When Levi Strauss and Jacob Davis patented their riveted denim work pants a century and a half ago, comfort wasn’t exactly top of mind for the rugged garments that were designed for durability in harsh manual labor conditions such as mining.
Denim’s tightly packed yarns and rough fibers trapped heat and sweat, but that didn’t matter very much as long as the metal rivets prevented the seams and stress points from tearing.
Fast forward 150 years and consumers can’t get enough denim — demand for skinny jeans, denim skirts, denim jackets and dozens of other products continues to grow faster than many other categories.
Denim has also become more common in the workplace. Coca-Cola’s James Quincey famously wore jeans to the office on his first day as CEO to send a subtle message to employees that it was a new era for the world’s largest soft drink company.
But it’s time for denim to get an upgrade.
brrr° developed patented methods for integrating natural cooling minerals into a nylon and polyester sheath core that’s surrounded by a layer of naturally-derived regenerated cellulosic fibers. It feels like cotton and creates a cooling sensation along with active wicking and rapid drying, while a touch of spandex provides stretch and comfort.
brrr° Chief Scientist Apurba Banerjee wrote about cooling denim innovation in this article published by the American Association of Textile Chemists and Colorists.
She also discussed some important parameters that must be followed during manufacturing and production in order to optimize the cooling effects of brrr° technology. (Spoiler alert: hydrophobic silicone softeners inhibit wicking)
The results from independent lab tests are clear: brrr° denim feels 38% cooler to the touch than comparable traditional denim, it dries up to 47% faster and wicks 2.5 times better.
To find out more about how brrr° cooling denim works, or to learn about the hundreds of other cooling fabrics in our library, you can reach us here.
To read on the AATCC website, click here.
