CSIRO Science Image

Wool garments have a reputation for being comparatively slow drying, causing them to lose ground in the marketplace against their synthetic competitors.

A CSIRO research team, funded by Australian Wool Innovation Ltd, tackled this problem by investigating treatments for reducing the amount of water held after washing.

They produced a high performance ‘quick-dry’ finish for wool, to allow it to compete with the quick-dry performance of synthetics and cotton in active sportwear markets. The QuickDry Merino (QDM) technology is currently being taken up by European, Australian and American manufacturers and retailers.

QuickDry Merino is ideal for the hand wash and machine washable wool knitwear market. Treated garments dry in approximately one third the time required for untreated garments.

Photographer : David McClenaghan

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• Textile  woollen cloth   fabrics