Cool comfort: beating the heat with high-tech clothes

As global temperatures rise and heatwaves intensify, a new textile innovation co-developed by University of South Australia scientists promises to keep people cooler, drier, and more comfortable in extreme heat.

Partnering with researchers from Zhengzhou University in China, UniSA materials scientist Professor Jun Ma has helped to create a lightweight breathable fabric that reflects 96% of the sun's rays in outdoor conditions.

The moisture-wicking composite fabric is described in the journal Nano Research.

In outdoor field tests, the new textile lowered skin temperature by 2 degrees celsius under direct sunlight and by 3.8 degrees celsius at night compared with bare skin.

Unlike traditional cotton fabrics, which tend to trap heat a

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