Term

Definition

Sustainable Fashion Application

Adaptive Clothing

Garments designed to accommodate specific physical disabilities or medical needs, offering ease of dressing and comfort.

Adaptive clothing challenges mass-market norms, encouraging inclusive sustainable design that reduces waste by extending garment usability across life stages and conditions.

Anti-Decubitus Mattresses and Garments

Devices and garments designed to prevent pressure ulcers in bedridden patients.

Eco-conscious innovations in pressure-redistributing textiles promote durable, reusable designs applicable to both medical and mainstream comfort fashion.

Anti-Embolism Stockings

Specialized hosiery that promotes blood circulation and reduces the risk of deep vein thrombosis, typically used during recovery or limited mobility.

Innovations toward biodegradable or recyclable anti-embolism stockings could reduce the medical waste footprint associated with short-term use products.

Antimicrobial Textiles

Fabrics treated with agents that inhibit the growth of microorganisms, thereby reducing infection risk.

Sustainable fashion research explores natural antimicrobial treatments (like chitosan from crustacean shells) instead of synthetic chemicals, balancing hygiene and ecological responsibility.

Assistive Wearables

Wearable devices that monitor, assist, or rehabilitate physiological functions (e.g., heart monitors, posture correctors).

Sustainable design principles applied to assistive wearables emphasise modularity, repairability, and low-waste production, influencing future tech-integrated apparel.

Bio-Synthetic Skins

Artificial skin created from synthetic or biological materials for grafting or wound healing.

The development of bio-synthetic skins offers pathways for eco-textiles that mimic biological resilience while being biodegradable or regenerative.

Biodegradable Medical Textiles

Medical fabrics designed to safely decompose after use, minimizing environmental impact.

These offer a model for circular fashion systems where end-of-life textile decomposition becomes a standard expectation, reducing landfill pressures.

Breathable Barrier Fabrics

Materials that block pathogens or fluids while allowing moisture vapor transmission, crucial in medical garments.

These innovations inspire sustainable fashion to develop durable, breathable, and protective outerwear without synthetic, non-degradable coatings.

Compression Garments

Tight-fitting clothing that supports veins and muscles to improve circulation and aid recovery.

Sustainable versions can promote longevity and recyclability, addressing fast fashion's tendency to produce short-lived 'athleisure' compression-wear without medical-grade durability.

Cooling Vests

Garments embedded with materials that absorb and dissipate heat to assist with temperature regulation, often used for medical or extreme working conditions.

Sustainable cooling vests can incorporate bio-based phase change materials (PCMs) to avoid petrochemical reliance, bridging wearable tech with eco-design.

Drug-Delivery Clothing

Textiles integrated with systems that release medication directly to the skin over time.

Future sustainable fashion might include biodegradable fabrics capable of slow-release therapies, reducing packaging and hospital waste streams.

Electrotherapy Clothing

Clothing embedded with electrodes or conductive threads to deliver therapeutic electrical stimulation.

Sustainability challenges include designing electrotherapy textiles for modular repair or recycling of conductive components, preventing e-waste accumulation.

Exoskeleton Suits

Wearable robotic frames that assist movement for people with disabilities, injury, or for physical rehabilitation.

Research into lightweight, biodegradable exoskeleton components informs the design of future sustainable fashion-tech hybrids that enhance mobility without high environmental cost.

Flame-Resistant Clothing

Apparel made to resist ignition and limit fire spread, critical for industrial and healthcare settings.

Research into bio-derived flame retardants (like those from DNA or proteins) points toward safer, more sustainable alternatives to conventional toxic treatments.

Isolation Gowns

Protective garments worn to prevent the transfer of pathogens between healthcare workers and patients.

Reusable, sterilizable isolation gowns reduce disposable PPE waste, setting a standard for sustainable protective apparel in both medical and everyday contexts.

Medical Cooling Systems

Wearable systems that actively cool the body, used for treatment of conditions like multiple sclerosis or hyperthermia.

Eco-friendly cooling garments that harness passive, non-electric cooling materials offer insights for both medical and extreme-climate sustainable fashion.

Medical Prosthetics

Artificial devices that replace missing body parts to restore function or aesthetics.

Advances in sustainable materials for prosthetics inspire fashion to integrate recycled composites and ethical customisation for wearable assistive devices.

Orthopedic Braces

Devices worn externally to support weakened joints, bones, or muscles.

Sustainable production methods, like additive manufacturing from recycled polymers, offer a path toward reducing the carbon footprint of orthopedic support wear.

Orthotic Insoles

Inserts placed inside shoes to correct biomechanical foot issues or provide additional support.

Biodegradable and recyclable orthotic insoles set standards for sustainable accessories that integrate performance and environmental responsibility.

Personal Protective Equipment (PPE)

Clothing and accessories (like masks, gloves, face shields) designed to safeguard against biological, chemical, or physical hazards.

The COVID-19 pandemic revealed urgent needs for biodegradable or recyclable PPE systems to combat the massive environmental burden of single-use protection.

Pressure Garments

Custom-fitted garments used to apply constant pressure for scar management, especially after burns.

Sustainable practices could focus on durable, bio-based pressure garments to reduce replacement frequency and environmental impact in long-term therapies.

Radiation Protective Clothing

Clothing designed to shield the body from ionizing radiation, using materials like lead composites.

Innovations like lead-free, recyclable radiation barriers suggest pathways for eco-conscious protective wear within both healthcare and specialized industrial sectors.

Scrubs

Simple, hygienic garments worn by medical personnel, usually made of durable, easily sanitized fabrics.

Scrubs produced with organic, Fair Trade-certified cotton and designed for extended wear life demonstrate how even standardized workwear can become part of sustainable fashion.

Sensory-Enhancing Clothing

Garments designed to augment sensory perception (e.g., vibrational guidance for the visually impaired).

Sustainable fashion can leverage sensor-embedded biodegradable fibers to create clothing that enhances human-environment interaction ethically.

Skin-Mimicking Bandages

Advanced dressings that replicate the structure and function of human skin to promote healing.

Materials science developments in biodegradable skin-mimicking textiles influence broader sustainable textile innovation, bridging healing and ecological sensitivity.

Smart Textiles

Fabrics embedded with sensors, electronics, or reactive materials that can sense and adapt to environmental stimuli.

The sustainable fashion field grapples with creating recyclable smart textiles, ensuring embedded tech doesn't undermine circular design goals.

Sterile Drapes

Protective sheets used to maintain sterile fields during surgeries or medical procedures.

Reusable sterile drapes made with sustainably produced fabrics and environmentally responsible sterilization methods can dramatically reduce surgical waste.

Therapeutic Textiles

Fabrics designed with properties that promote healing or comfort, such as infrared emissions or controlled compression.

Sustainable therapeutic textiles push for non-toxic, biodegradable treatments that align health benefits with environmental ethics.

Wound Dressing Fabrics

Specialized textiles that protect wounds, absorb exudate, and promote healing.

The use of bio-based, biodegradable polymers for wound dressings not only improves patient outcomes but also integrates healthcare with ecological responsibility.