Smart Textile Market: Emerging Challenges and Future Market Potential

Smart Textile Market Overview:

A digital component is embedded in smart textiles, also known as electronic textiles, e-textiles, smart garments, and fabrics. A battery, a led, an electronic chip, or a sensor can all be used. Various approaches, such as conductive fibers or multilayer 3D printing, are used to incorporate the technology into the fabric.

 

These are made and developed to incorporate technology that provides the user with more capability. Smart fabrics are designed to add value to the user's experience, whether it's for pleasure, performance, or safety. These include health, safety, security, and lifestyle monitoring applications.

 

 

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Smart Textile Market Dynamics:

Adoption of advanced technologies in smart textiles:

New technologies such as the Internet of Things (IoT) and artificial intelligence (AI) have altered the textile sector. To monitor and exchange the wearer's data, such as heart rate, blood pressure, sweat, and temperature, new smart gear is being created that incorporates Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE), artificial intelligence (AI), edge computing, and cloud data. AI can access and collect historical and real-time operational data, as well as provide insights that can assist the wearer in being more productive. Pattern verification, defect analysis, and colour correction are some of the most prominent AI uses in smart textile manufacturing.

 

Smart garments that combine IoT and electrical sensors to give a better user experience have been made possible thanks to AI. Textiles with built-in technologies can provide a more comfortable and healthier environment. Smart textiles can provide a range of physiological data because they cover so much of the body. Also, smart textiles rely significantly on IoT and Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) technology for a long-lasting energy source from their internal battery.

 

Low level of awareness for smart textiles amongst consumers:

According to the GMI APAC Wearable Technology Survey, smart clothing is not as popular as other wearables. Only 20% of those asked said they knew what smart clothing was. Nonetheless, smart fabrics are expected to become increasingly common in the future, according to forecast. The e-textiles industry is expected to have a lot of capacity, according to IDC's Worldwide Quarterly Wearable Device Tracker, with a CAGR of 77% through 2021.

 

Regulations and standards for smart textiles are lacking:

The lack of industry standards and regulations is expected to be a key barrier to market growth, as it makes it difficult for smart fabric companies to scale up and develop incremental and novel technologies. The production of smart textiles has the potential to be harmful to the environment and human health.

 

The textile industry's key activities include de-sizing, dyeing, bleaching, neutralizing, scouring, mercerizing, printing, and finishing. High-level hazardous effluents are released as a result of these procedures, contaminating soil and polluting the air, surface water, and groundwater. Stringent environmental rules must be established to limit the pollutants released by the textile industry.

 

 

Designing of multi-featured and hybridized smart textile:

People typically own numerous mobile devices, such as smartphones and tablets, and they desire small devices that can do all computing and monitoring duties in one device. This paves the way for the development of multi-function and hybrid smart textiles that not only make consumers' lives easier but also combine multiple wearable electronics.

 

For example, The National University of Singapore (NUS) has created conductive textiles that can connect multiple wearable devices in real-time. The signal strength of this wireless body sensor network is 1,000 times that of standard technologies, allowing devices to transfer data with 1,000 times the signal intensity. According to the researchers, they'll be used in human-machine interfaces, health monitoring, and medicinal interventions.

 

Technical challenges posed by smart textiles:

• Surplus information:

The volume of data grows practically geometrically as a result of the introduction of a large number of applications, sensor elements, and IoT. It can be difficult to categorize some data.

 

• Difficulty in data analysis:

Approaches and systems that can ensure data integrity, accuracy, and reliability are required to turn data into information. These characteristics are especially important in the field of safety and health.

 

• Wide range of data availability:

Data classification might be difficult at times. The first is that there are numerous types of sensors that collect different types of data. Another factor is that data is unpredictable. It can be heard at different times and with different levels of interference. Finally, the output data could be unreliable. As a result, separating or integrating heterogeneous data, as well as comparing and learning, requires the use of additional instruments and time.

 

• Requirement of battery's life extension:

The longer a smart garment's battery lasts, the more statistics it can collect. Data transmission, however, demands the usage of energy. As a result, a compromise must be maintained between energy conservation and data throughput. One solution is to filter data and only transmit what is required; unfortunately, this results in the loss of some data.

 

• Protecting massive data is difficult:

Data protection is challenging to maintain, not only for processed data but also for raw data. Smart clothing, as well as wearables in general, is the goal of data brokers.

 

• No universal code of ethics:

Patented data formats are used by the majority of big data organizations. The lack of standards makes it more difficult to send data sets. The goal at hand is to choose a single open format for receiving data and conducting their primary analysis.

 

Consumer concerns about smart textiles:

• Smart textiles costs:

According to a Lightspeed GMI poll, around 15% of end-users believe wearable outfits are too expensive to purchase. Many respondents are willing to buy smart clothing if prices fall.

 

• Irrelevance:

About half of potential customers are unsure whether or not they will wear smart clothing daily. It is possible to presume that smart clothing is the same tale based on the experience of others who have used wearables.

 

Smartwatches, for instance, have a 29% abandonment rate, while fitness trackers have a 30% abandonment rate. Such high rates are linked to gadgets becoming bored or breaking. The second customer concern, a lack of value, is frequently linked to inefficiency.

 

• Lack of worth:

According to Nielsen's Connected Life Report, more than 80% of respondents responded that functionality is the most essential aspect in deciding whether or not to buy something. Comfort was cited by somewhat less than 80% of respondents as a significant consideration.

 

The following is a thorough list of the most significant qualities for smart garment wearers:

• • • Usefulness

    • Data Accuracy

    • Battery Life

    • Endurance

    • Comfort

 

• Personal safety is at risk:

The security of data provided by wearables is a controversial topic. Smart clothing is most commonly used in the military, medicine, and sports. Data is important not only for the other party, such as the military leadership, doctor, team, or coach but also for the smart clothes manufacturers.

 

Smart clothing has sensors built-in. The Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act does not cover smart clothes that track some healthy indicators such as physical activity, blood glucose level, or sleeping habits. It implies that such information could be shared with third parties.

 

Smart Textile Market Segmentation:

Based on Type:

In 2020, the performance enhancement smart textile segment was dominant and held almost xx% of the overall market share in terms of revenue. Fabrics designed to improve performance help human activities by regulating body temperature, perspiration, heart rate, respiration, and other factors. Clothing that regulates body temperature and fabrics that guard against environmental threats like radiation are two examples.

 

Detailed information about each segment is covered in the SMR’s report.

 

Smart Textile Market Regional Insights:

In terms of value, the smart textiles market in North America held xx% of the global market share in 2020. The substantial demand for smart fabrics in the US, particularly from the military and protection, healthcare, and fitness verticals and sports, is one of the main aspects that has led to the North American smart textiles market's leading position.

 

Also, North America is home to many major smart textile manufacturers, including DuPont (US), Gentherm (US), Sensoria (US), Alphabet (US), and Jabil (US), all of which are helping to drive the regional market forward.

 

Recent Advancements:

• Google and Levi’s

Google has been collaborating with Levi Strauss on a smart denim jacket for several years. The idea was to make a smart jacket using Google's Project Jacquard technology. This is a sophisticated denim jacket with built-in touch controls and a fabric sleeve. The technique was launched in the new Levi's jackets in November 2019.

 

The jacket communicates with a partner smartphone app through Bluetooth and conductive wire. With programmable web touches, users may modify their music choices and perform other tasks.

 

• Smart Textiles for healthcare.

Other tech titans, including Microsoft and Apple, are filing patent applications for smart fabric technology integration. Apple has applied for a patent that will allow them to incorporate health monitoring technology into garments. In November 2019, Microsoft submitted a patent for Electronically Functional Yarn, a smart knitting technique that will be integrated into yarns for electrical functionality.

 

Spinali Design, a French firm, creates high-end beachwear with built-in ultraviolet light sensors that signal when it's time to apply sunscreen.

 

The objective of the report is to present a comprehensive analysis of the Smart Textile Market to the stakeholders in the industry. The report provides trends that are most dominant in the Smart Textile Market and how these trends will influence new business investments and market development throughout the forecast period. The report also aids in the comprehension of the Smart Textile Market dynamics and competitive structure of the market by analyzing market leaders, market followers, and regional players.

 

The qualitative and quantitative data provided in the Smart Textile Market report is to help understand which market segments, regions are expected to grow at higher rates, factors affecting the market, and key opportunity areas, which will drive the industry and market growth through the forecast period. The report also includes the competitive landscape of key players in the industry along with their recent developments in the Smart Textile Market. The report studies factors such as company size, market share, market growth, revenue, production volume, and profits of the key players in the Smart Textile Market.

 

The report provides Porter's Five Force Model, which helps in designing the business strategies in the market. The report helps in identifying how many rivals are existing, who they are, and how their product quality is in the Market. The report also analyses if the Smart Textile Market is easy for a new player to gain a foothold in the market, do they enter or exit the market regularly if the market is dominated by a few players, etc.

 

The report also includes a PESTEL Analysis, which aids in the development of company strategies. Political variables help in figuring out how much a government can influence the Market. Economic variables aid in the analysis of economic performance drivers that have an impact on the Market. Understanding the impact of the surrounding environment and the influence of environmental concerns on the Smart Textile Market is supported by legal factors.

 

Smart Textile Market Scope:

Smart Textile Market
Market Size in 2023	USD 6.79 Bn.
Market Size in 2030	USD 39.08 Bn.
CAGR (2024-2030)	28.4%
Historic Data	2018-2022
Base Year	2023
Forecast Period	2024-2030
Segment Scope	By Type Aesthetic Smart Textiles Performance Enhancement Smart Textiles
	By Application Shape Memory Textiles Color-Changing Textiles Phase-Changing Textiles Wearable Smart Electronic Textiles
	North America- United States, Canada, and Mexico Europe – UK, France, Germany, Italy, Spain, Sweden, Austria, and Rest of Europe Asia Pacific – China, India, Japan, South Korea, Australia, ASEAN, Rest of APAC Middle East and Africa - South Africa, GCC, Egypt, Nigeria, Rest of the Middle East and Africa South America – Brazil, Argentina, Rest of South America

 

Smart Textile Market Key Players

• DuPont (United States)
• TE Connectivity (Switzerland)
• Jabil (United States)
• AIQ Smart Clothing (Taiwan)
• Sensoria (United States)
• Gentherm (United States)
• Interactive Wear (Germany)
• New Textile Technologies (Germany)
• Outlast Technologies (United States)
• Adidas (Germany)
• Hexoskin (United States)
• BodiTrak (United States)
• Clothing+ (Finland)
• Schoeller Textiles AG
• Under Armour (United States)
• Textronics (India)