade and wear down, naturally or artificially. But it also has its limitations that new textile technologies seek to offset without modifying its enduring appeal

Cotton is arguably the most comfortable and most affordable of all fibres. It is widely appreciated for its hydrophilic skin-friendliness and soft hand feel. It does not however possess any thermal properties, it does not resist abrasion, does nor does it wick away perspiration. Novel textile engineering can provide a number of performance properties to expand its possible applications, and make it measure up better to synthetics as well as some of the more “techno” natural fibres such as silk, wool or even linen.

Expanding the fibre’s natural appeal is the goal of a multiyear campaign launched by Cotton Council International (CCI). The non-profit trade organisation promotes the use of US-grown cotton in fibre or as finished product through the Cotton USA trademark and has taken booths at Première Vision and Intertextile Shanghai to display possible partnerships designed to give the fibre a performance upgrade. “Our goal is to draw attention and inspire brands to innovate with US-grown cotton by suggesting these possible external technologies that can be added to cotton fabrics,” says CCI executive director Bruce Atherley. 

Oritain and Solucell were some of the companies invited to join the Cotton USA booth at Première Vision last autumn. Oritain is a forensic traceability system for cotton. A global company with offices in Australia, New Zealand, the UK and the US, it has developed a technique to monitor the presence of trace elements and isotopes within cotton fibres that indicate soil composition among other environmental factors. These give cotton, or any other natural substance (honey, dairy, even pharmaceuticals), a specific location-based ‘Origin Fingerprint’ the company states. “Each product has its own fingerprint. There is no need to add a tracer to the fibre,” says Charlotte Evans, operations support manager for Oritain UK. She says the process can also be used to guarantee the origins of leather, wool and cashmere. In October last year, Cotton USA signed a formal partnership with Oritain to provide forensic verification of origin for all US-grown cotton. This technological innovation is based entirely on natural resources and will have no impact on the fibre itself, as nothing is added. 

A new twist 

The technology developed by Chinese company Solucell endows cotton with thermoregulating properties as a result of a hollow core yarn. It is obtained via a special spinning and finishing process, and here again delivers a 100% pure cotton yarn. Cotton fibres are spun around a core yarn that is then dissolved before weaving or knitting. Solucell says its dissolving process is not based on the traditional (and more toxic) PVA. The air trapped in Solucell Air fibres is said to provide thermoregulation and moisture management properties, along with a 20% reduction in weight. The company claims this is the “first functional cotton with no chemicals added”. Levi Strauss has adopted the techno-cotton for its All Seasons Tech collection. “The important aspect of ‘all seasons’ garments is that their life cycle goes beyond a change of season. Their functional nature gives them a longer life span and they can be restocked without risk of unsold inventory,” Lorenzo Rescali tells Inside Denim. The company says it is pursuing research into plated performance fabrics and new spinning technologies with wool. 

Turkish denim manufacturer Isko has been developing performance-oriented fabrics through its Arquas platform. These can be made in cotton or synthetic yarns, depending on the targeted market application. Some of the references can be stonewashed like regular denims, others have compression properties. The range of functions Arquas fabrics feature spans various levels of elasticity to anti-odour, wind- and waterproofness and water repellency. 

The newest collection, which Isko has called Arquas 6.0 and presented at Performance Days last November, includes a wide array of outerwear fabrics. “These fabrics are designed to withstand many advanced manufacturing processes including laser cutting, raw edges and bonding,” says Rosey Cortazzi, global marketing manager for Isko. She adds that the company has begun to recycle cotton waste from its spinning facilities, in a collaboration between Textile Exchange and Isko-owner Sanko.

Portuguese textile manufacturer Tintex has developed a number of eco-friendly finishes for its cotton knits including Colorau, a range of dyes made from natural ingredients, including thyme, mint and chestnut. Developed by a consortium of Portuguese companies, it won a Sustainable Solution award at the May 2019 edition of Techtextil in Frankfurt. The dyestuffs used convey both colour and antimicrobial properties, the company says. Colorau dyes can be used to dye cotton, lyocell and wool fabrics. 

Blends with cotton are also a key target market for Invista’s high-tech Cordura nylon. The company has partnered with Cotton Incorporated to offer quick drying and moisture management functions based on Cotton Inc’s TransDRY finish, or water-repellency with the Storm Cotton finish. These add to the tear strength and abrasion resistance that Cordura brings to its denim fabrics. 

Addressing durability 

Developed by French entrepreneur and biker Pierre-Henry Servajean, Armalith is a high-tech denim designed to offer the same protection as leather. Now co-developed with Royo, in Spain, the fabric has benefited from the denim maker’s know-how in double weft denims. “This technique creates a very thick and very stretch Armalith fabric that is also very hydrophilic, making it more comfortable to wear than leather,” Mr Servajean tells Inside Denim. 

The partnership with Royo has led to the development of lighterweight denims made with a cotton yarn corespun around an ultra-high-molecular-weight polyethylene (UHMWPE or HMPE) core based on patents held by Royo and Armalith. The 12oz denim has been enhanced with a new weft that can have either 4,000 or 8,000 yarns. “This fabric is 30% lighter but retains a high resistance to abrasion corresponding to Darmstadt and Cambridge motorcycle standards,” says Mr Servajean.

The lightest yet Armalith denim weighs 11.5oz. It swaps the original HMPE for a high-tech polyamide 6.6 that is not textured and is usually used for composites, he says. This also brings down its price to half of the HMPE reference. Like the original Armalith, a polyamide 6.6 core is covered with cotton to offer the soft touch and hydrophilic properties of the natural fibre. “Polyamide 6.6 is not as abrasion resistant as our original fibre, but it can withstand higher temperatures,” Mr Servajean says, and one key advantage is that it does not have the limitations of polyethylene with regards to heat, cutting, sewing, laundering and finishing. This fabric will be a key highlight of new jeans by Boldister, a brand that Mr Servjean created as a showcase for Armalith technology.

Royo has also developed a resin-coated indigo denim in Armalith. “The jeans will age and display signs of wear faster. After some 20 launderings, the resin will have washed out and the wearer will have an incredibly comfortable, stretch and fully customised look that offers high protection. It is like an iron fist in a velvet glove,” he says.

Hygienic and cosmetic properties

Argaman Technologies, a company based in Israel, has developed an innovative process to infuse cotton with new properties. Its CottonX platform embeds the natural fibre with various additives by exposing fibres, before spinning, to ultrasonic sound waves in a reactor chamber where different compounds are “blasted” into the fibre itself. This technique makes it possible to manufacture cotton fibres that self-disinfect, stimulate collagen for skin enhancement, treat acne and will not ignite, says Jeff Gabbay, Argaman Technologies president and CTO. 

The company applies a process known as cavitation to cotton. “We are the first to work on this technology on a fibre level. There has been experimentation on a textile level but without success. The process we have developed is operational and can be scaled up to mass production,” says Mr Gabbay. The company is currently building the cavitation machines and working on optimising the way in which the particles hit the cotton fibre so as to remain embedded throughout the life of the product. 

For jeans, the company has developed a skin-enhancing CottonX denim. “Our denims never need to be washed unless they are physically dirty because they are self-disinfecting and will never have an odour,” says Mr Gabbay. The company has obtained an FTC Compliance for Truth in Advertising for the wrinkle-reducing, increased hydration and skin elasticity properties of its high-tech yarns. It is now testing the effect of its technology on attenuating cellulite.

Weather protection 

Beyond the appeal of cotton for next-to-skin clothing, it can also be engineered to offer properties useful for outerwear. It is not necessary to apply a wax or coating to make a cotton fabric weatherproof, if certain conditions are met. Developed in the early 20th century by scientists at the Shirley Institute in Manchester, England, Ventile is a 100% cotton fabric that breathes and blocks water due to special spinning and weaving processes. Extra-long staple cotton fibres are spun to form a low-twist yarn, which is then woven into a high-density textile. In wet weather, the softly spun yarns in the tight weave texture expand, creating a barrier to rain and wind. When British production of Ventile ended in the 1990s, Swiss weaver Stotz became the sole supplier of the fabric. In May 2017, Stotz acquired the Ventile trademark from UK company Talbot Weaving (Chorley) Limited, and is now offering the material under its own brand, Etaproof.

The fabric is available in five weights ranging from 170 to 300 gsm, all having the same level of waterproofness and breathability. The only finish applied is a “light impregnation to reinforce water repellence,” says Stotz marketing manager Daniel Odermatt. To address growing demand, new weave textures have been developed, including a rip stop and organic cotton references. “When I first started working for the company, the army was our main market, representing 30 to 40% of sales, this proportion has now dropped to around 2% thanks to growing sales to newer brands looking for performance fabrics made in natural fibres,” he says, citing Stone Island, Klattermusen and Amundsen among his clients. 

The North Face has tapped the authentic appeal of cotton in outerwear with a capsule collection made in a waxed and laminated cotton fabric from British Millerain. Based in Lancashire, the mill is now headed by the sixth generation of the Miller family.

Both traditional fabric manufacturers and new companies are focusing their efforts on what Cotton Inc has long called “the fabric of our lives”. Thanks to this new input, the traditional fibre can feature unconventional properties and can expand its rule to high-tech applications. 

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