Evaluating Thermal Comfort of Sweat-Management Fabrics for Sportswear

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Abstract

Exercise and fitness are essential elements of health and well-being. With increased attention to living a healthy lifestyle, people tend to allocate more time to exercise and are participating in sport and leisure activities more often. To accommodate people's desire to be kept dry, comfortable, and moving freely, while enhancing athletic performance, the production of sweat-management fabricated (SMF) apparels have accelerated (Davis & Bishop, 2013). Numerous manufacturers and retailers have paid attention and developed lines of fabrics used to make shorts, shirts, socks, pants and more. Despite these trends, research related to the thermal comfort of SMF apparels, especially determining appropriate fabric or fabric combination for SMF apparels, is scant. Therefore, the purpose of this study is to evaluate the thermal comfort of sweat-management fabrics to reveal their suitability for sportswear. This study examined several types of sweat-management fabrics to compare their usefulness in terms of thermal comfort.

How to Cite:

An, S. K., Ko, S. B. & Gam, H. J., (2016) “Evaluating Thermal Comfort of Sweat-Management Fabrics for Sportswear”, International Textile and Apparel Association Annual Conference Proceedings 73(1).