Global Smart Textiles Market to Reach $5.9 Billion by 2026

With time and technological advancements, textiles have emerged from being a simple piece of cloth or fabric to something that can be beautiful, functional and responsive - all at the same time. These very functionalities impart these textiles the name of Smart Textiles, e-textiles (electronic textiles), intelligent textiles or Functional Fabrics. Smart textiles use heat, electrical, magnetic, chemical, or other detection systems to sense temperature, electrical, magnetic, thermal, mechanical, or chemical changes in the environment. Smart textiles are expected to richly benefit from the growing popularity and adoption of electronic wearables. Smart textiles provide healthcare professionals with the technology to interact with patients. Wireless health monitoring functions are also embedded into fabrics that help monitor functions of vital organs like the heart, skin, and lungs via continuous tracking of body temperature, heart rate, breathing, and other physiological parameters. Akin to other consumer industries, global textile industry represents one of the worst affected industries due to the pandemic. Textiles and clothing being labor intensive will feel additional pressure to follow stringent norms that ensure worker safety and also high quality of products. A return to growth will therefore be led by the move towards automated machines, adherence to rigorous export quality norms; focus on production efficiency as well as energy efficiency; and intrinsic ability to build quality during manufacturing. The widespread availability of effective vaccines nevertheless has the potential to accelerate the recovery period.

Amid the COVID-19 crisis, the global market for Smart Textiles estimated at US$1.8 Billion in the year 2020, is projected to reach a revised size of US$5.9 Billion by 2026, growing at a CAGR of 22% over the analysis period. Sensing, one of the segments analyzed in the report, is projected to grow at a 20.7% CAGR to reach US$2.1 Billion by the end of the analysis period. After a thorough analysis of the business implications of the pandemic and its induced economic crisis, growth in the Energy Harvesting segment is readjusted to a revised 22.9% CAGR for the next 7-year period. This segment currently accounts for a 22% share of the global Smart Textiles market. Fiber optic sensors or optical fiber sensors are tiny and flexible, and since they do not disturb the structural integrity of composite materials, they can be integrated into textiles. Sensors are already being used in textiles for measuring breathing, heart rate, temperature, moisture and movement. The sensing technology allows development of devices that can sense a wide range of physical stimuli of magnetic, electric, acoustic, thermal and mechanical natures, and also enables several sensors to be lined up on a single optical fiber to form distributed sensing systems. Energy harvesting fabrics are expected to convert kinetic energy into electricity from different sources including rain, wind and human movement. Novel materials in this direction are likely to harvest energy by rubbing together to cause friction and transfer of electrons between two material surfaces.

The U.S. Market is Estimated at $598.5 Million in 2021, While China is Forecast to Reach $1.1 Billion by 2026

The Smart Textiles market in the U.S. is estimated at US$598.5 Million in the year 2021. The country currently accounts for a 29.67% share in the global market. China, the world`s second largest economy, is forecast to reach an estimated market size of US$1.1 Billion in the year 2026 trailing a CAGR of 27.4% through the analysis period. Among the other noteworthy geographic markets are Japan and Canada, each forecast to grow at 16.2% and 19.9% respectively over the analysis period. Within Europe, Germany is forecast to grow at approximately 20% CAGR while Rest of European market (as defined in the study) will reach US$1.4 Billion by the end of the analysis period.

Thermoelectricity Segment to Reach $1 Billion by 2026

In the global Thermoelectricity segment, USA, Canada, Japan, China and Europe will drive the 21.7% CAGR estimated for this segment. These regional markets accounting for a combined market size of US$265.5 Million in the year 2020 will reach a projected size of US$1.1 Billion by the close of the analysis period. China will remain among the fastest growing in this cluster of regional markets. Led by countries such as Australia, India, and South Korea, the market in Asia-Pacific is forecast to reach US$137.4 Million by the year 2026.