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  • RESEARCH HIGHLIGHT

A plastic fabric could keep people cool — and help to fight global warming

The stain-resistant textile needs less washing, which means less energy consumption and lower emissions of greenhouse gases.
Photographs of woven fabric samples stained by a commercial food colourant and subsequently rinsed under running cold tap water

Swatches of polyester, linen, cotton and woven polyethylene (top row, left to right) are stained with food colouring (middle row) then shown after rinsing in plain water (bottom row). Credit: M. Alberghini et al./Nature Sustain.

Using threads made from a common plastic, researchers have crafted a high-performance fabric that can keep you cool and clean.

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Nature 591, 505 (2021)

doi: https://doi.org/10.1038/d41586-021-00684-x

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