1 THE UNIVERSAL FIBER In April 2016 the Massachusetts Institute of Technology MIT created a new nonprofit group to speed up breakthroughs in fiber science and advance the development of new smart fabrics The nonprofit group the Advanced Functional Fabrics of America AFFOA worked to improve the fabric used in clothes transportation and electronics Developments would enhance protective clothing worn by soldiers and first responders Part of the group’s mission is to develop fabrics that have applications beyond clothing This includes bands of sensitive cloth that monitor unborn babies fabrics used in creating touch-sensitive skin for robots and even special knitted fabrics that are made into an exoskeleton that helps rehabilitate injuries AFFOA also hopes to fund research into embedding fibers with special properties for communication or energy generation and creating new digital tools for designing clothing such as a machine that knits special fabrics in a process similar to a 3D printer Scientists are already working on cotton fibers coated with gold nanoparticles The fibers could be used to sense toxic gases and other pollutants These new fabrics include one of the oldest fibers known to humans cotton So why are researchers using cotton instead of inventing a completely new fiber Cotton is one of Researchers are creating fabrics that can store energy to charge cell phones and other electronic devices 5
Most clothing sold is made from cotton the most versatile fibers for clothing and other uses It is an excellent material for fabric innovations Cotton is breathable and natural takes dye colors easily and is comfortable instead of scratchy next to the skin Cotton and its by-products are used in ways that might not be as obvious as a T-shirt or a pair of jeans Cottonseed is used in feed for dairy and beef cattle Cottonseed oil which is produced when cottonseed is crushed is an ingredient in many foods such as French fries and potato chips It is also in cereal baked goods mayonnaise soap and cosmetics Cotton fibers are used to weave furniture upholstery Cotton is in the cloth that covers hardcover books and in the paper pages inside those books Cotton is used to weave fishnets create coffee filters and make bandages One Bale of Cotton A cotton bale weighs approximately 480 pounds 218 kg 1 According to the National Cotton Council of America one bale can produce the following number of products in any one of these categories 215 249 690 765 1,256 3,085 4,321 Pairs of jeans Bedsheets Terry cloth bath towels Men’s dress shirts Pillowcases Diapers Socks 21,960 Women’s handkerchiefs 313,600 100 bills2 It is the primary ingredient in paper money Cotton has so many uses that at any time most of the world’s population is eating or using something that came from the cotton plant 7
