From Biella to Östersund.

The second-hand clothing market is steadily expanding, offering opportunities for both environmental sustainability and economic savings. However, when it comes to technical textiles, one major challenge remains: ensuring that second-hand garments retain the same high performance as new ones. This is the question that researchers at Mid Sweden University are addressing through an innovative and in-depth study.

To tackle this challenge, the Swedish research team partnered with the Comfort Lab of Politecnico di Torino, based at Città Studi. Recently, the Comfort Lab team visited Östersund, about 500 km north of Stockholm, to strengthen ties with the Sport Tech Research Centre at Mid Sweden University.

“Their centre features a wind tunnel specifically designed for testing sports apparel,” explains Professor Ada Ferri, head of the Comfort Lab. “It differs from the climatic chamber we have at the Città Studi Biella campus, but the research activities we conduct are quite similar.”