Become a Creator today!Start creating today - Share your story with the world!
Start for free
00:00:00
00:00:01
Ep 19. Now and the Future of Smart Textiles with Victoria Nickerson
2 Playsin 15 hours
In this special episode of No Ordinary Cloth, we're joined by Victoria, the Material Innovation Lead at the World Textile Information Network (WTIN). Victoria shares her insights on the rapidly evolving field of smart textiles, highlighting key innovations and challenges in this industry. We discuss how smart textiles are bridging the gap between textiles, electronics, and computing, and explore emerging trends such as self-powered textiles and bio-based solutions. Victoria also discusses the importance of sustainability and circularity in the smart textile industry.
About WTIN:
WTIN is a leading provider of specialist insights and data-driven intelligence for businesses across the textiles and power value chain. Their primary focus is on high-growth markets such as material innovation, industry digitalisation, and technical textiles. WTIN operates on a subscription basis, offering a wide range of digital content, including in-depth reports, company profiles, podcasts, and conferences.
Key Points:
- Smart Textiles Database: Victoria discusses her comprehensive smart textile database, which connects companies across the supply chain, from conductive yarns to integrators who help develop commercially viable products.
- Emerging Trends: We explore emerging trends in smart textiles, including self-powered textiles and bio-based solutions.
- Collaboration: This episode is a special collaboration with WTIN's Textile Innovation Podcast, welcoming their listeners to our community.
World Textile Information Network (WTiN): Website l Linkedin
Textile Innovation: Podcast
You can connect with me here: Linkedin l Insta l Buy me a coffee
Email me: No Ordinary Cloth
Cover art: Photo by Siora, Photography on Unsplash
Music: Inspired Ambient, Orchestraman
Recommended
Transcript
Introduction to No Ordinary Cloth
00:00:05
Speaker
Welcome to the No Ordinary Cloth podcast, where we explore innovations bubbling away at the intersection of textiles, emerging technology, craft, and sustainability. I'm your host, Millie Tharakin, a textile innovator and researcher.
00:00:17
Speaker
Today on our episode, we have Victoria Nickerson, the Material Innovation Lead at World Textile Information Network. And with over five years of experience in tracking innovations in smart textile, Victoria offers a really unique perspective on this rapidly evolving field.
WTIN Insights and Offerings
00:00:34
Speaker
If you're not familiar with WTIN or the World Textile Information Network, they provide data-driven insights and intelligence across the textile value chain, focusing on material innovation, industry digitalization, and technical textiles.
00:00:48
Speaker
They host conferences and webinars as well. And if you want to get in-depth information or just get the pulse of what is happening in the textile sector, I would highly recommend them as a key resource for everyone I mean, right from academics to manufacturers, brands and retailers.
00:01:03
Speaker
It is really helpful for all. It's a subscription service, but they do give you access to some free content
Smart Textile Innovations: Key Players and Industry Future
00:01:09
Speaker
as well. So listen in to find out more about this. I have also provided a link in the show notes to their website. So check it out.
00:01:16
Speaker
Today, Victoria shares insights from comprehensive smart textile database that she's put together. And this is years of work highlighting key players and innovations that are shaping the future of this industry.
00:01:28
Speaker
We also explore emerging trends such as self-powered textiles and bio-based solutions and look into the challenges of sustainability and circularity in the smart textile industry.
00:01:39
Speaker
This episode is particularly exciting for me because it's in partnership with WTIN and we'll be launching this episode both on the No Ordinary Cloth podcast channel as well as Textile Innovation, which is the podcast run by WTIN, another really helpful resource for more textile innovation.
00:01:57
Speaker
So definitely check this podcast out as well. A quick note before we start, if you find the content here valuable, please subscribe and you can also use the link in the show notes for buy me a coffee and support me to create more episodes.
00:02:11
Speaker
All right, let's now join Victoria to learn more about the smart textile industry and what's happening there.
The Role and Importance of Smart Textile Database
00:02:17
Speaker
Hi, Victoria. I'm so excited to have you here on the podcast, and I'm really looking forward to our conversation today because you're someone who has this incredible bird's eye view about all that is yeah happening in the world of textiles, all the exciting thing that's happening, especially in material innovation and smart textiles.
00:02:35
Speaker
And I know I could speak to you for hours probably because you know so much, you're so knowledgeable But today, i want to pick your brains specifically about smart textiles and this comprehensive smart textile database that you've created.
00:02:50
Speaker
You were leading the smart textile channel at WTIN for several years, and you know this space inside out better than anyone. And I think it was around 2021 that we first met, isn't it, when you reached out to me regarding the smart textile database that you were building. And I was super excited about it.
00:03:07
Speaker
I'm just dying to sort of dive into this and learn more about what this database is and um who can access it and what it covers. And also to learn more about the recent report that you produced on the state of smart textile industry.
00:03:20
Speaker
You know what, I've always thought you've had the most fun job in the world because you you know you get to talk to all these incredible companies around the world and um you know who is sort of shaping the industry and where we're heading in the future, the next 5, 10, 15 years look like. So there's lots to discuss with you.
00:03:38
Speaker
So let's get started and learn more about Smart Textiles ah from your point of view.
Victoria's Role and WTIN Services
00:03:43
Speaker
Firstly, just to make sure all our listeners are on the same page, could you tell us a bit about the World Textile Information Network ah that we refer to as WTIN? What services does it offer and who is it for?
00:03:56
Speaker
And what are the areas that are covered by WTIN? Yes, I really thank you for the lovely introduction there. WTAN, we provide specialist insight and data-driven intelligence for businesses across the textiles and power value chain. This hopefully sort of enables them to make better decisions faster and gain that kind of competitive advantage in the space. Our primary focus is high growth markets of sort of material innovation, industry, digitalization and technical textiles.
00:04:23
Speaker
So W10 kind of works on a subscription basis. So most of it is online, it's digital, and we cover a range of different types of content, whether it's an in-depth kind of report to company profiles. We also have our own podcast and we put on a few conferences each year.
00:04:40
Speaker
We can also deliver of consultation projects as well for the industry. Yeah, you really go in depth and quite wide across the whole industry, right? Who is this aimed at? The platform itself? Who are the people subscribing to the platform?
00:04:54
Speaker
it' We've got a variety of subscribers, to be honest. It kind of expands the width of the tech sales apparel value chain. We have a lot of big name brands that subscribe to us. We have a lot of academic institutions as well, because obviously we cover quite a lot of their work, but vice versa, they're seeing stuff that's happening In the industry on the commercial side of things, we have manufacturers as well, suppliers. It's a really kind of broad spectrum, I guess, of people that use WTAM.
00:05:19
Speaker
Yeah, absolutely. And anyone who wants to sort of stay on top of what is happening in the industry, I would highly recommend subscribing to WTIN. But coming back to you now, Victoria, you joined as a junior material innovation analyst, and now you are the material innovation lead. And you've been there for over five years now.
00:05:38
Speaker
So tell us a bit more about your role. What do you do? What is a day in the life of Victoria like? So material innovation lead covers a range of things. I'd say, as you know we're talking about today, my primary kind of market is smart textiles.
Understanding Smart Textiles and Their Applications
00:05:52
Speaker
So I focus on reporting on innovations in that sector, whether they're sort of new technologies coming out to what brands are doing, how they're kind of employing this new materials tech. We also cover other areas. So I'm primarily in the smart sort of side of things, but also focusing on protective textiles. So lot of outdoor wear, as well as writing about the sportswear industry. so it's a big kind of range of roles, but mostly year covering innovations in those spaces.
00:06:17
Speaker
You do lot of research, analysis, trend forecasts. And I guess you're also sort of like a textile journalist, isn't it? ah Sort of writing up about all of this. Yeah, I work to the best because we get to do a lot of and interviews and Q&As with a lot of specialists in the area, which is obviously a great way to find out new things going on.
00:06:37
Speaker
Now coming to my favorite topic and the one that you specialize in, in smart textiles. So for our listeners again, Victoria, could you just introduce smart textiles or electronic textiles, e-textiles? There's so many terminologies that are used.
00:06:51
Speaker
Could you introduce what it is briefly for us? Yeah, so as you still said, smart textiles, I think depending on you who you are, it could have a range of different definitions. But the one we sort of use at WTAN is that we think smart textiles are materials that have the ability to interact with their user or with the environment.
00:07:09
Speaker
So they're always able to sense stimuli from the environment and react to it. So sensing and actuating can happen you know either at the same time or automatically or more elaborately through a circuit.
00:07:20
Speaker
And some smart textiles in those more advanced categories, they might be able to process data or adapt behavior to it. And that could be made possible by sort of integrating processing units within the product. So I guess based on this definition, we'd say at least two components need to be present in a textile structure to make it sort smart. So for us, that's either of a sensor, an actuator, and I also have a conductor to sort of transmit data and those kind of signals.
00:07:44
Speaker
So this is a field where we bring together textiles, electronics and computing, isn't it? All of that kind of come together to create these kinds of smart textiles. And WTN has been tracking smart textiles for for a long while now. A few years ago, you decided to put together a database for smart textiles.
00:08:02
Speaker
and We had a lot of discussions around this. I was so thrilled about this because it was so important to bring this database together, one place where people can access information because Smart Textile has unfortunately been a very fragmented industry. Supply chain is very fragmented.
00:08:18
Speaker
And what you were doing was just what we needed. Could you tell us a bit about this database and why you created it and what has been the the value that it's given people? Yeah, so I think, as you've said, being in smart textiles for the last few years, you can see that it is quite a separate industry. There's very distinct parts to it. We're sort of talking electronics and we're talking textiles.
00:08:40
Speaker
I think from having done lot of research in it, talked to both sides of the field, whether it's academics, people in the brand space, we sort of saw there was this kind of gap in the market of having that area where people could connect to either side that they needed. So whether it's, you know, and a brand finding a technology provider, or whether it's a technology provider finding someone who wanted to integrate that in their products.
00:09:03
Speaker
And so I kind of wanted to create like an ecosystem or kind of a place where people could come and find what they're looking for. which was, I guess, the basis for the Smart Textiles database. We've got a list of different suppliers in the market.
00:09:15
Speaker
So that goes through huge variety of products, whether you're looking for, you know, conductive yarns, fibres, fabrics, to inks, coatings, wires. We cover quite a broad range of and product types.
00:09:27
Speaker
And again, we sort of tell you what applications they could be used for, whether it's heated textile, sensors, things like that, and the unused markets. So whether you want to use it for a health application, sportswear, everything
Innovative Companies in Smart Textiles
00:09:39
Speaker
like that.
00:09:39
Speaker
and Another aspect that kind of came out whilst researching this was, ah guess, not only do you need the supply side of things, the electronic components, but a lot of businesses also have kind of trouble developing the actual product because I think that can be really challenging.
00:09:54
Speaker
So we've also added a section which we've called integrators. So those companies that can take you through from the R&D side of things, prototyping, all the way to developing a commercially viable kind of product, which I think obviously is a great thing to have in the space the moment.
00:10:08
Speaker
Absolutely. um i mean, like you said, I don't know anyone else who's kind of compiled um something like this together and it is so valuable. So you cover companies around the around the world, don't you, in that database? So anyone who's involved in creating components or any parts of that supply chain for smart textiles is on that list.
00:10:27
Speaker
Could you highlight a few examples of companies that are working in smart textiles as part of this database? Yeah. One of them that I found really interesting and we've sort of done interviews with them prior to establishing the database. So they're called Nextiles and they're based in the US and they sort of created these thread-based sensors. And as they've been developing, we've sort of been watching them grow as a company. And one of the products they've been working on is sort an arm sleeve that can monitor, you know,
00:10:55
Speaker
your health, your performance, things like that. And they've actually collaborated with an organization called Top Tier Baseball. It's a travel organization based in the US. I think they have about 5,000 athletes that are part this organization.
00:11:08
Speaker
So they developed this arm sleeve in collaboration with them. And it's essentially being used in some of the training programs. And it's helping not only the athletes, but also the coaches to monitor their throwing techniques, improve their performance, and also developing training programs.
00:11:24
Speaker
I think alongside their um arm sleeve, they've also developed an AI tool. So that's like an app where you can sort of see these metrics in real time and gather data, sort of analyze those aspects. And so this are they a material company or a product company or both?
00:11:39
Speaker
I think this is this is where there's a a little bit of overlapping in the database as well, because I think we have companies like Nextiles where we've we've kind of categorized them as both because they can offer these sensors if you want to use them elsewhere, but they also offer this kind of process where they'd help develop an actual product for you as well.
00:11:57
Speaker
So it's kind of in collaboration. And ah would you have an example of an integrator as well? Yeah, I think probably quite a well-known one actually, but um Climate we've put as an integrator. So they started a little while back and they developed sort so of intelligent heating technology. And I think one of the cal collaborations I've really enjoyed recently is with Carhartt.
00:12:16
Speaker
So they've created a intelligently heated thermal vest, And that's so essentially, I think it's more for the workforce kind of PPE uses. And so when you wear it, it can basically automatically adjust to your body temperature as well as the activities you're performing.
00:12:32
Speaker
So ah automatically, you know, turn off, turn up, turn down to adjust to the needs of the user. And I thought that was quite exciting. I think not only for the development itself, But I got to talk to the head of global product R&D at Carhartt.
00:12:45
Speaker
And I think she was sort of mentioning a few of the challenges that came with this space, which I guess is why you sort of do need these integrators. Because coming from a background where you haven't really produced too many smart products, you've got things coming into play like the logistics, regulations, compliance standards, everything like that. And I think they were saying it was, you know, quite an adjustment getting used to and researching these topics for the first time, trying to find out how you get to grips with them.
00:13:11
Speaker
And I guess textile and fashion brands, it's it's ah it's a shift in their thinking when they start integrating electronics into it, isn't it? It's a whole other world that they need to try and navigate. And so you definitely need some of these integrators who can help them develop these products.
00:13:26
Speaker
And heating is one of the areas that i have really got traction in the industry and the smart textile solutions have really solved a problem, I would say. i mean, I guess with heated textiles, it's a very mature market, this kind of technology. It's been around for decades. It's It's not old, but I guess the way we're integrating it into products is newer. It's more advanced.
00:13:47
Speaker
It's everything like that. So they kind of already had a well-established
Self-Powered Textiles and Commercialization
00:13:50
Speaker
market and applications for that kind of technology, which is why we're seeing that as one of the front runners, I guess, for smart textiles and how people are using it, which is quite interesting, especially when you consider ones like Climate and how it's becoming a lot more intelligent, a lot more reactive compared to, you know, just turning on a heated blanket at home. Yeah.
00:14:10
Speaker
While putting this database together, I'm sure you spoke to a lot of companies. What are some of the learnings that you had in from those conversations? What has been hard for them in trying to get the word out about the solutions that they have?
00:14:23
Speaker
I think it's probably knowledge and education about smart textiles and what they can do and how you can actually implement them in your products. I think sometimes when you say it, again, it can be quite a confusing space. You kind of might see it as more electronics. It's very high tech. But I think maybe just, yeah, telling people the way these can be used, how they can benefit certain markets, especially when we think of, you know, healthcare and being able to remotely monitor patients with it. Or in sportswear, when we have, you know, I guess more professional athletes using it, it's helping them to track performance metrics and improve that. It's helping to reduce, you know, injury in those ways. So I think it's just getting the word out there of how these
00:15:05
Speaker
products can actually be used and how they can have value in your business. I mean, gosh, I almost feel exhausted because for like 20 years, I feel like we've been trying to educate people about this field and still there is so much more work to be done. But I think times are changing. I definitely see that there's a lot more openness, especially with flexible and printed electronics becoming just filtering through the market and being adopted. That in the form of textiles just seems like a next step that people are much more open to exploring.
00:15:35
Speaker
in the database, I'm curious to understand the companies ah who've been developing these solutions, do they come more from a textile background or is it being more developed within the electronics industry?
00:15:48
Speaker
I'd say the majority are more from the electronics side of things. I think when you're developing those kind of components, ah lot when you kind of look on the websites or talk to them, a lot of them have been you know used elsewhere to start with, whether it's in you know automotive, aviation, things like that. And I think it's only as you've seen smart textiles as an emerging sector that I think these kind of companies are realising where their components could also be used.
00:16:14
Speaker
So whether it is, as we sort of said, with sensors or heated textiles, things like that, I think it's definitely more from, yeah, the electronic space, but it's kind of a growing growing number of companies are from textiles-based areas, yeah.
00:16:27
Speaker
That's encouraging to hear. I know heating is the area that's got a lot of traction, but what are some of the other trends that you see in the smart textile industry? A growing trend I'm seeing, it's not very commercialized the moment. I think there's still a lot of work to do to get it to that kind of space, I guess.
00:16:44
Speaker
I'm really enjoying seeing stuff to do with self-powered smart textiles. I think whether it's through, you know, harnessing the movement of your body, harnessing energy from the sun or from heat, things like that. I think that's a really exciting technology and could really help to commercialize some of these products in future. Because I guess when you're thinking about the components that included in smart textiles, you kind of have potentially bulky circuitry, bulky batteries, things like that.
00:17:07
Speaker
I think having something that is self-powered, it might encourage more adoption of this kind of technology because it's not, you're not relying on, yeah, charging things up. You can just get get on it, wear your jacket in the morning and, you know, it's going to work.
00:17:18
Speaker
We talked about the smart textile industry supply chain being quite fragmented.
Supply Chain Gaps and Investment Needs
00:17:23
Speaker
When you put this this database together, were there some gaps that you saw in the supply chain? What are sort of the missing links where there is still need for solutions to be built, which can sort of iron out this industry a bit more?
00:17:37
Speaker
I'm just thinking the main gap I'm seeing at the moment is more to do with the investment as well. was just trying to think of what large supply chain challenges there are. I think it's more about finding the companies who create the actual products than maybe the supply chain itself. I think it's knowing who's out there to create a specific component that can be like meet your needs.
00:17:58
Speaker
And that's what i'm seeing mostly. You talked about investment. Do you want to expand on that a little bit? Yeah, I think we've seen that in a way across the board with the textiles and power industry, because you can see it with emerging new materials, whether they're, you know, biobased, recycled solutions, that kind of thing as well with smart textiles.
00:18:15
Speaker
I think investment is something that the community really needs, I think, to help these kind of startups really scale and have a fully commercialized solution. We need more companies getting into the space, you know, whether it's some of these brands, you connecting with you know academics or these smaller companies who are producing these components.
00:18:34
Speaker
I think it's really just having more collaboration and trying to get that investment into the community to help these solutions really
Leading Investments: Healthcare, Sportswear, Military
00:18:41
Speaker
scale. Can you sort of highlight which industries are driving some of the developments in smart textiles?
00:18:47
Speaker
ah think at the moment, a lot of the investment is more in healthcare. care I think you're seeing a lot more solutions there because I think instead of sort of being a niche kind of market, there's a lot more space for developing, you know, these solutions that can monitor you remotely for your healthcare, especially in the wake of COVID.
00:19:04
Speaker
I think that's become a lot bigger priority in the same space, I guess. Sportswear really picked off in that kind of 2019 to 2021 because people are looking for those, you know, fitness trackers that they could do their workouts remotely. Because obviously, if we can go into the gyms, people want those kind of products.
00:19:21
Speaker
So I think you're getting a lot of investment there. But I think maybe now, especially for sports, it's probably more for professional athletes. Because another challenge of smart textiles is they're not cheap to make. So I think they're not necessarily widely available.
00:19:36
Speaker
to the mass consumer market yet so I think you're going to see it in those spaces where there is a very niche need for it so professional athletes another area where I'd say a lot of investments coming in especially in North America is for the kind of military and defense market we're seeing a lot more activity going on in that space over there what does the current research landscape look like in smart tech styles we're seeing a lot into sensors as well so again That is used across a wide variety of sectors. So, you know, again, your heart rate, your blood pressure monitoring, all those things and with athletes. And I think it's producing these in a way that can be more effectively integrated into clothing.
00:20:16
Speaker
whether it's just having like a certain conductive yarn, whether that's made out of wire, conductive polymers, things like that. I think that's quite a big area, basically making these a lot more easy to build and easy to use in clothing.
00:20:28
Speaker
i think as well, when I was sort of talking about self-powered smart textiles, there's a lot of academic research going on in that space. Unfortunately, not too much commercialized, but I think maybe that's something to look for in the future. Another one that's quite interesting, I think we could be a little while off with this, but we're seeing some biobased solutions as well. So when you think of the smart textiles industry,
00:20:49
Speaker
it's maybe not inherently sustainable when we're combining textiles and electronics. So i think people are looking at ways that we can start building these products with sustainability in mind. Yeah, and and that was my next question, actually.
00:21:02
Speaker
With sustainability and circularity being key factors that's driving a lot of decision making these days and funding, um how is Smart Textile navigating this challenge? And what are the new developments that are taking place to tackle this?
00:21:17
Speaker
think it's difficult with smart textiles because some of the areas they're being used in, ah think you're kind of looking at the solution first in terms of you want to develop a product that functions, that is delivering these kind of data, these metrics, these results that you need. So I think sometimes the sustainability aspect can be a bit on the back burner.
00:21:36
Speaker
But we do know a few companies are looking at maybe... having more inter interoperable um kind of solutions. So whether we could take out the electronics from one garment and use them in another to make sure it's not just being used in one area and not reused, whether they have take-back programs. So being able to, again, remove the components, recycle the electronics and recycle the garment separately. i think there are a few different solutions coming about, but as the industry is still quite new, it's growing, it's getting established, I think the kind of sustainability component is going to grow as the industry does, definitely.
00:22:09
Speaker
um And I also heard discussions about sort of repair services as well, potentially, mostly for the electronics, if it if it fails to be able to switch that in and
Sustainability and Smart Textiles
00:22:18
Speaker
out. But yeah, bioelectronics, for me, that's something I'm keeping a close eye on. And there's a lot of research that's been going on in that space, which is very exciting.
00:22:27
Speaker
If we look at sort of textiles and how the electronics is integrated, usually either it's woven, knit or printed. In these three categories, where do you see the most development happening?
00:22:38
Speaker
I think the biggest mix we're seeing is probably between knitted solutions. So as I said, where we're having these kind of component trees that can be integrated in that kind of way that means they're comfortable, they're easy to use. And I think a lot of them may be, you know, wires that are kind of coated with a different thread to make it more comfortable. I think that's when you're seeing the knitted solutions.
00:22:59
Speaker
But then printing as well has come up with, you know, think a few different companies are trying that, especially in the sportswear department. I think a lot of them are trying to have those very flat integrated electronics that can sit tight to your skin so it'd be within a compression garment which I think maybe printing works a little bit more effectively there but they're probably the biggest areas yeah you recently wrote ah ah report nanomaterials right maybe not specifically for smart or e-textiles but nanomaterials for textiles for outdoor and sportswear can you just share a little bit about that
00:23:32
Speaker
Yeah, so I wrote what we call an innovation briefing. So this is a type of article we like to create, which kind of covers a academic development. So it's probably within the last year. And we basically try and break that down into telling you you know, the main outcome was how they achieved it. So the methods they used, the results they got as well from testing, and then the impact we think it could have on the industry.
00:23:56
Speaker
So in this one, I wrote about two different
Nanomaterials in Sportswear
00:23:59
Speaker
articles. academic examples of people using nanomaterials for sports and outdoor wear. So nanomaterials, like they're typically materials that are 100 nanometres or less, and they can come in different formats, whether that's nanofibres or nanocoatings to kind of impart these more advanced properties into textiles. Some of materials we cover might be carbon nanofibres, carbon nanoparticles or silica nanoparticles, things like that. And we're seeing them being used a lot more frequently in the sports and outdoor wear. So especially, you know, in equipment, whether you have it in hockey sticks, things like that, you have a lot of carbon based materials in there, especially to improve the durability and the strength of those kind of things.
00:24:35
Speaker
And then when we're sort of talking about it from a sportswear, outdoorwear perspective, we're seeing them being used for sort of water repellency for coatings or moisture wicking capabilities and things like that. So here I've just come across two examples. There's one them where researchers looking into sportswear and they were incorporating conjugated them nanomaterials.
00:24:55
Speaker
So using graphene and silver nano nanoparticles to enhance their functionality and the durability materials. athletic garments and they were using a technique or an approach called intelligent sportswear design.
00:25:07
Speaker
So they're trying to focus on, you know, addressing the limitations you might have in some current sportswear, whether it's breathability, moisture management and UV protection. So we've just broken that down and written about where we see this kind of the impact of this kind of work. So we think, you know, it could help enhance the comfort of the wearer because it's increasing the sweat wicking capabilities of the material, it's helping to protect against UV rays as well, which another area we're seeing emerging quite a lot with some of the sportswear and outdoor wear.
00:25:38
Speaker
And I think they also said for this, that due to the graphene silver nanoparticles, they also suggest that because they they conduct electricity, it could potentially be used as well in smart textiles.
00:25:50
Speaker
So integrating other technology into it, as we talked about sensors, monitoring performance. So it's also, you're having two different kind of capabilities merging into one with nanomaterials. Definitely a space to keep our eyes out on. You also recently published a report on smart textiles.
00:26:05
Speaker
Could you share some of your learnings and insights from this?
Database Insights and AI Integration
00:26:08
Speaker
Yeah, so that report was basically going through the database and it was gaining insights into the smart tech sales market, as we've discussed some of the key application areas for these components for that people are using it in. And then we also spoke to some of the people that were actually involved in the database, some of the companies that we've published about, because we wanted to get their opinion on where they're seeing the market going, key drivers and things like that. So I think some of the Interesting ones as well was talking about ar AI, AR and data processing capabilities. So sort of merging like smart textiles with that kind of technology. So, you know, having it even more interactive. So you have, especially maybe for industry or PP kind of where where you can wear certain sensors on the body and you can have
Conferences and Trends in Smart Textiles
00:26:56
Speaker
AR sort integrated textiles where you have more immersive experience, whether that's, you know, for training or safety, things like that.
00:27:03
Speaker
It's interesting you talk about AR and and textiles because that was the product that we were developing, well, quite a few years ago now, about eight years ago. Yeah, with Wellspun. So it's nice to see that in the industry kind of discussing more about the possibilities of AR and smart textiles and AI as well and where that could lead us.
00:27:21
Speaker
Could you highlight some of the conferences or events that that happen which are related to e-textiles and smart textiles? Yeah. So I think one of the ones I've really enjoyed going to is the eTextiles conference. So I think that's happening maybe Munich or Brussels this year.
00:27:37
Speaker
So again, very heavily focused purely on smart textiles. They go from academics, what they're kind of doing this space, as well as startups, emerging companies. i think they discuss whether it's their products, how to get investment in the area, where the emerging trends are,
00:27:53
Speaker
There's another one as well. I think it's a new one that maybe just happened this year. it was called the Wearable Collective. We did a m podcast or fireside chat with one of the women who was part of the organization of it.
00:28:05
Speaker
I think that looks like a really interesting space as well for the smart sector. I think in general, if we're looking at materials development and innovation, where we also met earlier this year, the Future Fabrics Expo.
00:28:18
Speaker
I think that's a really exciting one as well because you're getting, I don't think they had as much smart on display this year. They do have one or two pieces usually, but when we're looking at emerging trends, especially in material space, whether it's bio-based, recycled, regenerative, things like that, they're a really exciting one to go to.
00:28:36
Speaker
We talked about this incredible database that you've put together and all these reports. How do people access this? yeah I know people are going to want to read about it and it's a subscription model that you have.
00:28:48
Speaker
Can you share about um how people can sign up for more information? Yes, so you can just go to wtin.com. And there you can sign up. And I think being a registered subscriber, I think you get access to five free articles a month. And then it works on a subscription base where you'll get access to more in-depth reports, company intelligence.
00:29:08
Speaker
innovation briefings, as well as you can watch some of the fireside chats, which covers a wide variety of topics across the industry. We have our podcast as well, which I believe is free to listen to. And then we also have on top of the Smart Textiles database, which we've discussed, we have one for non-wovens, one for digitalization and printing, and we also have a patents hub as well.
00:29:31
Speaker
So I think definitely once you sign up, you'll get access to a wide variety of tools across the website. I feel like we've kind of got a really, really clear picture from you, an overview about the industry and where
Victoria's Background and Industry Entry
00:29:43
Speaker
it's heading. Now let's talk about you a little bit more, Victoria. Tell us about yourself.
00:29:47
Speaker
Where were you born? What was life like as a young girl living in the UK? Born in Essex, I guess. always been interested in textiles since I was younger. did a lot of arts and crafts, especially with my nan.
00:30:01
Speaker
So yeah, it was good. I was always interested at school as well. Actually, probably where I first and got into smart textiles, I remember sort of doing a project. I mean, it was very basic. I'm just impressed that schools are doing this.
00:30:15
Speaker
It was integrating sort of some form of lighting into this textile. I think it was a skirt I'd created. But that was yeah that was and secondary school. But as I say, a lot less so but less um advanced than the tech out there today.
00:30:29
Speaker
So I think I carried on doing textiles quite a lot at school. really enjoyed it Then when I was getting to university, I really wasn't too sure I wanted to I wasn't sure if I really wanted to go into design aspect of things yet.
00:30:42
Speaker
ah Another area, I love history. so I actually went down that route at university initially. i did history and history of art. Again, I really loved it. I think I always tried to stay on that kind of art textile side of things. I did an internship with public art sector at the university.
00:30:57
Speaker
and think after that, kind of knew I wanted to get back into the textile side of things. So having a chat with one of the tutors at Leeds University, I think he was sort showing me around department. He could see i was really excited about the stuff they were creating and everything going on.
00:31:11
Speaker
And he kind of said, you know, what why aren't you doing this? So I think that was kind of the propeller to apply for a master's at Leeds. And it was, again, less based on maybe physically making textiles is a lot more heavy on the technology and design aspects which I found really interesting.
00:31:28
Speaker
I think one of the things you wouldn't think about when the modules I covered was sort of textiles in medicine as well and all the things can you learn there. think it gave me a really exciting overview of you have it from a medical perspective then we also looked in sustainability and digital printing how colour works it was ah really exciting and broad spectrum of topics so I think coming out of that I knew I wanted to stay in the research side of textiles because for me that was where you to see all were these innovations and things coming up on the market and it was really exciting and that that's what what brought me to WTAN.
00:32:03
Speaker
Tell us about your favorite band when you were a teenager. Band? he says Yes yeah confession time or the first concert that you went to. The first concert it's going to be embarrassing No, I think it was summer my parents. We went to a Jack Johnson concert and me and my mum weren't actually very aware of who he was. So when the warm-up act came on, we thought that was Jack Johnson. Oh, that's it.
00:32:32
Speaker
Cheering
00:32:36
Speaker
on. How old were you then? I think ah I'm going to say... love 11 maybe, think. i' tired Okay. Oh, what fun. But who's your real favourite band though from those days? Oh, I think I remember my first CD was Scouting for Girls.
00:32:51
Speaker
And actually saw them again at Glastonbury a few years ago, which was quite fun. amazing. A little throwback.
00:33:00
Speaker
ah Brilliant. Did you have any ah role models, teachers or artists, anyone that inspired and and encouraged you back then? You mentioned about this particular faculty at Leeds, but were there any others that really sort of nudged you along this journey or guided you when you were feeling a bit stuck?
00:33:17
Speaker
Yeah, I guess probably two doing A-level textiles. probably my two tutors I had there. I think very different very different personalities. I think they come one came from more of a fine art background and one was textiles.
00:33:29
Speaker
Both kind of encouraged you to kind of explore that creative sides in very different ways. One little bit more scary than the other.
00:33:38
Speaker
But I think they were really big helps in trying to, you know, improve the way I'm looking at things, the way you respond to things with materials and just kind of allowing you to be very free with your creativity and things like that they were they were great I think quite disappointed when I didn't do textiles for um a degree actually but I'm sure they'll be proud of you today and where you are um I mean it always makes me so happy to hear about people who did do textiles at A-levels and GCSE because I don't think a lot of schools offer that these days as far fewer courses
00:34:12
Speaker
at school level and even at university level we're sort of seeing fewer and fewer textile courses which really breaks my heart but yeah great that there are teachers out there who are still sort of holding on and and keeping it probably more exciting what you can do today compared to obviously a few years ago when I was using very don't know basic things to make stuff and nowadays there's like such more wealth of technologies out there like when um when I was thinking of you know having made that smart textile piece at um At A-level, I was thinking, you know, you have companies like Lumia today who actually can offer those integrator kits, the starter kits that you could use. So think getting more exciting, definitely, from a younger age.
00:34:52
Speaker
Yeah, i mean, I think that's something I'm really passionate about is to to inspire younger people to reimagine textiles.
Reimagining Textiles Beyond Fashion
00:34:58
Speaker
And people tend to think textiles equals fashion. And that's another thing that I'm trying to break down as well, because there's so many other opportunities and possibilities as your career in textiles. And I think, yeah, the more we share stories such as yours, I think, and I hope the listeners will also kind of reimagine what their careers and future can look like.
00:35:18
Speaker
I think textiles is really powerful and it is far more than just being functional. I feel like oftentimes textiles can fu fulfill not just our senses, but also our soul.
00:35:29
Speaker
Is there a piece of textile or clothing that holds very personal meaning for you that has memories that you've, you know, connected with it and you'd never let go of that piece of textiles? Is there anything that you could share with us?
00:35:41
Speaker
I think it's probably a trench coat I got from my nan. So it used to be hers and you can see sort sections of it where she's tried to edit it she didn't like you know something on it and do stuff like that but that I've kept for quite a while and I hope to have it for quite a few years to come yeah it's probably one of my favorite garments that I have and will continuously wear it's yeah oh still you still use it I still use it yeah I mean I think she was a very ah luckily she was quite a short woman so it fit to me in that aspect and it's a little bit oversized it's quite a nice
00:36:14
Speaker
quite nice stylish piece still. Yeah. Oh, lovely. do you remember what brand it is? I'm just curious that it survived so many years. It was made well. I think, you know, what it was an old M&S brand. Maybe it was St. Michael. I don't think they do that anymore.
00:36:28
Speaker
i know a lot of her stuff used to be, yeah, M&S, but great quality. sir
00:36:35
Speaker
Do you still have any any of your hobbies from when you were young? Any of the craft work that you used to do Something you enjoy making? So I used, when I was doing textiles for my master's, I did do a pattern course trying to learn how to make trousers and things like that. I think that's something I'd love to pick up again.
00:36:53
Speaker
think I'd love to help, well, find ways to be able to, you know, edit my own clothes, especially I i always get quite a lot of tailoring done because and lot of things are a bit too long for me. but think I'd love to relearn those kind of skills because, you know, when you haven't done it for a little while, you're out of practice. I think that's something going forward I want to focus my time on little bit more.
00:37:12
Speaker
Coming back to the world of textiles, you attend a lot of conferences and you get to meet companies across a broad range of, you know, across the textile field, a lot of new technologies,
00:37:24
Speaker
What was something that you saw recently that is radically different from anything you've seen and you got very excited? because sometimes you can see a lot of innovation and you're like, oh, yeah, oh, yeah. You know, you you kind of get ah bit saturated with all this new stuff.
00:37:38
Speaker
But what was something that really stopped you in your track? And you're like, tell me more, you know? Yeah. I can't remember the name of it, but I think we spoke about it at a Future Fabrics Expo. i think it was this piece that was looking at creating textiles that as well had that bio-based aspect, but also looking back to kind of artisanal kind of heritage culture pieces.
00:38:00
Speaker
think that was quite a cool one. I think it was all the bioluminescent kind of fabric. I know it was supposed to light up for a certain number of hours when you're wearing it. And I think it could degrade at end of life. a That was a really exciting merging of some new upcoming technology again with sort of cultural heritage side of things.
00:38:17
Speaker
So think they were trying to make garments that looked at that as well and spell with with the design aspects. I think some of the footwear as well was quite exciting on display because I know been talked about quite a while when we talk about recycling or design for disassembly but some of the techniques coming out there whether it's you know an all-in-one thing or whether we will be assembling our own footwear at some point so putting the whole shoe together so then we know we could send it off for recycling end of life.
00:38:41
Speaker
I think they're quite exciting things coming out Talking about recycling, thinking about circularity during design, what is the sense on the ground from manufacturers who are now really trying to meet these new sustainability regulations and net zero targets, circularity regulations from EU, etc.?
00:39:02
Speaker
How are they navigating these times which seem very turbulent? Everything is changing. There's a lot of pressure for that change to happen. I think you can see, especially with the bigger brands, I think you can see a lot more investment into using materials that are from recycled sources, organic sources, or whether they're more of these bio-based regenerative things. I think you're seeing ah shift from maybe some of the conventional materials that you'd see, polyester, cotton, things like that.
00:39:31
Speaker
And they're definitely trying to look at more sustainable materials and things like that on the recycling side of things. um I think that's probably still a bit difficult in some respects, because although recycling of textiles could be a big sector, I think the infrastructure still needs to grow a little bit more.
00:39:50
Speaker
I think the amount being recycled at the moment is nowhere near what could be happening with it. And as well, trying to reuse those fibres or yarns, whatever they were, in more high growth areas.
00:40:01
Speaker
I think there's a lot more work that could be done there and trying to make the most of the resources that we have already used and could reuse rather than always focusing on new aspects as well. I mean, like I said earlier, it's such an exciting time to be working in this, in in textiles because there's so much innovation. There's really quite a lot of disruptive innovation that's happening because we're completely reimagining how we think about textiles, how we make and use and reuse textiles.
00:40:29
Speaker
ah What are your thoughts on the new skills that are needed in the industry? I mean, I hear from both companies and reports that there's a big skills gap to sort of, you know, engage in this innovation and really translate that into the real world beyond the labs.
00:40:44
Speaker
What is missing and how can how can people equip themselves for these new jobs of the future?
Cross-Disciplinary Textiles Skills
00:40:50
Speaker
with sort of textiles and especially maybe when we look at smart because you are merging those kind of distinct industries I think the skills gap is knowing how to kind of combine them I guess having that middleman that has the background in textiles but also has a certain amount of knowledge in electronics or engineering and knowing how to piece these kind of new products together new materials so I think moving forward you're probably going to see textiles having a lot more
00:41:15
Speaker
to do with yeah the science side of things the engineering side of things and I think you're going to have to have a more maybe it's cross-disciplinary approach definitely it won't just be looking at your various you know your knitting your weaving I think it'll be looking at a lot more of these high-tech processes as well knowing how to use a broader spectrum of materials and I think it'll be a lot more collaborative in the future which is really exciting actually for designers it opens up so many more avenues of innovation to product development, which, yeah.
00:41:45
Speaker
That's actually my next question. What are some of the new jobs that are cropping up in the textile industry, which is being driven by these new developments of emerging textile technologies? I think a lot you're having ones that are focusing on innovation. So yeah innovation specialist, innovation manager, it's those kind of roles because they're the ones that are really looking at what's coming out, what's driving the market and how can these brands, these companies, manufacturers implement the new technologies, the the new materials into what they're doing.
00:42:15
Speaker
So I think it's very much, as we've sort of mentioned, the people that can have a more holistic approach and look at all different areas and integrate that into textiles, definitely. And if someone wanted someone wanted your job to be like, you know, you get to sort of see everything, learn about all the new innovations, write up about it, be a textile journalist in a way, where would they start and what are the skills that they need to be building?
Staying Informed on Textile Innovations
00:42:41
Speaker
I think, I guess, analysis, research skills. um I think staying on the forefront of what what developments are coming out in the industry. And I think with that, It's helpful as so sort of mentioned, listen to podcasts. I enjoy that quite a lot. It's a very easy way to consume information. So whether it's, you know, ones like this podcast or there's one, the textiles ETP do. So that, I think that one's called Smarter Textiles, Smarter World.
00:43:06
Speaker
That has like like loads of snippets of information in. WTN does a podcast as well, which covers broad spectrum of topics. I think that's always an easy way to get into the information and what's emerging in the sectors.
00:43:20
Speaker
As well, LinkedIn is also a great source of information. They've got so many groups across different areas that you're interested in. I think a lot of specialists in the sectors do a lot of blog posts as well, which have really interesting thought pieces or again, discussing new innovations, new topics.
00:43:37
Speaker
I think, yeah, keeping up to date with that basically and keeping you out for what's going on. On my last episode, I had Madison Maxey from Lumia. She's the CEO and founder of an e-textile company who's doing really well.
00:43:52
Speaker
And she left a question for the next guest. so i'm going to have to ask you that question. The question was, what is something interesting that you learned recently? i think talking to people when you talk about the next steps of your career, I think it's maybe even if you're a bit worried about a new transition or you want to try something new out I think it's just having you know not being too afraid to try something new and really challenge yourself because i think that's where you see a lot of growth and a lot of new exciting things coming your way so I think I'd say that that's beautiful I really love that thank you great so I'd like you to think of a question that you uh want to leave for the next guest on the show
00:44:38
Speaker
I guess, what's the best piece of advice you've been given and perhaps how that's been used in your career to going forward? Very, very nice. I love that question.
00:44:50
Speaker
And the last question, Victoria, what would be your dream job in 10 years time? Say, what would you want to be doing? being I'd still love to be in the textile space I think I'd love to be somewhere where you could really help kind of foster that innovation and help these companies grow whether it's I don't know from helping them find investment or whether it's being directly involved in the R&D process I think basically somewhere staying in the textile space somewhere working with innovation i think either with smart textiles or I'd love to be in the side of it where we're looking at more sustainable solutions I think
00:45:27
Speaker
Either one of those is where I'd love to be in 10 years. Well, you already are sort of at the forefront of all of that. You have so much information about what is going on in the industry. It's it's such an exciting space to be in. And I'm always looking out for the articles that you post and just how you keep everyone informed. i really like the way you cover topics as well.
00:45:49
Speaker
You just make the e-textile industry really accessible to anyone and through the articles that you've done, in WTIN. So I would highly recommend the listeners to kind of catch that if that's possible. See if you can get a subscription at WTIN.
00:46:02
Speaker
ah Thank you so much, Victoria. It was so lovely to speak with you and just so inspiring as well, just to hear about all that is happening. I know we kind of only took a little sliver and looked at smart textiles, but there is also so much happening in the world of textiles and innovation and it's and exciting to see how you're involved in that space and you how you cover that space and through in-depth reports and insights, which are really valuable.
00:46:26
Speaker
Actually, I do have one more question. So a lot of it is sort of new technologies that are popping up. How do you kind of catch up with it? How do you learn about these new things? For example, if it's ai how much kind of background then do you kind of dig into AI to understand the industry and then to connect it to textiles?
00:46:45
Speaker
I think One of my colleagues is probably one of the more specialists in that area of AI in use. But I think it's probably learning the initial concept of what AI is, how it can be applied to textiles, and then going out doing, especially when you do interviews with these companies, it completely opens your eyes to the different ways it can be employed in academia as well. I think there's a lot more innovative uses out there.
00:47:10
Speaker
Probably just going out, interviewing people and learning a lot more from some of the experts across the fields in the topics. Yeah. I mean, that's, I guess that's what your job's about, isn't it? You're always learning new things, always as technologies emerge.
00:47:22
Speaker
And this is what I'd encourage everyone to do is just start talking to people exactly what you said. People are really helpful. People are willing to share about what they're doing. And so talk to people and just, as, as Victoria said, you know, allow yourself to just be opened up into this new world.
00:47:38
Speaker
It doesn't have to be scary. It doesn't have to be and intimidating. Just having these conversations just makes it so much more accessible. And thank you so much, Victoria, for doing that for us in this space.
00:47:49
Speaker
And we look forward to all that you're going to come out with in the near future. Thank you very much for having me. Thank you What a fun and insightful conversation that was with Victoria.
00:48:00
Speaker
I know we've had a few Smart Textile guests on the podcast, um but these were a bit more specific to technologies and products that they were developing. But today, Victoria really provided a fascinating overview of the Smart Textile industry, highlighting both the challenges and opportunities in this rapidly evolving and growing field.
00:48:19
Speaker
From the development of innovative products like thread-based sensors and intelligent heating technologies to the importance of education and collaboration in advancing smart textile adoption, I think Victoria's insights really highlight the potential for these technologies to transform industries such as healthcare, defense, sportswear, and more in the coming years.
00:48:40
Speaker
It's great to also learn about WTIN and what they do to connect innovators and businesses across the textile industry. The WTIN link is in the show notes. Definitely check them out. If you enjoyed our conversation today, I'd love for you to support the podcast by leaving a review.
00:48:55
Speaker
It helps others discover the show and you can also support me directly through Buy Me A Coffee. A cup or two helps me work late into the night as I bring you more of these insightful content.
00:49:07
Speaker
You will find the link to Buy Me A Coffee online. in the show notes below. Thank you again for joining me today. Stay tuned for more episodes and don't forget to subscribe for more conversations at the intersection of textiles, emerging technology, craft and sustainability.
00:49:21
Speaker
Until next time, I'm your host Millie Tharakin reminding you that there's no such thing as ordinary cloth. Every thread has a story to tell.