Ventile, is a registered

trademark A trademark (also written trade mark or trade-mark) is a type of intellectual property consisting of a recognizable sign, design, or expression that identifies products or services from a particular source and distinguishes them from othe ...

used to brand a special high-quality

woven Woven fabric is any textile formed by weaving. Woven fabrics are often created on a loom, and made of many threads woven on a warp and a weft. Technically, a woven fabric is any fabric made by interlacing two or more threads at right angles to on ...

cotton Cotton is a soft, fluffy staple fiber that grows in a boll, or protective case, around the seeds of the cotton plants of the genus '' Gossypium'' in the mallow family Malvaceae. The fiber is almost pure cellulose, and can contain minor pe ...

fabric Textile is an umbrella term that includes various fiber-based materials, including fibers, yarns, filaments, threads, different fabric types, etc. At first, the word "textiles" only referred to woven fabrics. However, weaving is not th ...

first developed by scientists at the

Shirley Institute The Shirley Institute was established in 1920 as the British Cotton Industry Research Association at The Towers in Didsbury, Manchester, as a research centre dedicated to cotton production technologies. It was funded by the Cotton Board through ...

Manchester Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of Salford to the west. The t ...

, England. Originally created to overcome a shortage of flax used for fire hoses and water buckets, its properties were also found to be ideal for pilots'

immersion suit A survival suit, more accurately and currently referred to as an immersion suit, is a type of waterproof dry suit intended to protect the wearer from hypothermia if immersed in cold water or otherwise exposed after abandoning a vessel, especiall ...

s. Extra-long-staple (ELS) cotton fibres are used to form a low-twist yarn, which is then woven into a tight high-density textile to create a 100% cotton fabric, capable of providing an effective barrier against inclement weather. In wet weather the softly spun yarns - within the tight weave - dynamically expand to form an effective barrier against the elements.Duuton Cotton website
/ref> Currently the only manufacturer of this specification of cotton textile is the Swiss firm Stotz & Co AG, which spins, twists, weaves and dyes the raw materials, and sells the textile directly under its own branding of etaProof cotton, supplying clothing manufacturers and wholesale textile distributors globally. British production of Ventile eventually ended in the late 20th century but the trademark continued to be used by the British company Talbot Weaving (Chorley) LimitedVentile Fabrics - Talbot Weaving (Chorley) Limited
/ref> to market their wholesale distribution of etaProof cotton fabrics until 2017 when the trademark ownership was transferred to the manufacturer Stotz & Co AG. Alternative registered trademarks, owned by other commercial organisations used to market, promote or distribute the fabric, include Supermarine and Duuton''3''.

Technical detail

The cotton textile is densely woven from an extra long staple fibre (ELS). Although weatherproof, it is not coated or laminated; the combination of a dense weave and the swelling of the fibres when wet provide excellent weatherproofing. ELS cotton fibres are only available from around 2% of the world's entire cotton crop, but due to their naturally long length this creates yarns of superior strength as they can be spun using an exceptionally low twist. The natural product offers a high level of comfort due to its drape and breathability, while being durable and quiet in use. It also has good resistance to tearing and burning.Review of a jacket made of Ventile
/ref> However, it is not as light in weight as synthetic fabrics, particularly when wet. While only fabrics scoring

hydrostatic head When generating hydropower, the head is the distance that a given water source has to fall before the point where power is generated. Ultimately the force responsible for hydropower is gravity, so a hydroelectricity plant with a tall/high head can ...

measurements of 1000mm or more are technically considered to be fully waterproof, etaProof fabrics (200g to 270g standard versions) achieve measurements no less than 750mm. This is usually considered to be sufficient for reasonable protection against typical rain. The standard 300g version scores 900mm, and the

UK Ministry of Defence The Ministry of Defence (MOD or MoD) is the department responsible for implementing the defence policy set by His Majesty's Government, and is the headquarters of the British Armed Forces. The MOD states that its principal objectives are to ...

considers a measurement of 800mm to be "waterproof". A common design feature of some Ventile overgarments uses two separate layers of the textile - with offset seams - to dramatically improve the garment's weatherproof protection. This is commonly called double-layer or twin-layer Ventile. L24/5620 and L19/5610 are made also in ''Organic'' way, denominated 5620.1 RUC and 5610.1 RUC respectively, replacing the fluorocarbon of DWR with

paraffin wax Paraffin wax (or petroleum wax) is a soft colorless solid derived from petroleum, coal, or oil shale that consists of a mixture of hydrocarbon molecules containing between 20 and 40 carbon atoms. It is solid at room temperature and begins to ...

. With this change, three properties worsened: ''Water absorption'' changed from 10% to 15%, ''Resistance to water hydrostatic head'' changed from 750mm to 600mm and ''Oil repellency'' changed from 5–6 to 0.

Uses

Fabrics made from the material are used in outerwear performance garments and have military, medical and workwear applications. Ventile is still used in military uniforms, especially for pilots flying over water.Ventile Fabrics: Uses
/ref> It is not often used in the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...

, but in Europe, especially in the UK, it has had a revival with the

bushcraft Bushcraft is the use and practice of skills, thereby acquiring and developing knowledge and understanding, in order to survive and thrive in a natural environment. Bushcraft skills provide for the basic physiological necessities for human li ...

movement. It is popular with

birdwatcher Birdwatching, or birding, is the observing of birds, either as a recreational activity or as a form of citizen science. A birdwatcher may observe by using their naked eye, by using a visual enhancement device like binoculars or a telescope, by ...

s and naturalists because, unlike synthetic fabrics such as

Gore-Tex Gore-Tex is a waterproof, breathable fabric membrane and registered trademark of W. L. Gore & Associates. Invented in 1969, Gore-Tex can repel liquid water while allowing water vapor to pass through and is designed to be a lightweight, waterpr ...

, it is quiet in use. Alternative branding of the textile, such as Duuton''3'', is designed to promote less emphasis upon waterproofing and to disassociate itself from the reserve of military, vintage or

use and position its adoption more favourably amidst travel-wear, general outdoor sports and functional fashion as a practical cotton material with coincidental weatherproof characteristics.

References

External links

Ventile

EtaProof
Stotz & Co AG. {{fabric Woven fabrics

Technical detail

Uses

See also

References

External links