Textile Spotlight: Coolcore Activewear Fabric

coolcore

Have you heard about Coolcore? It’s a performance fabric that wicks away moisture and keeps the wearer cool during strenuous activity. Now, this is nothing new, there are plenty of fabrics available that do the exact same thing.

So what makes Coolcore so special?

Coolcore performs extremely well. Through moisture wicking, and regulated sweat evaporation, the textile is able to reduce its surface temperature by up to 30 percent.

But what really sets this fabric apart from its competitors is that it does all of this without the use of chemicals. While many performance fabrics use added substances such as polymer crystal treatments to aid in their cooling properties, Coolcore is completely chemical-free.

Cutting out chemicals makes for a better fabric in two ways:

  • first of all, it is certainly more eco-friendly than other textiles
  • second, the fabric performs better in the long run. This is because additives can eventually wash out and stop working. Instead, the physical structure of Coolcore is what gives it its cooling properties

So how does Coolcore actually work? 

To start, the fibers of this textile are hollow. This allows room for plenty of water to absorb into the fabric. Additionally, these hollow threads are spaced out, allowing for air to easily circulate. The fibers are also able to regulate moisture evaporation, which prolongs the cooling effect.

Coolcore is best used for clothing worn for athletics, as the cooling properties are activated by moisture (sweat) and wind (or air movement caused by movement of the body.) It is also highly durable, able to withstand abrasions and plenty of washings.

Jessica Bucci

Jessica has been trained in a wide variety of textile and fiber processes, traditional as well as computer-aided, which she uses in both her design and sculptural work. Jessica has also served as a teaching assistant for beginning weavers and drawers.