Tokyo - Teijin Frontier Co, the Teijin Group’s fibers and products converting company, has announced the development of a new functional fabric for casual knitwear and sportswear.

Solotex Liberte features a unique, span-like texture and exceptional stretchability, as well as excellent colorability, luster and natural swelling. It also combines comfort with sustainability, thanks to its incorporation of plant-derived raw materials.

Solotex Liberte uses polytrimethylene terephthalate (PTT) fibre featuring a proprietary low-shrinkage technology and a distinctive yarn processing method that maximizes the properties of PTT while controlling the raw yarn’s heat shrinkability.

Specifically, this product uses side-by-side composite yarn, which Teijin Frontier cultivated with its variety of Solotex stretch fabrics, that combines PTT polymer as the core yarn with newly developed low-orientation, low-shrinkage PTT monocomponent as the sheath yarn. The side-by-side composite yarn achieves high stretchability by laminating two types of polymers with different heat shrinkability characteristics to form a coil-like crimp structure.

The result is a blended yarn with two different shrinkage properties. After the core and sheath yarns are randomly mixed using fibre processing technology, they are knitted using high-density knitting equipment.

Solotex Liberte fabric features a soft texture and smooth finish. It also provides vivid colors and a luxurious matte glossy appearance. The material has a high silhouette with a moderate drape. Knits made with Solotex Liberte provides comfort, thanks to its soft stretch, light weight, water absorption and quick drying properties.

Material requirements for sportswear and casual wear are becoming more sophisticated. In addition to superior texture and appearance, consumers are demanding exceptional comfort and lower environmental impact. Teijin Frontier’s Solotex fibre is designed to deliver soft, smooth fabric with an attractive appearance, and supports sustainability by using approximately 40 percent plant-derived raw material.

Teijin Frontier will begin promoting Solotex Liberte globally for the autumn and winter 2024 collections of sportswear and casual wear. The company expects sales of Solotex Liberte to reach Yen 500,000m by fiscal 2026.