O o d h e a d p u b L i s h I n g L i m I t e d

13.1
Introduction
There is often a perception among consumers and even textile manufacturers
that wool is a fibre best suited to, and most often used in, very traditional
types of textiles, such as suits, knitwear and carpets. It is perhaps not seen as
a fibre to use in technical or high-performance applications such as sportswear
or industrial textiles. However, as is discussed in other chapters of this book,
wool textiles are now becoming established in these less conventional
application areas. Perhaps the most unconventional class of textiles undergoing
development at present is that of the so-called ‘smart’ or ‘intelligent’ textiles,
and as in the other high-performance sectors, wool has an opportunity for
use. It is the purpose of this chapter to review the extent to which wool is
being employed in this emerging sector, and to discuss how it will be further
exploited in the future. It is beyond the scope of this chapter to review the
full scope of intelligent textiles (there are excellent publications that do this;
Mattilla, 2006, for example); rather the intention is to provide a brief
introduction to the field and discuss the role that wool already has, and could
have, in the future.