On May 21, Liberta, Sumitomo Chemical, and Utax announced the release of a new material, “Ice Gage Alpha,” jointly developed by the three companies to overcome the serious “extreme heat” problem in summer.
HYOGAKU-α is the world’s first cold-sensitive material that “automatically controls the temperature of the garment itself. The combination of two cooling technologies born in Japan, one is a fiber using Sumitomo Chemical’s “Conformforma” temperature-controlling resin and the other is a fabric using Utax’s proprietary “cooling print,” which is used in the manufacture of women’s undergarments. This is an unprecedented cooling wear that allows the fabric itself to regulate the “comfort zone” within the garment that people feel comfortable in.
By applying this “ice-shocking α” to clothing and bedding, it is possible to provide not only a cool and refreshing feeling, but also a comfortable environment that the body truly desires. In addition, as with the “cool contact” clothing using xylitol processing, which has been marketed in recent years as high-functional and cool clothing, the wearer does not feel cool only when they first put it on (it quickly becomes lukewarm with body temperature), but the more they sweat, the cooler they feel. The more you perspire, the longer you feel the cool sensation, just like when you apply a compress. It has also been tested for wash durability, and there is little concern that its function will deteriorate.
Generally speaking, “hot/cold sensations such as hot and cold, and moist sensations such as stuffy and dry are closely related to temperature, humidity, and air currents inside clothes. It is also said that the stimulus values that work on human sensory organs are temperature and humidity, and that the comfortable range is when the inside of a garment is filled with the following conditions: temperature: 32±1℃, humidity: 50±10%RH, and airflow: 25±10cm/sec.
Liberta and its colleagues focused on this “comfort zone inside clothes. By using Sumitomo Chemical’s conformable yarn for the fabric, Liberta succeeded in adding a temperature control function to the yarn itself, which had been considered difficult to do in the past, and achieved a higher temperature control effect. In addition, Yutax’s cooling print (a cooling technology applied to the reverse side of the fabric where it touches the skin) absorbs moisture such as sweat generated from the human skin and lowers the temperature of the fabric due to its heat-absorbing properties, thus imparting and sustaining a cooling sensation. This has established a system that maintains a comfortable temperature inside the garment even in extreme heat.
In 2023, Japan will experience record-breaking heat waves in many parts of the world, and the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) has announced that the average temperature in the world in 2023 will be the highest ever recorded. In light of this, Liberta and others are taking on the challenge of the cooling wear market, which is expected to continue to attract attention in the future, with “Ice Gekka α,” a collection of cooling technologies originating in Japan.
At a joint press conference held at Sumitomo Chemical’s Tokyo headquarters in Nihonbashi, Tokyo, the three companies introduced the new material “Hyogeki α” by using a thermal imaging camera and demonstrations of body temperatures on models to show the lasting coolness, temperature control function, and durability of the new material before the start of the full-blown summer season.
Three representatives, Mr. Toru Sato, Representative Director of Liberta, Mr. Hiroshi Ueda, Director and Executive Vice President of Sumitomo Chemical, and Mr. Daisuke Udaka, President of Utax, took the stage to explain the technologies used by each company in the presentation.
New products using the new “Hyogeki α” material include “Hyogeki α Crewneck Shirt” (7,800 yen), “Hyogeki α Polo Shirt” (9,800 yen), “Hyogeki α Arm Cover” (3,800 yen), “Hyogeki α Arm Cover Samhole” (4,800 yen), which guards even the fingertips, and “Hyogeki α Headband” (2,800 yen), which is worn under a hat to keep the head cool. Ice Gage α Inner Cap” (2,800 yen), which can be worn under a hat to keep the head cool.
Innerwear items are worn as underwear, in direct contact with the skin, and react to moisture such as perspiration to provide a soothing, cool feeling that lasts. Shirt items are similarly designed to be lightweight for ease of movement, as well as water-absorbing, quick-drying, UV-cut, heat-shielding, and deodorant functions.
In addition to reacting to sweat, it also provides a cooler sensation when the arms are waved or exposed to wind, making it recommended for use with commercially available handheld fans or jackets with built-in fans, according to the company.
Both will go on sale in late June, and reservations can be made through the official website and official sales channels (Amazon/ Rakuten Market).
The newly announced Ice Gage Alpha is positioned as an evolved version of the Ice Gage Freezetec series (a cooling wear series that maintains a cooling effect with perspiration and wind) that Liberta has been offering for about seven years, but the company is not focusing on making it into an apparel brand in the future.
The company is actively responding to various companies and brands, from special orders to providing materials, in order to have as many people as possible who work and live in extremely hot weather make use of these products.
Liberta originally started out as a motorcycle accessory store. According to Mr. Sato, “Motorcycle riders wear leather jumpers and pants to protect their bodies, but even in mid-summer they have to wear a leather top and bottom, which means they are wearing even more scorching clothes in the scorching heat. This was actually a problem for many riders, who felt dizzy while riding their bikes,” he said. In response, we developed the “Ice Geki Freeze Tech” series to somehow cool them down.
There were various attempts to cool the wearer with electricity, nitrogen, etc., but they were all dangerous when driving or racing, and we were searching for a more innovative idea when we came across U-Tax’s cooling print technology. Today, many manufacturers offer contact cooling cooling clothing, but the fundamental difference between these products and others is that “when you are hot, you sweat, and when you sweat, the print cools you down, and the effect lasts as long as you sweat. This was the impetus for the launch of the Freeze Tech series.
While other companies followed suit after Liberta announced the name “ice shooting” at the time, “we were competing on the basis of quality, such as our unique washing durability and the durability of the cooling sensation,” but in scorching hot environments, it was too hot and people could not feel the cooling sensation of the prints. However, in a scorching hot environment, it was too hot and people could not feel the cool sensation of the prints.
The collaboration with Sumitomo Chemical has now added the element of “temperature control by the garment itself” through the “conformer” technology, a temperature-controlling resin. The temperature inside the garment itself can be lowered, which allows the cooling prints to be more effective.
Mr. Sato expressed his confidence, saying, “Other companies are expected to come out with a variety of cooling material products this year, but Freeze Tech is probably the best in its class at keeping clothes comfortable and providing an extremely cool effect in scorching heat.
He said that the future of this product is to be used as work clothes for workers in scorching hot environments both in Japan and abroad, uniforms for professional athletes, golf, sports, outdoor wear, educational sites, and during disasters, etc. “It is important for various manufacturers and researchers, regardless of the size of companies, to bring their technologies together and make efforts to make life as safe as possible,” he said, He also expressed his belief that “it is important for various manufacturers and researchers, regardless of company size, to bring their technologies together and work together to make life as safe and comfortable as possible, as we have done in this collaboration.
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