Many of today’s textile clothes are made of innovative fibres manufactured thanks to petrochemicals.
We want our clothes to be warm, but not thick and itchy or we want them to keep us cool, especially when we’re exercising. We want them colourful, but we don’t want the colour to fade after a few washes. We don’t want them to crease after a few hours’ wear, but we do want them supple and soft on the skin. We want them resistant too. All this has been made possible by fibres and dyes based on petrochemicals.
Research into new innovative fibers is progressing rapidly and “intelligent clothes” could save our lives in the near future. They will monitor a patient’s vital signs, or detect wounds, and administer medicines.