3M is expanding two of its best-known textile brands into new areas of the performance apparel market, with the launch of Thinsulate Outdoor Comfort and Scotchgard Outdoor Performance.
Unveiled during UTMB Mont-Blanc in Chamonix, the two new platforms represent a significant development for a materials developer traditionally associated with insulation and fabric protection.
The move sees 3M extend both Thinsulate and Scotchgard into functional fabrics designed to combine several performance characteristics within a single textile construction, targeting the evolving requirements of outdoor and active apparel.
Rather than focusing on a single performance attribute, the new platforms have been developed around the idea that outdoor garments increasingly need to respond to different conditions and levels of activity. For apparel developers, this means balancing properties such as thermal performance, breathability, moisture management, weather protection and weight within the same garment.
Thinsulate moves into multifunctional fabrics
3M Thinsulate Outdoor Comfort has been developed as a dual-function fabric combining thermal performance, breathability and moisture management.
The construction uses a water-repellent outer surface designed to protect against splashes and light rain, while its inner surface provides moisture-wicking performance to move perspiration away from the wearer.
A fleece structure is intended to balance two potentially conflicting requirements in active outdoor apparel: allowing heat to escape during periods of activity while providing warmth as temperatures fall or activity levels decrease.
This combination positions the platform for garments required to perform across changing temperatures, weather conditions and levels of physical exertion rather than being designed around a single end use.
The development reflects one of the recurring challenges facing designers of performance apparel: managing the relationship between the wearer's activity level and the surrounding environment.
During higher-intensity activity, breathability and moisture management become increasingly important as the wearer generates heat and perspiration. When activity levels fall, or temperatures drop, retaining warmth becomes a greater consideration.
3M's approach with Outdoor Comfort is to bring these requirements together within one fabric construction rather than treating them as entirely separate functions.
The water-repellent exterior adds another element to the system, providing protection against splashes and light rain while the moisture-wicking interior is designed to move perspiration away from the wearer.
The result is a material platform intended to support comfort across a broader range of outdoor environments, including periods of higher activity as well as colder, wet or rainy conditions.
A lighter approach from Scotchgard
3M Scotchgard Outdoor Performance, meanwhile, takes a lighter-weight approach.
The new fabric platform combines water repellency and breathability with a lightweight construction and is designed for changing weather conditions, everyday outdoor activities and commuting.
Designed to repel splashes and light rain, the material is intended to reduce the discomfort associated with moisture and wet weather while remaining breathable during activity.
Its lightweight construction is also designed to provide a flexible wearing experience, with 3M identifying everyday outdoor activities and commuting among its potential applications.
Outdoor Performance brings together water repellency, breathability and a lightweight construction, with the platform designed to support comfort and versatility across changing weather conditions and a range of everyday outdoor activities.
The positioning also takes the technology beyond highly specialised outdoor garments and into the increasingly broad area in which performance apparel overlaps with everyday clothing.
For textile and apparel developers, that reflects a market in which consumers increasingly expect functional properties from garments that may be worn across different activities and environments rather than exclusively for a particular sport or end use.
Broadening the performance proposition
Taken together, the two launches represent a broader move by 3M towards integrated textile solutions.
Instead of treating insulation, protection and wearer comfort as entirely separate technologies, the company is seeking to incorporate multiple functional properties within fabric constructions that apparel brands can use to address different performance requirements.
3M said: “Outdoor apparel continues to evolve as consumers expect greater versatility, comfort and performance from every garment. Outdoor Comfort and Outdoor Performance represent an exciting new direction for both the Thinsulate™ and Scotchgard™ brands. By combining multiple functional benefits into innovative fabric constructions, we are giving apparel partners new possibilities to design products for today's outdoor lifestyle.”
The development is particularly notable for Thinsulate and Scotchgard because of the established identities of the two brands.
Thinsulate has traditionally been associated with lightweight insulation and thermal comfort, while Scotchgard has built its position around protection and enhanced fabric functionality. The new platforms broaden those propositions by combining several wearer benefits within the material itself.
For apparel brands, the intention is to provide greater flexibility when developing products expected to perform across changing environments and activity levels.
Inspired by changing outdoor conditions
The decision to introduce the new platforms during UTMB Mont-Blanc also provides a relevant setting for the technologies.
Mountain environments can expose users to rapidly changing weather, temperatures and activity levels — the same variables that Outdoor Comfort and Outdoor Performance have been designed to address.
For 3M, launching the technologies in Chamonix therefore connects the development of the materials with the real-world conditions encountered by outdoor users.
The company accompanied the launch with activities involving the international trail-running community gathered in Chamonix for UTMB week, including a community run with athletes, partners and outdoor enthusiasts.
But from a textile perspective, the more significant development is the extension of two established 3M material brands into new functional fabric platforms.
By combining properties including moisture management, breathability, water repellency, thermal performance and lightweight comfort in different constructions, 3M is positioning the two platforms around versatility rather than a single performance function.
For apparel developers, that creates another approach to designing garments intended to respond to the changing conditions encountered by today's outdoor consumer.
About 3M™ Thinsulate™
3M Thinsulate develops material technologies designed to help outdoor apparel brands deliver lightweight comfort and performance across a range of applications.
About 3M™ Scotchgard™
3M Scotchgard provides material technologies designed to enhance fabric performance through protection and added functionality for everyday and outdoor applications.
www.3m.com
