Wondering Whether Cooling-Fabric Clothing Is Really Cool Because of the Early Heat.

Now that June has begun, it has been so hot since May that it feels like early summer weather. Because of that, I’ve been really worried about the heat wave that lies ahead.

Every time summer comes around, I hear people say that a heat wave will arrive with the highest temperatures climbing to record levels. This year, because the rainy season was especially short, there is talk that temperatures could come close to the record set in 2018, which was an especially severe heat wave year, so it’s hard not to worry already about how to get through the summer.

As a heat wave above the usual seasonal temperatures is expected, interest in functional clothing made with cooling materials is increasing. I kept wondering what cooling material actually is that makes brands keep expanding their lineups.

Cooling material

The Chinese characters for cooling, 冷感, literally mean a cold feeling.

Compared with ordinary fabric, it absorbs sweat and dries faster, helping maintain a comfortable condition, so it is a functional material suitable for summer wear.

Because of these characteristics, it is being used not only in clothing but also in a variety of products such as cool mats and arm sleeves. According to a report released by the global market research firm Grand View Research, the cooling material market is growing by 11% every year, and it is projected to grow to a global size of $3.24 billion by 2025.

With this summer expected to be especially hot, I’m preparing cooling-material clothing to cope with the heat, and I can’t help but wonder how effective it is and whether it is really cool.

How can it feel cool the moment it touches the skin?

One method used in cooling materials is to apply phase change materials (PCM), which absorb and release surrounding heat when they reach a certain temperature. They were first developed in 1988 for space suits by NASA, and they are said to begin absorbing heat and melting when the surrounding temperature exceeds 28°C. Representative products include cool arm sleeves and cool mats.

Cooling fibers use Coolmax fabric, a representative cooling material that releases moisture faster than ordinary fibers, and Askin material, which has a unique cross-sectional structure that increases the contact area with the skin, allowing heat to dissipate quickly and drying fast so that it feels cool as soon as it touches the body, while also being useful for UV protection.

Coolmax, a term commonly seen in sportswear stores, and Askin, which is used not only in outdoor clothing but also in swimwear and household goods!!

If products using cooling materials were once offered by only a limited number of brands, they are now available from a variety of brands, and underwear is also being released one after another.

It seems this is probably because consumers want to maintain comfort and stay in optimal condition during the hot summer.

Even after intense exercise, they can feel comfortable and dry, so these materials are being used in sportswear, hiking wear, golf wear, and more. Recently, suits and shirts have also been released.

In the past, people tried to beat the heat with cold foods such as patbingsu and ice cream, but that only helped while they were eating them, so they had no choice but to rely on appliances such as fans and air conditioners.

According to a study by Duke University in the United States, for every 1°C rise in summer temperature, electricity consumption increases by 14.5%, so we have no choice but to reduce excessive electricity use and look for other alternatives.

One such alternative is cooling fabric.

Cooling fibers do not use electricity and help lower body heat, so they can provide a sense of coolness without harming nature, which is why they seem like an increasingly appealing material.