Smart clothing represents less than 1% of the multibillion dollar wearables market. This lagging representation is due to many factors; one predominant challenge which includes performance reliability post-laundering/care. Due to smart clothing intimately contacting the human body, it naturally becomes soiled and requires laundering. However, insight into the impact of consumer detergents and other additives on e-textile conductive functionality post laundering has yet to be explored. The purpose of this research was to study laundering conditions, specifically the influence of select laundry detergents and additives, on surface resistivity of select e-textiles to provide initial insights into the impact of consumer-available laundering treatments to contribute to knowledge around laundering of e-textiles. Understanding initial impacts of laundering conditions, particularly detergents and other common laundry additives can inform future studies, laundering text methods of e-textiles, and care label development.

Introduction and RationaleWireless body area networks (WBANs) are a form of wearable technology that A.employs body-worn sensors to gather physiological data and B. utilizes wireless communication to transmit that data for analysis [1][2][3][4][5][6][7][8][9][10][11].WBANs have amassed popularity in the past several years, particularly in sports and health/wellness applications. Physiological monitors have functioned in the medical industry for decades, but technological advancements have led to much smaller devices that are now self-manageable, affordable, and widely available. The most common example of these WBANs is the smartwatch, which may measure a variety of sensor-related functions such as heartrate, movements/steps, and sleep monitoring. With further advancements in WBAN technology, demand increases for even smaller devices that are fully integrated into soft-good products. Conductive embroidery has shown potential in achieving this end goal [3], and the technique is now driving research among engineers and fashion designers aiming to devise "smart" apparel (clothing) or other soft-good products.Conductive embroidery is the stitched application of finely drawn wire, metallic yarns, or threads spun from conductive polymers onto a textile/fabric substrate [4]. The technique transforms a traditional textile into a conductive textile and is of interest to researchers and manufacturers who work towards creating an effective, customizable, and low-profile WBAN. Interdisciplinary teams of experts in the fields of textiles, design, and electrical engineering are necessary to conduct this research, and methodology must be transparently shared amongst disciplines to make progress in 'smart garment' developments (also referred to as electronic textiles, e-textiles, smart textiles, smart clothing, or functional fabrics). At present, the research field is quite fractured, exhibiting a lack of collaboration and inadequate communication between industries. In investigating techniques for conductive embroidery, the authors discovered a lack of published details for proper replication of methods where many studies do not disclose the various material properties needed to properly replicate conductive embroidered designs. For example, fiber type, fabric weight, fabrication structure, and finishes applied to yarn or fabric, are all important specifications that must be considered alongside electrical conductivity, resistivity, and dielectric constant. All of these variables must be considered, detailed, and reported for replication and research advancement., indepth discussion of techniques, equipment, and manufacturing challenges are required for Crimson PublishersWings to the Research

Wearables are electronic devices worn on the body, either as an accessory or integrated into clothing (ASTM Committee D13, 2020). Wearables have conductivity capabilities, advanced circuitry, and data communication functions. Growing since the 1970's, the wearable technology market is now a $32.63 billion industry, evolving to move data collection, analysis, and communication from smart devices directly to the body via sensors and electronic textiles (or etextiles). Products made with fully integrated, wearable technology are referred to as 'smart clothing' or 'smart garments.' Due to their intimate contact with the human body, wearables become soiled and must be cleaned. One of the most significant challenges of smart garments is performance reliability post-laundering (Balsamo et al., 2017;Jansen, 2019;Rotzler, 2020). To achieve their full potential, wearable e-textiles (smart garments) must overcome these challenges to become everyday wear (Begovic Johnson, 2020). An e-textile is "a fiber, yarn, fabric or end product comprising elements that result in an electrical or electronic circuit, with or without processing capability, or the components thereof" (ASTM Committee D13, 2020). Like traditional wearables, e-textiles send data to secondary devices where the user can evaluate the information. Most e-textile products are still in the research and development stage (Gonçalves et al., 2018), falling short in either functional performance, ease of use, production capability, price point, comfort, and/or maintenance, which includes washability (European Commission, 2016). Body soils may negatively impact smart garment functionality and also need to be removed for hygienic reasons. Thus, future wearables must be washable on-demand (European Commission, 2016). Current care instructions for etextiles are limiting in terms of wash conditions. E-textile specification sheets may note that washing of any type (wet or dry) will eventually degrade metallic coatings and thus reduce functionality. When e-textiles are fully integrated into smart clothing, these laundry practices are inadequate for hygienic cleaning, inconsistent with behaviors of apparel consumers (Shin, 2000), and incompatible with garment longevity. Quantifying the impact of machine laundering conditions, specifically the impact of detergents or other additives, is crucial to establishing effective and realistic methods for repeatable care of smart clothing. In this study, the influence of detergents and laundry additives on e-textile surface resistivity is researched. The purpose of this study is to add to the body of knowledge pertaining to e-textiles and wash conditions which may contribute to the development of appropriate smart garment care labels, thus, assisting in the preservation of product functionality. Seven e-textiles (see Table 1) were tested for a change in surface resistivity post-laundering. The detergents and other laundry additives were selected to represent a range of commonly used formulations and chemical laundering conditions. These in...