Textiles are everywhere and shape our daily life. In the last 30 years, textile industrial companies in Europe have been producing textiles that are used in many fields of application, not only in fashion and clothing, thanks to important product innovation. How many of the examples of applications listed below you were aware of already?
In the field of agriculture, they are nets to protect crops against insects or climatic aggressions, textile screens for thermal insulation and solar filtration to name the most commonly used applications.
In furnishing/decoration products with textile can be divided into the following categories: textiles furnish interiors, cover sofas, household linen (sheets, blankets, bedding protection), bathroom linen, furniture, curtains, curtains, curtains, and many others
In the building and construction sector, these are textiles and fabrics for solar protection, with acoustic treatment, façade cladding, stretch roofs for football stadiums, interior and exterior blinds, etc.
In the packaging sector, stretchable textile packaging is used to protect food products, including meat, customisable bags such as tote bags, and many others!
In the civil engineering sector, textiles are used to reinforce soils with geosynthetics for road infrastructures, anti-erosion textiles, etc.
In the industrial sector, textiles are used as fiberglass, used for electrical insulation and hot air filtration, truck covers, etc.
In the medical/health sector, textiles are used for implants, dressings (PPE – Private Protective Equipment), and medical devices (lumbar belts, support solutions, anti-edema devices, luminous textiles to treat infant jaundice, etc.) to not forget about the contribution to the production of face masks!
In the protection sector, textiles are used in Personal Protective Equipment treated against rain, fire, or heat is used by police forces, gendarmerie, firemen or special units, anti-cutting gloves, anti-noise helmets, etc.
In sports and leisure, technical sportswear with thermo-regulating functions, biodegradable sports shoes, swimming suits, as well as leisure equipment (kitesurf boards and sails, paragliders, tents, skis, tennis rackets, bicycle frames) use technical textiles.
In transport, seats, interior interiors, airbags, car tires are made of textile, as well as helicopter blade tips, aircraft, and rocket nose sections for the aerospace industry. Seats and floor coverings in the railway and maritime industries also contain textiles.
In order to discover better the textile industry, its jobs, and its fields of application in a playful way, the DETEXION game has been created in France by the textile stakeholders.
In the manner of the famous “Where’s Charlie?”, the game invites participants to immerse themselves in the discovery of the sector by finding 26 textile elements in a cluttered scene.
From an aeroplane wing to a pair of skis, via a lampshade and others, each element illustrates the possibilities of the sector in concrete terms. In addition to earning the player 5 points, each correct answer is accompanied by a humorous and synthetic explanation of the use of textiles.
Check the game here: https://detexion.frenchtex.org/
Laurence Allois – UNITEX for French TEX