AThe sportswear textile industry has not only seen in market diversification for fibrous materials but has also contributed towards the elevation of textile science and technology to a level of approaching that of high tech industrial sectors. The performance requirements of many sports goods often demand widely different properties from their constituent fibres and fabrics, such as barrier to rain, snow, cold, heat and strength.

At the same time these textiles must fulfill the consumer requirements of drape, comfort, fit and ease of movement. Among the contributing factors responsible for successful marketing of functional sportswear has been made in the fibre and polymer sciences and production techniques for obtaining sophisticated fibre, yarns and fabrics.

The finishing and laminating industries have done pioneering work in the area of developing these technologies towards the needs of sportswear and sporting goods sectors resulting in unique products. This paper reviews various works done in development of waterproof, breathable and active sportswear textiles.

The moisture transport properties and various factors affecting it are also discussed for sportswear fabrics using different fibres. The various blended fibres and fabrics with different fabric structure and the functional finishes used for the development of waterproof, breathable and active sportswear textiles have been described along with their constitutional elements and special characteristics.

The active breathable fabrics are designed for use in garments that provide protection from the environmental factors like wind, rain and loss of body heat. Waterproof fabric completely prevents the penetration and absorption of liquid water. The term breathable implies that the fabric is actively ventilated. High functional fabrics support active sportswear with importance placed on high functions as well as comfort. Finally, materials with heating and/or cooling property have newly attracted the interest of the market. All these materials do not pursue a single function, but different functional properties combined on a higher level.
For a person engaged in normal routine indoor activity, energy expended is 50 watt/square meter/hour. The metabolic heat generated is readily dissipated through the clothing as sweat. At rest, a body will give off, about 60 ml of water vapour per hour at ambient conditions. Moderate exertion (Walking) will increase the amount to about 450 ml per hour. During sporting activity, e.g., tennis or cycling, the metabolic heat increases six times and perspiration 14 times (840 ml).
During such strenuous body activity, the wearer perspires and the cloth worn next to skin will get wet. The sports and leisure wears exert a barrier for efficient transfer of excess heat resulting in a rise in core body temperature and skin temperature greater than 37°C which increases sweating. The excess heat moistures the fabric, which then reduces the body heat and makes the wearer become so tired.

So the fabric worn next to skin should have two important properties. The initial and the foremost properties are to evaporate the perspiration from the skin surface and the second property is to transfer the moisture to the atmosphere and make the wearer feel comfortable. This can be achieved by bi – layer fabric concept with various fibers.
The performance requirements of many sports goods often demand widely different properties from their constituent fibres and fabrics, such as barrier to rain, snow, cold, heat and strength and at the same time these textiles must fulfill the consumer requirements of drape, comfort, fit and ease of movement.

Among the contributing factors responsible for successful marketing of functional sportswear has been made in the fibre and polymer sciences and production techniques for obtaining sophisticated fibre, yarns and fabrics. The finishing and laminating industries have done pioneering work in the area of developing these technologies towards the needs of sportswear and sporting goods sectors resulting in unique products.

Properties Required For Active Sportswear

For top level competition, active sportswear requires super lightweight, low fluid resistance, super high tenacity and stretch ability. For those seeking comfort and healthy pursuits, critical features include thermal retention, UV resistance, cooling capacity, sweat absorption and fast drying, vapour permeability, water proofing to provide relaxation without fatigue. From the sensitivity or aesthetic point of view softness, surface texture, handle, luster, color variation, transparency and comfort in sportswear are important factors. In general predominant requirements from most of the active sportswear are: protection, insulation, & stretch.

Characteristics of Active Sportswear

In active and endurance sports, the performance of sportswear is synonymous with its comfort characteristics. In active wear of outdoor use, the clothing should be capable of protecting the wearer from external elements such as wind, sun, rain and snow. At same time it should capable of maintaining the heat balance between the excess heat produced by the wearer due to increased metabolic rate on the other hand and the capacity of clothing to dissipate the body heat and perspiration on the other.
All these resulted in some of the most interesting fabrics which possess the desired qualities of good tactile properties, thermal insulation, stretch, quick liquid absorption ability to evaporate water while staying dry to the touch and being capable of transporting perspiration from skin to outer surface and then quickly dispersing it the performance category that has seen a large number of innovations is that of moisture management, which is directly related to comfort.
These fabrics are engineered by using either micro porous or hydrophilic membranes, and the water vapour transmission through these membranes is achieved by the physical process of adsorption, diffusion and adsorption.
It is now well established that no single fibre or blends of different fibres can make ideal sportswear. The pre requirements of ideal sportswear are rapid transport of perspiration away from the body and then its rapid evaporation.

Fibres Used In Sportswear

For every active sport, synthetic fibres preferred because they do not retain moisture and therefore do not get heavy upon sweating like cotton does. Synthetic sports uniforms also have better dimensional stability. Synthetic fibres offer the three major requirements in today’s high technology sports uniforms: Warmth, wind resistance, moisture wicking and lightness. Comfort and feel of natural fibers, Style and a variety of colours.
With the advanced technology, however, natural fibres like cotton and Tencel are making a comeback in high-performance, outdoor activities. For example, cotton can be made wind proof, breathable, and water resistant. For heavier fabrics, such as track suits and jogging suits, nylon, polyester, acrylic, and their blends with acetate, cotton and wool are used. These fabrics maybe brushed inside for warmth and are cut loosely for comfort.

Polyester micro-fibers are characterized by their low denier and a fiber is considered as a micro-fiber when its denier is below 1 (0.8). It is generally agreed that a micro fiber yarns indicates the filament and staple of fiber, which are 1.0 denier and less. (Denier is the fiber weight in grams of a 9,000 meter length). The higher the number, the thicker the fiber.
One of the most important developments in recent years has been the technology to extrude extremely fine filaments (less than 1.0 denier) to produce fabric with a softer feel. These microfibers are much finer than natural fibers. This coupled with extraordinary performance have given them another worldly reference – “Supernatural” is what much of the industry calls these microfibers.
The chief special feature of microfibers is its cotton-like soft feel. Among the other features that this finest man-made fiber offers are wrinkle resistance, lightweight, drape ability, softness, silkiness and buttery hand. Yet, the spaces between the yarns are porous enough to breathe and wick moisture away from the body. Micro-fibers are most commonly found in polyester and nylon. Some rayon and acrylic micro-fibers are in production and available to consumers. Micro-fibers can be used alone or blended with conventional denier man-made fibers as well as with natural fibers such as cotton, wool, and silk.