Indicating the development stage of nanotechnology in the textile and clothing industry

Nanotechnology is forecasted as the second industrial evolution in the world. The novel properties and low material consumption amount has attracted global interest across disciplines and industries. The textile sector is no exception. Nano apparel products have already emerged in the market and the number of nano-claimed products is dramatically increased recently. In order to estimate this potential for rapid development, the maturity of nanotechnology application in textiles field is evaluated in this paper. The lineal technological development model has been adopted to illustrate the development progress of nanotechnology in the textile industry. The results show the application of nanotechnology in the industry is currently at the primitive phase. Although some of technology prototypes are able to develop, the theoretical and scientific studies are still strongly required and the nano product is unlikely to penetrate into the apparel market extensively in the coming years.