■ Development Background

Against the background of growing awareness in environmental protection, we have been developing new eco-friendly materials by our accumulated proprietary technologies. In response to this, we focused on the natural and synthetic fibers of cotton and polyester. We believed that we could make use of these fibers in an environmentally conscious manner. Therefore, we made further advances in our reforming technology and focused on developing new materials.
Cotton materials generally have excellent water absorption and retention properties. However, there is also a weak point that the absorbed water does not dry easily.
On the other hand, polyester materials are easy to dry and do not wrinkle easily.On the other hand, polyester is inferior in terms of water absorption and moisture absorption, both of which are advantages of cotton.
We applied modification technology to take full advantage of the two materials' good features, and as a result, we successfully developed a new material, "Polyva™," that exhibits eco-friendly features such as water absorption, quick-drying, and washing durability. Our eco-friendly material " Polyva™" established its own technology as a comfortable and easy-care, eco-friendly material.

Fig.1 Enlarged electron micrograph of cotton and "Polyva™"

From Figure 1, we can see that all the single yarns are modified and changed in the "Polyva™." In "Polyva™," each yarn is modified and the modified surface area is expanded, creating eco-friendly and multifunctional effects.

■ Eco-friendly features

"Polyva™" is an eco-friendly material made by modifying polyester and cotton by our unique modification technology. The following features make it easy to understand why "Polyva™" is an eco-friendly material.

（1）Water absorption and quick-drying

Because our unique modification technology quickly disperses moisture, "Polyva™" dries quickly and is an eco-friendly material with less energy during mechanical drying. *Compared to the raw materials, the drying time of our material is about 30%-50% faster and the drying energy is about 30%-50% less.
In addition, since our modified cotton part quickly absorbs water, the modified polyester part works as a mechanism to diffuse water quickly while maintaining high water absorbency.
The water absorption and quick-drying function of "Polyva™" suppresses discomfort and stickiness after sweating to keep you refreshed and smooth. (Attachment reference material: Reference 1 "Drying speed test")

Figure 2: Comparison of Water Absorption Rate and Drying Rate of "Polyva™"

※1 T/C (T-C) Composite Material: A mixture of polyester and cotton.

(2) Easy Care

Since our material has the "wrinkleless" feature of polyester, our material eliminates the need for ironing and cleaning after washing while also having a cotton-like texture.

(3) Washing durability

"Polyva™" retains its water absorption and quick-drying properties even after 50 industrial washes, and therefore, our material has a long product life that can be used repeatedly over a long time.

(4) Combination with our "post-processing technology"

Our material can be combined with "Onibegi" and "begie-begie," which use the skin and natural ingredients of discarded onions for dyeing, making our material an environmentally friendly material in the dyeing process.

■ Multifunctional

In addition to its eco-friendly features, "Polyva™" has a wide range of other functions. Each feature and effect of these functions are as follows.

(1) Refreshing "humidity control function"

With its excellent moisture absorption and moisture release properties, "Polyva™" has the effect of absorbing moisture inside the clothing and releasing moisture to the outside to adjust the inside environment of the clothing. (Attachment reference material: Material 2 "Comparison of the inside environment of the clothes when wearing, humidity change in the clothes")

(2) Static electricity reduction

"Polyva™" has high anti-static properties and does not crackle or cling due to static electricity.

(3) Making modifications to our competitors’ dyed products possible

By applying this modification technology to the dyed products^※2 of other companies, the features of "Polyva™" can be added.
※2 Restricted to the dyed products of other companies, which are not resin-processed.

■ Application development

Bedding, uniforms, fashion clothing, sports clothing

■ Patents

Six related patents have been acquired.

[Reference material]

Appendix 1: Comparison of drying rates

Drying tests were conducted under high temperature and humidity conditions.

Condition: Water 1 ml Drop／Test Environment: Temperature 28 °C, Humidity 80%

With "Polyva™," immediately after water absorption, more than twice as much diffusion occurs than cotton, and we can see the quickly drying progress from the outside of the dispersed water droplets.

Figure 3: Comparison of Water Absorption and Drying of Cotton and "Polyva™"

Appendix 2: Comparison of the Environment in Clothing with Actual Wear (Humidity Change in Clothing)

The actual wear tests were conducted under high temperature and humidity conditions.

・As light work, 40 minute walk on a treadmill
・Test environment: Temperature 28°C, Humidity 65%-75%

Compared with cotton, "Polyva™" reduces the humidity inside the clothing during exercise. Even with increased sweat, "Polyva™" absorbs and diffuses the sweat quickly. As a result, the humidity inside the clothing does not increase even during exercise.
After exercising, "Polyva™" reduces the humidity inside the clothing and is still dry and comfortable, while the cotton is still stuffy.

Figure 4: Humidity change in clothing during light work