At Performance Days, which takes place in Munich this week, HEIQ, a Swuss leader in textile innovation creating some of the most effective, durable and high performance textile effects in the market today has announced the launch of HeiQ No Fuzz – a new range of products to increase abrasion resistance of fabrics and reduce the level of fuzzing and pilling.

Improved visual perception at the cost of worse mechanical perception is the conventional approach to the problem of abrasion-related damage on textiles. HeiQ No Fuzz is based on novel adhesive polymer structures that give targeted, localised and non-homogeneous “bridging” reinforcement inside yarns and/or on the outer surface of yarns,” the manufacturer reports.

The company explains that Anti-pilling is not a new terminology to the textiles industry. However, many conventional treatment technologies give a negative mechanical handle impact that leads to reduced fabric comfort.

Like tree roots protecting soil from erosion, the novel HeiQ polymer structures adhere to and reinforce the fabric yarns, reducing the tendency to pill and fuzz, keeping the appearance of the textile surface looking newer for longer, while minimising handle impact.

While pilling is a historic challenge in the textile, apparel and home textile industries, the problem of abrasion-related damage extends beyond unsightly appearance and reduced comfort. Fabrics that rapidly form visible defects (like pills, fuzz, holes) can have lower perceived quality, reduced wearer confidence and negatively affect a consumer’s sense of brand image.

Abrasion of textiles during use and laundry can lead to loss of fibres that ultimately have potential to contribute to ocean microplastic pollution. Increasing the abrasion resistance and reducing the pilling and fuzzing tendency of yarns means fibres are less likely to be released into water during laundry, said Dr Murray Height co-founder and Chief Science Officer of HeiQt.

The HeiQ No Fuzz family consists of various products that can be used in combination, tailored to the characteristics of different fabric and yarn structures to achieve an optimal balance between improving the physical resilience of the fabric and minimising negative impact on desirable handle and comfort properties.

Fabrics treated with this technology have been evaluated through Martindale and Pillbox tests and achieved exceptional efficiency initially and after washing (performance up to 50 washings), according to the manufacturer.

HeiQ’s Textile Market Knowledge Center surveyed 469 US consumers in April this year. The majority of surveyed consumers were aware of pilling problems on textile products with 84% of these respondents relating they would “prefer that these pilling balls didn’t exist”.

PERFORMANCE DAYS is synchronized with the industry’s deadlines – making it possible for designers, product and purchasing managers to perform sourcing at just the right time for the upcoming summer and winter collections in April/May and November. The latest trends and innovations in the functional fabric industry are on display by more than 170 top quality exhibitors from more than 20 nations.

The Fair will be held on 8 and 9th November at MTC World of Fashion in Germany.