Tuesday, June 14, 2005

Bio-Polished

New Wool Doesn't Itch or Shrink: "While the softer wool will likely appeal to designers in the fashion industry, it is also drawing the attention of an unlikely group -- the U.S. military. The military uses wool for blankets and berets, and would like to add underwear to that list. Currently, military issued undies are made from synthetic materials, which according to Cardamone, can burn and melt into wounds during combat situations."

Haven't they ever heard of cotton panties? I realize that it doesn't wick or keep you very warm, but it sure won't melt into your wound, which seems like it should be a much bigger concern than whatever the problem with cotton is.

Besides that, usually wool that is treated in traditional ways and with fewer chemicals is nicer to work with, though this sounds like a way of making superwash wool that won't wear out. Currently, machine wash and dryable wool (superwash wool) is made by coating the yarn with teflon to keep the scales flat. Eventually, with enough washing, that yarn will felt. The bio-polished sounds incapable of that. Pretty cool, if a bit creepy.

2 comments:

David said...

I think the problem with cotton is mold. Which would be pretty icky for all those people not currently having their togs melting into their wounds.

Katy said...

mold? How? I obviously am out of the loop on the specs for military undies (is there such a loop?), but really, I don't get it.