Innovation Case Study

E-TEXTILES
What is the innovation?
Electronic textiles, also known as e-textiles or smart textiles, are fabrics with digital components
and electronics integrated into them.

Aesthetic and performance-enhancing smart textiles can be divided into two categories.

Textiles that light up and fabrics that change colour are examples of aesthetic fabrics. Some of
these textiles gather energy from their surroundings by capturing vibrations, sound, or heat and
reacting to them. Colour shifting and lighting schemes can also be implemented by embedding
electronics into the fabric.

Smart fabrics that enhance performance are designed for use in athletics, extreme sports, and
military applications. Fabrics which regulate body temperature, decrease wind resistance, and
control muscle vibration, for example, may all help athletes perform better. Other materials for
protective garments have been created to protect against extreme environmental hazards such
as radiation and the effects of space travel. These advances are also being used in the health
and beauty industries, including drug-release technology used in medicine.

How has the innovation changed since it was first

introduced?
The basic materials used to manufacture e-textiles, such as conductive threads and fabrics, have
been present for over a thousand years. For centuries, artisans have wrapped delicate metal foils,
most frequently gold and silver, around fabric threads. Many of Queen Elizabeth I's gowns, for
example, had gold-wrapped threads embroidered onto them.

Designers and engineers began to combine electricity with clothes and jewellery around the late
nineteenth century, as people progressed and became accustomed to electric appliances,
creating a succession of lit and motorised necklaces, hats, brooches, and costumes. In the late
1800s, for example, a person could hire the Electric Girl Lighting Company to provide cocktail
party entertainment with young women dressed in light-studded evening gowns.

Body Covering, a groundbreaking exhibition on the relationship between technology and fashion,
was displayed at the Museum of Contemporary Craft in New York City in 1968. The exhibition
featured astronauts' space suits along with clothing that could inflate and deflate, light up, and
heat and cool itself. The work of Diana Dew, a fashion designer who created electroluminescent

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party dresses, and belts that could play alarm sirens, was particularly noteworthy in this
collection.

Today, projects concerning the development of E-Textile technology can include the following:

- Health monitoring of vital signs such as heart rate, respiration rate, temperature, activity,
and posture.

- Sports training data acquisition

- Monitoring personnel handling hazardous materials

- Tracking the position and status of soldiers in action

- Military app – Soldier's bulletproof kevlar vest; if the wearer is shot, the material can sense
the bullet's impact and send a radio message back to base

- Monitoring pilot or truck driver fatigue

- Diagnosing amputee discomfort

- Innovative fashion (wearable tech)

- Regain sensory perception that was previously lost by accident or birth

What impact does or will this innovation have on the

individual and society?
E-textiles potential impact on the individual and society appears to be much more positive than
its impact on the environment, and this is largely due to it’s recent and most current
advancements, particularly in the field of healthcare + medicine.

In terms of military use, smart fabrics can be utilised to offer soldiers reduced wind resistance, the
ability to retain or release heat to adapt to temperature variations, or provide a 'superhuman
boost' by automatically compressing muscles to relieve pain or improve speed under certain
biometric conditions. The effects on athletes and fitness come in the form of
performance-enhancing muscle vibration technologies, releasing topical analgesics or
moisturisers, and recording movements/plays using GPS embeds, similar to what the military and
defence utilises above.

In healthcare we see the most positive impacts of this technology. There is potential for the
release of medications through textiles, and the prevention and detection of early warning signs

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of disease or medical emergency through consistent biometric screening, analysis and alerts.
These use cases apply both to professional medical settings and personal health monitoring.
Other impacts include the potential ability to regain sensory perception that was previously lost
by accident or birth, or health monitoring of vital signs such as heart rate, respiration rate,
temperature, activity, and posture (which could be extended into everyday use).

We also see the negative impacts of e-textiles on society, particularly impoverished communities.
In many developing countries, people operate informal "backyard recycling" operations for
electronics, where it makes economic sense for impoverished communities to collect and resell
small amounts of valuable metals. The e-waste trade creates mountains of hazardous waste in
poor neighbourhoods , with much of it transported as illegal cargo from developed countries. Old
devices are frequently set on fire, billowing poisonous fumes in order to liberate metal
components that may be salvaged and sold.

Inflation of transportation prices, inflation of raw material costs, and geopolitical trade tensions
are three of the primary issues raised in a new market analysis on fast fashion. Fast fashion is a
form of disruptive business strategy in which designers from various backgrounds are given the
opportunity to design for major clothing labels, and the brand thrives via mass manufacturing.
E-textiles will add to the public health problem of e-waste, as they are likely to wind up as part of
the licit and widespread export of apparel to developing countries.

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Create a mind map of the ethical issues that may confront
society with this innovation.

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Complete a LCA (Life Cycle Analysis) of one major material
in the innovation.
Life Cycle Analysis of Copper
Copper is a common material found in E-Textile manufacturing due to it’s conductive capabilities.

Mining, smelting and refining, semi-fabrication, product manufacture, usage phase, and recycling
are the six key life cycle stages of copper. Recycling takes place in smelters for copper
production as well as fabricators for semi-finished product creation. Many metal and nonmetal
valuable co-products may be recovered from primary and secondary raw materials through the
process of recycling, including precious metals (e.g., gold and silver), nickel sulphate, zinc, lead,
tin, sulfuric acid, and iron silicate.

A Life Cycle Impact Assessment (LCIA) completed by the International Copper Association (ICA)
estimates potential environmental impacts that arise from the ‘life cycle’ of copper. The LCIA
findings aid in directing the copper industry's attention to issues that are most important for
improving environmental performance.

The study found that direct sulphur dioxide (SO2) emissions emitted during smelting and not
captured for use in the sulfuric acid plant contribute significantly to the environmental impact
categories of Acidification Potential and Photochemical Ozone Creation Potential. This is
dependent on regional regulations and desulfurization technologies which have been
implemented. These findings confirm the importance of decreasing sulphur dioxide emissions
on-site by the copper industry.

The most significant contributors to the environmental impact category of Global Warming
Potential are emissions from bought electricity. As a result, the electrical grid mix of the region
where copper is produced has a considerable impact on the environmental profile of copper.
Diesel combustion was significant during mining, in addition to electricity.

Eutrophication Potential results are driven by NOx emissions predominantly associated with
diesel combustion, both during mining and, for some locations, during intermediary transit of
concentrate to the smelter. Around one-third of the cost is carried by electricity, particularly in
networks with significant coal power plant shares.

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Impacts on Ozone Depletion Potential are almost exclusively attributable to R 114
(dichlorotetrafluoroethane) emissions and are largely dependent on the presence of nuclear
power plants in the electricity grid.

The study findings highlight a responsibility for the copper industry to play in advocating for
environmentally favourable sources of electricity in the locations where copper producers
operate, given the substantial amount of emissions attributed to purchased electricity.

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Explain what impact this innovation will have on the
environment?
The impact of e-textiles on the environment currently appears to be mostly negative. A lot of the
reason for this stems from the technology’s potential influence from the fast fashion and tech
industries, especially for its potential for ‘everyday’ products.

Electronics include precious metals such as copper, gold, and silver; but, as these products have
gotten smaller and more ubiquitous, developed countries have been unable to keep up with the
infrastructure or economic incentives required to recapture and recycle them. Due to the poor
overall recycling rate, there is an increased need for virgin materials. By their very nature,
e-textiles will be difficult to identify, widely dispersed, and ultimately more elusive to recyclers,
putting further strain on virgin materials.

According to a recent paper published in the Journal of Industrial Ecology, the infrastructure
needed to re-collect these fabrics is lacking, as is the technology for recycling them. Based on
research from the Technical University of Delft, the essay was the first to examine the end-of-life
consequences of e-textiles. The findings show that relying on business as usual in the design of
such high-tech devices might result in a rise in e-waste issues. Valuable components in e-textiles,
such as silver, will be lost as waste if they are not recycled.

Even if an effective system for collecting and sorting e-textiles existed, there is currently no
technology capable of recycling them: e-textiles will jam shredding machines if sent to standard
electronics recyclers; metal content in textile recyclers will contaminate recycling streams if sent
to textile recyclers. Because they respond to both increasing technology and the whimsy of
seasonal fashion, their rate of obsolescence will be higher than that of most devices.

End-of-life considerations can still be built into the design process for e-textiles as they are still in
the early stages of development. One approach is to design for disassembly. Fortunately, the
technology is still very much in its early stages of development, allowing for regulatory and
design measures to be adopted to proactively avoid future complications.

Similarly, if policymakers act now to develop systems that aid in the recovery, reuse, and
recycling of e-textiles, there is a high potential for effective regulation. These goods provide a
significant policy opportunity to show ethical and environmentally sound life cycle design;
however, the window for this chance is narrowing as e-textiles become more widely available.

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Analyse four factors that influence the innovation.
Historical
The link of textile and electronics was born in a military context, as evidenced by the vast
literature in this field (Mc Quaid "extreme textile," Quinn "textile future"), In order to meet the
performance demands of soldiers' clothes. Interestingly, at the same time, some researchers
envisioned new applications for these technologies, concentrating less on their rational efficiency
and more on their creative potential, as shown in this image of one of the first "wearable" circuit
design, developed by Rehmi Post and Maggie Orth in a physics research lab (MIT Center for Bits
and Atoms or CBA) funded by NSF and DARPA (defence advanced research agency) in which
public money originally dedicated to security research was diverted.

E-textile research has since developed into various fields including that of medical and sporting
usages. This is largely owed to the historical influences on e-textiles that were able to push
boundaries to shape the kinds of progressions in available technologies that we see today.

Reliability + Safety
Textile cables used to link signal connecting mediums must be safe, tough, and long-lasting.
Wearable technology and e-textiles need to be reliable, and they must be unaffected by harsh
conditions including rain, snow, high humidity, and even washing. A dependable power source is
also a concern. Energy-harvesting technology is one way that e-textile research is addressing
this. Higher power density, simple charging solutions, and excellent isolation are all critical design
factors.

In regards to the Voice/Speech Difficulty Device previously mentioned, there is a major

disadvantage of this innovation as it currently exists. It is potentially unsafe for practical use
because the power supply would have to be less than 36 V.

Timing
The timing of e-textile development is a large influence on the kinds of directions the technology
can be taken. Development with an emphasis on future every day personal-use is largely owed to
the timing and synchronisation of the technology’s progress with the rise and power of
multi-million dollar corporations such as Apple, Adidas and Fujitsu.

It is not a coincidence that a lot of the progress made in regards to this technology coincides with
other time-period-based cultural shifts. Influences and support from industries that are fast on the

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rise such as the fast fashion and tech industries, have led to rapid growth in the development of
e-textile technology. The growth of these industries align with the progression of new
technologies, whether this is for better or worse. This can also be applied to development in the
medical and healthcare fields. The potential support from large pharmaceutical companies
will/has an impact and major influence on the timing and speed at which assistive e-textile
technologies are designed and manufactured.

Economic (Commercialisation)
Apple, Adidas AG, Fujitsu Limited, Fibretronic, and Interactive Wear AG are among the companies
working on e-textile products currently.

Flexible hybrid electronics, conductive fibres, energy-harvesting methods, materials science,

interference shielding, and manufacturability are only a few of the obstacles to e-textile
commercialisation.

These challenges might be difficult to design around for electrical engineers. Rigid circuit boards,
repeatable production methods, and silicon-based materials are all familiar to most EEs.

While creating e-textiles for clothes and everyday wear may seem far-fetched, this technology
has shown potential in healthcare and medical research. Researchers have developed a type of
e-textile that can communicate, sense, and deliver power to an illuminating display unit. This
method was created for persons who have difficulties with their voice or speech. After decoding
electroencephalogram signals, the display devices can indicate a generic keyword about an
individual's mental state.

The integrated textile system's power supply, according to the researchers, was created using
battery fibres that store energy from the photovoltaic textile module. To gather solar energy, they
wove photoanode wefts with silver-plated conductive yarns.

The researchers demonstrated both power generation and storage in the textile by merging the
warps and wefts with battery fibres made of flexible MnO2-coated carbon nanotube fibre
(cathode), zinc wire (anode), and ZnSO4 gel electrolyte. The fabric is also washable, according to
the researchers, which is critical for commercialising e-textiles.

The researchers employed ZnS phosphor electric field-driven devices to weave the textile
display. They further point out that such devices only require spatial connections between wefts
and warps to light up, making the fibres intrinsically resilient and appropriate for mass
manufacturing.

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Research Table

Research Source Accuracy of the methods + sources

Method
Websites + Wikipedia. 2022. E-textiles - Websites such as Wikipedia, as well as the blog
Blogs Wikipedia. [ONLINE] posts referenced here, provide adequate
Available at: information on topics. The information here is
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ less reliable than other sources but provides a
E-textiles. [Accessed 01 good base for information, in particular
March 2022]. Wikipedia which lists its sources and uses strict
editing moderation.
Kaleido Insights. 2022.
Impact Analysis: Smart
Textiles - Kaleido Insights.
[ONLINE] Available at:
https://www.kaleidoinsights.
com/impact-analysis-smart-t
extiles/. [Accessed 01 March
2022].

LOOMIA Soft Circuit

Systems | E-textiles . 2022.
Do E-Textiles Contribute to
Electronic Waste? —
LOOMIA Soft Circuit
Systems | E-textiles .
[ONLINE] Available at:
https://www.loomia.com/blo
g/etextiles-electronic-waste.
[Accessed 01 March 2022].

Journal www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov. 2022.
Articles + No page title. [ONLINE]
Papers Available at:
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov
/pmc/articles/PMC4915040/.
[Accessed 01 March 2022].
Wiley Online Library, 2020,
Futuristic Clothes: Electronic
Textiles and Wearable
Technologies, viewed 02
The journal articles and papers here provide
useful and most credible information. These
are either reports or studies conducted on the
chosen topic, and usually provide the most
accurate information available. The papers I
have referenced here state the Journals they
are a part of when applicable. The main reason
these are the most accurate sources, is that
articles from scholarly, peer-reviewed,
academic, and refereed journals have gone

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March 2022, through more rigorous review processes. They
https://onlinelibrary.wiley.co also have the most references or citations.
m/doi/10.1002/gch2.201900
092

copperalliance.org. 2022.
No page title. [ONLINE]
Available at:
https://copperalliance.org/w
p-content/uploads/2021/07/I
CA-EnvironmentalProfileHES
D-201803-FINAL-LOWRES-1.
pdf. [Accessed 01 March
2022].

PubMed. 2022. Drug-Eluting

Medical Textiles: From Fiber
Production and Textile
Fabrication to Drug Loading
and Delivery - PubMed.
[ONLINE] Available at:
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.
gov/33951278/. [Accessed
01 March 2022].

Yimin Qin, 2016, Medical

textile materials with
drug-releasing properties,
viewed 02 March 2022,
https://www.researchgate.ne
t/publication/301262620_M
edical_textile_materials_wit
h_drug-releasing_properties

Reasearch Gate, 2011,

Prospective Impacts of
Electronic Textiles on
Recycling and Disposal,
viewed 02 March 2022,
https://www.researchgate.ne
t/publication/227733221_Pro
spective_Impacts_of_Electr
onic_Textiles_on_Recycling
_and_Disposal

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Yale Environment Review.
2022. Responsible design of
electronic textiles | Yale
Environment Review.
[ONLINE] Available at:
https://environment-review.y
ale.edu/responsible-design-
electronic-textiles-0.
[Accessed 01 March 2022].

Science Direct, 2015, Life

cycle assessment and
eco-design of smart textiles:
The importance of material
selection demonstrated
through e-textile product
redesign, Viewed 02 March
2022,
https://www.sciencedirect.co
m/science/article/abs/pii/S0
264127515300174

MDPI, 2021, Smart E-Textile

Systems: A Review for
Healthcare Applications,
Viewed 02 March 2022

MDPI, 2018, A Historical

Review of the Development
of Electronic Textiles,
Accessed 02 March 2022

MDPI, 2020, A Life Cycle

Thinking Approach to
Analyse Sustainability in the
Textile Industry:
A Literature Review, Viewed
02 March 2022

Research Square, ?,
Large-area display textiles
integrated with functional
systems, Viewed 02 March
2022,

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 https://assets.researchsquar
e.com/files/rs-56463/v1_sta
mped.pdf

News TechAcute. 2022. E-Textile News articles can be accurate depending on

Articles Waste: Its Toxic Impact on
the Environment and
People. [ONLINE] Available
at:
https://techacute.com/e-texti
le-waste-its-toxic-impact-on-t
he-environment-and-people/
. [Accessed 01 March 2022].
the source. The websites here aren’t
particularly well known, as they fit into niche
subjects (mostly surrounding tech industry
news), however the articles I have used
reference the sources they themselves use,
either at the bottom of the article or
interspersed throughout. These usually
reference papers published in journals.

JeanBaptiste. 2022. A brief

history of Electronic Textiles |
by JeanBaptiste | Medium.
[ONLINE] Available at:
https://medium.com/@jeanb
aptiste/a-brief-history-of-elec
tronic-textiles-dee610be667
b. [Accessed 01 March
2022].

Rushi Patel, 2021, E-textiles:

Pipe Dream or Future
Reality?, Accessed 02 March
2022,
https://www.allaboutcircuits.
com/news/e-textiles-pipe-dr
eam-or-future-reality/

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Critically assess the impact of the innovation you have
chosen.
The impact of e-textiles is one that is mixed and dependent on the people who develop it’s
technology. On one hand, e-textiles appear to have a predominantly negative impact on the
environment in the present age. The potential influence on technology from the fast fashion and
tech industries, particularly for 'everyday' goods, is one of the primary reasons for this. On the
other hand, the prospective impact of e-textiles on individuals and society promises to be far
more favourable than their impact on the environment, given it's most recent breakthroughs,
notably in the areas of healthcare and medicine. These breakthroughs have the potential to
provide life-changing positive impacts for people with certain disabilities and illnesses. However,
even societal impacts aren’t always positive, especially in the case of developing countries and
"backyard recycling" plants.

Critically assess the factors affecting its development for

the future.
The factors that influence the development of e-textiles provide the clearest direction for the
future development of technologies. The influences from large corporations and their primary
goals of commercialisation, the ethical issues and improvements of safety, the timing and
alignment of certain events with developments of technology, and historical influences.

As time progresses and the development of the technology moves into the future, these factors
will be the main impacts on what directions e-textiles take. It is likely to assume that medical
advancements during the COVID-19 pandemic will be applied to all areas of medical science,
including e-textiles. Alongside this, the involvement of large corporations is likely to be inevitable,
and they will likely attempt to provide e-textile technology to the public in the form of wearable
fashion, sporting tools, and overall general health monitoring devices. This will allow for
considerable future growth, but will most likely produce strain on the negative impacts of the
technology as it currently exists. Despite this, there is a potential for e-textile development to
push the development of other technologies alongside it in the future. Technologies directly
related to the improvement of recycling facilities, for instance, can be developed to meet the
requirements of e-textiles, but may be applied to other areas and technologies as well.

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