THE PERFORMERS; IN DNR'S INTRODUCTORY GUIDE TO TECHNICAL FABRICS, WE FOCUS ON CROSSOVERS FROM MORE TECHNICAL MARKETS TO LIFESTYLE APPLICATIONS. HERE, FIND FINISHES THAT CONTROL BACTERIA, NANOTECHNOLOGIES THAT REPEL STAINS, MOISTURE MANAGEMENT, BREATHABLE MEMBRANES, PLUS STRETCH, PERFORMANCE FLEECE AND ONE REALLY `NATURAL' FIBER.(Department of Natural Resources)

Daily News Record, May, 2005

Stretch

Up until 1959, when DuPont started commercial production of spandex, most of the elastic used in apparel was based on rubber, a material not particularly resistant to either abrasion or body oils. "Spandex" (the favored generic term in the U.S.), or "elastane" (what it's called in Europe), was, by contrast, a manufactured fiber made from a long-chain synthetic polymer composed of at least 85 percent segmented polyurethane, according to the official definition used by the Federal Trade Commission.

In the decades since its debut, several companies ...