Overview
ISO/TR 23383:2020 - Textiles and textile products - Smart (Intelligent) textiles - Definitions, categorisation, applications and standardization needs - is a technical report from ISO that defines the terminology, categorization and development status of smart textiles and intelligent textile products. It clarifies what “smart” means in a textile context, distinguishes functional from interactive textiles, and identifies priority areas where standardization and testing guidance are needed.
Key topics
- Definitions and scope: clear terms for textile fibre, textile product, functional textile product and smart (intelligent) textile product as a functional product that interacts reversibly with its environment.
- Categorisation of smart textiles: detailed groupings including electrically conductive, thermally conductive, optically conductive, chromic, phase-change, shape-memory, piezoelectric, electroluminescent, photovoltaic and other functional types.
- Smart textile systems: classification of systems by energy and communication capability (NoE‑NoCom, E‑NoCom, NoE‑Com, E‑Com) and functional analysis examples.
- Application examples: medical monitoring, occupational safety and protective wear, heated garments and car seats, PCM-based thermal control garments, irradiation therapeutic systems, geotextiles, and leisure/fashion uses.
- Standardization considerations: guidance on verification of claimed performance, durability of properties, innocuousness (safety), product information requirements, environmental aspects and interoperability with electronics/ICT.
Practical applications
ISO/TR 23383:2020 is practical for stakeholders designing, specifying, testing or regulating smart textile products:
- Manufacturers: to align product claims, select appropriate tests and plan durability and safety assessments for textiles integrated with electronic or active elements.
- Specification writers and standards developers: to determine where new or adapted standards are required (e.g., PCM, heating systems, conductive textiles).
- Conformity assessment bodies and market surveillance authorities: to assess if a product has been fully evaluated across textile, electronic and safety domains.
- End-users and buyers: to understand functional claims, required product information and the limits of current technology.
Related standards and bodies
- Developed by ISO/TC 38 (Textiles) in collaboration with CEN/TC 248 and in coordination with electrotechnical standardization (IEC) where applicable.
- ISO/TR 23383:2020 recommends cross-referencing existing textile standards and relevant electrotechnical and medical device standards when assessing smart textile products and systems.
ISO/TR 23383:2020 is a roadmap for integrating textile know-how with electronics, sensing and active materials - helping industry and regulators to evaluate performance, safety and standardization needs of next‑generation smart textiles.
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