

Ito Yokado also saw a ready-made tagline; its budget-conscious Power Cool and Mira-kool clothes are all categorized as “Cool Biz goods.” The company is just one of many retailers taking advantage of new fabric technology – anti-bacterial! anti-odor! – from manufacturers such as Toray and Asahi Kasei. They even say that washing won’t dilute the funk-busting properties.
Just in time for summer, Wacoal has put out a line of bras and other underthings made of a breathable fabric meant to reduce sweat. The bras are called “suusuu,” a word that hints at the idea of an absorbent fabric and invokes the feeling of a breeze. They have strategically placed strips of open mesh for ventilation. The Web site has a rollover “sweat body map” accompanied by infographics reflecting how people surveyed feel about sweat: the number one concern is shirt stains, followed by smell.

Can these fabrics really stand up to the heat and humidity that makes showering feel all but futile? It hasn’t been quite hot enough yet this year to fully test these. On those days when walking to the train in the morning feels like a full-on workout, any promise of coolness will probably find some sweaty takers. Have you found any high-tech fabrics that actually help you keep cool? Any traditional tactics that work better? (Japan Pulse)