Researchers at the Hohenstein Institute have partnered Swiss knitted fabrics manufacturer Eschler Textil to develop innovative knitted fabrics for use in workwear. Garments made from the functional warp knitted fabrics are said to be able to withstand industrial laundering and can therefore be used in the garment rental sector, which is normally the domain of woven fabrics.

“For the first time, warp-knitted fabrics have been developed for making clothes for healthcare workers and doctors which retain their functional properties, especially their smart appearance and high degree of comfort, even after industrial washing. This means that highly functional knitted garments can also be used in the textile leasing business,” a spokesperson for the Hohenstein Institute said yesterday.

Normally, woven fabrics made from polyester cotton blends are used in the medical garment rental sector due to their crease resistant properties and ability to withstand industrial laundering.

However, according to the Hohenstein Institute, the newly developed knitted fabrics have advantages over woven fabrics in that they offer better management of perspiration, resulting in their being more comfortable to wear and in their improved resistance to creasing.

In addition the new knitted fabrics are able to withstand a realistic number of industrial wash cycles and so are suitable for garment rental, while at the same time being very comfortable to wear, the institute says.

Tests carried out on the samples at the Hohenstein Institute focused mainly on the thermal physiology and skin-sensitivity parameters, strength, resistance to abrasion, self-smoothing characteristics, ability to keep their shape after washing, opacity and tendency to drawn threads. By identifying the fabrics with the best physiological comfort characteristics and those most suitable for industrial washing, design guidelines have been drawn up for producing various versions of the functional knitted fabrics.

The project received financial support from the Textile Research Council under a programme called PROINNO which aims to improve the innovation skills and competitiveness of medium-sized companies. Funding came from the Federal Ministry of Economics and Technology (BMWi) through the Federation of Industrial Research Associations (AIF).