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World desk3 min

The Next Connected Device Could Be the Shirt You’re Wearing

Connected shirts combine textiles with conductive structures and electronic components. Standards define ways to measure materials and test washing durability, but do not prove that a specific garment passed or is safe.
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A shirt becomes a connected device when textile materials and electronic components work together to sense, communicate, or perform another electronic function. That is already a defined engineering field, but standards activity alone does not show that connected shirts are widely available or that any particular garment is durable or safe.

What makes a shirt a connected device?

“Smart textiles” is the broad category: fabrics and textile products with functional or responsive properties. A connected garment is more specific. It is a system that combines textile materials with electronic structures or components so it can sense, communicate, or otherwise interact. ISO’s ISO/TR 23383:2020 sets out smart-textile definitions and categories; IPC describes e-textile wearables as complete systems that can include textile materials and attached or connected functional components.

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That distinction matters: a shirt does not become connected merely because its fabric has a special property. The system might use conductive material woven or stitched into the garment, plus sensors or other components. Some elements may be integrated into the textile; others may remain attached modules.

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What can be built into the fabric?

Conductive fabric can act as an electrical trace or electrode in clothing-type wearable devices. IPC also identifies embroidered conductive yarns, fibers, threads, and wires as e-textile structures. The arrangement and attachment of these materials and components are part of the garment’s design—not just details of the fabric.

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IEC 63203-201-2:2022 describes methods for measuring basic properties of conductive fabrics and insulation materials used in e-textiles. It does not set the performance thresholds a material must meet. A measurement method can help characterize a material, but it does not by itself establish that a finished shirt will perform a particular function well.

Can a connected shirt survive washing?

Washability is a separate engineering question from whether a garment can sense or communicate. IEC 63203-204-1:2023 specifies a household washing durability test method for relevant e-textile products that have conductive components and sensors. The method does not cover safety or heat-generation testing.

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The existence of that test method is not evidence that a particular shirt passed it. To assess a product claim, look for the garment tested, the washing method and conditions, and the reported result. A general statement that a product is “washable” does not establish its performance over a whole service life.

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What do the new standards establish—and what don’t they?

In April 2025, IPC announced IPC-8981, a framework for quality and reliability of e-textile wearables. IPC said it establishes baselines for testing and classifying these products. Task-group co-leader Sigrid Rotzler of Fraunhofer-Institut für Zuverlässigkeit und Mikrointegration said: “As the first standard of this kind, IPC-8981 provides a solid basis for e-textile developers to make their products more reliable, set quality targets, and choose relevant testing methods,” according to IPC’s announcement.

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Other standards address narrower questions. ISO 17971:2025 provides a test method for fabric screen-touch properties in products intended to interface with touchscreens; it is not a general connected-shirt test. IEC’s conductive-fabric measurement methods and washing test likewise cover particular measurements or test conditions, not every aspect of a finished garment.

  • A washing-durability result does not, on its own, prove safety or establish heat-generation performance.
  • A material measurement method does not define a required performance threshold.
  • A reliability framework or test method does not establish that a consumer product is broadly available or has passed a particular test.

For a product or prototype, useful questions include what it senses or activates, which parts are textile-integrated versus attached, what materials and attachment methods it uses, and which tests the specific garment has passed. Keep stated specifications distinct from independently tested results.

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Are connected shirts ready for everyday use?

The standards establish that e-textile wearables are receiving formal attention, including test methods for conductive materials, washing durability, and reliability. They do not establish broad retail availability, or prove that any one shirt is durable, safe, or superior. Treat claims about a particular garment as product-specific: ask for its stated function and test evidence rather than inferring performance from the existence of standards.

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