Global Smart Fabrics Market Report and Forecast 2024-2032

Global Smart Fabrics Market Outlook

The global smart fabrics market size reached approximately USD 4.77 billion in 2023. The market is assessed to grow at a CAGR of 18.7% between 2024 and 2032 to attain a value of around USD 22.30 billion by 2032.

Key Trends in the Market

Smart fabrics, also known as smart textiles, electronic textiles, intelligent fabrics, and smart garments, refer to textiles that can detect and respond to environmental conditions through embedded digital components. They provide improved functionality, safety, and performance to users.

• One of the key smart fabrics market trends includes the rising emphasis on health and fitness, especially among the young population. Smart clothing supports customers in maintaining their optimal health and offers a personalised healthcare regime while stressing areas of improvement. The development of wearable textiles that can analyse the physical and mental health of a wearer to detect various health issues is anticipated to further fuel the market in the coming years.

• The rising demand for smart wearable devices, the increasing amalgamation of fashion and technology, the surging popularity of the Internet of things (IoT), and the growing development of rechargeable, miniature, and flexible electronic devices are favouring the smart fabrics market demand.

In addition, with the surging popularity of wearable gadgets and increasing competition between key players, innovative and cost-competitive smart fabrics equipped with advanced technologies are increasingly being developed.

• Sustainability has emerged as an important metric for the fashion industry due to high water consumption and greenhouse gas emissions during clothing manufacturing and excessive waste caused by fast fashion. This is fuelling the smart fabrics market expansion as smart textiles are emerging as a sustainable and ecological option to reduce garment waste, minimise the requirement for animal-based products, and facilitate recycling.

• Increasing investments in technological advancements and innovations aimed at boosting the capabilities and functionalities of e-textiles are anticipated to propel the smart fabrics market growth in upcoming years. Moreover, researchers are revolutionising the market by developing innovative fabrics that can detect human motion, enhance the comfortability and flexibility of smart clothing, and generate energy through smart textiles.

Market Analysis

Based on function, the market is segmented into sensing, energy harvesting, luminescence and aesthetics, and thermoelectricity, among others. On the basis of end use, the smart fabrics market segmentation includes sports and fitness, fashion and entertainment, medical, transportation, and protection and military, among others. The major regional markets for smart fabrics include North America, Europe, the Asia Pacific, Latin America, and the Middle East and Africa.

The comprehensive EMR report provides an in-depth assessment of the market based on the Porter's five forces model along with giving a SWOT analysis. The report gives a detailed analysis of the following key players in the global smart fabrics market, covering their competitive landscape and latest developments like mergers, acquisitions, investments and expansion plans.

• Schoeller Textil AG 

• Interactive Wear AG 

• AiQ Smart Clothing Inc. 

• NIKE Inc. 

• Osmotex AG  

• Sensoria

• OTEX Specialty Narrow Fabrics, Inc 

• Jabil Circuit, Inc. 

• EXO2 The Heat Inside 

• Applycon, s. r. o. 

• Others

Market Share by End Use

As per the smart fabrics market analysis, the usage of the material in protection and military applications is rapidly increasing. Smart textiles can react and sense stimuli, detect conditions that can lead to danger, provide instantaneous protection during threats, and prevent accidents by warning the wearer regarding hazardous conditions, hence they are ideal for protective clothing used in the military and defence sector.

Market Share by Region

North America holds a significant smart fabrics market share due to the growing demand for smart wearables in the region. In the United States and Canada, the usage of smart fabrics in the healthcare sector to enhance the quality of care and reduce the quality of life is significantly rising. This trend is expected to grow in the forecast period due to the rising ageing population and the surging prevalence of chronic diseases in these countries.

Competitive Landscape

Schoeller Textil AG, owned by Taiwanese Formosa Taffeta and Swiss-based Albers Group, is a company that is engaged in the manufacturing of textiles. With its headquarters in Switzerland, the company specialises in the production and development of innovative textile technologies. Its history dates back to 1868, and since then the company has established its position as a major provider of high-quality and performance textiles.

Interactive Wear AG, founded in 2005, is a producer and developer of electronic systems for use in wearable and textile integration systems. It utilises technologies such as connectivity components and flexible conductive textiles to provide functional solutions such as sense, light, and heating. Its products are utilised in the fashion, interior design, and sports sectors, among others.

AiQ Smart Clothing Inc. is a leader in the smart clothing sector that delivers insights into the human body. The company offers stainless steel fibre-based woven fabric for speciality glass such as automotive glass. It fuses textiles with semiconductors to develop innovative apparel that is intelligent and connected to solve various problems.

Other smart fabrics market players include NIKE Inc., Osmotex AG, Sensoria, OTEX Specialty Narrow Fabrics, Inc, Jabil Circuit, Inc., EXO2 The Heat Inside, and Applycon, s. r. o., among others.

Key Highlights of the Report