Meeting With Cotton Incorporated

On February 1, David Earley, Senior Director of Global Supply Chain Marketing at Cotton Incorporated, came to talk to the students about Cotton Inc.'s TransDRY performance fabric. By integrating functional finishes, Cotton Incorporated can build demand for cotton. Several companies, including Under Armour, currently use the TransDRY performance cotton in their products.

The TransDRY fabrics feature a blend of specially-treated water-repellent cotton and naturally absorbent untreated cotton to create an overall aboserbent capacity that mimics polyester and nylon. These treated and untreated fibers work together to help transfer moisture so that the fabric dries faster and does not become over-saturated during exercise. They also allow fabric to wick and spread perspiration as well as, or better than, most high-tech synthetic fabrics but without sacrificing the comfort and softness of cotton. The students looked at dozens of fabric samples of varying weights and with different properties. They also tested each one with water droplets in order to examine how the fabrics managed moisture.

Some fabrics moved moisture horizontally or vertically while others moved moisture from the skin side to the outside of the fabric.

The students then began to consider the needs of the bra and which fabrics (cotton versus synthetic) would be appropriate for different areas of the product (based on properties and performance).

They left the meeting with the assignment to compile a "wish list" of ideal properties that the fabrics in the product would have and that they would like to test for in the fabric samples. They also prepared to reverse engineer the sample products in order to better understand the construction and to create patterns for prototyping.