Formosa Tafetta.
Does it sound like the fabric in a gown a Chinese ambassador's wife (or daughter or girlfriend) wore to a formal dance in Taipei in, say, 1920 or thereabouts?
Well, you might find it in your next set of bicycle tires.
It's already in Patagonia's "Net Plus" line of clothing and accessories.
So what, exactly, is this wonder fabric?
Well, Formosa Tafetta is actually the name of the company that makes it--or, more precisely, harvests it from the sea.
No, there isn't some species of octopus or coral that spins silky threads into nets. But the company's trademark fabric--Seawastex--is made from fishing nets recovered around Taiwan's waters. Some were battered and abandoned; others were apparently lost.
Turns out, even in the tattered nets, up to 95 percent of the material is recyclable. And, since all of them are recovered, and all of the work of converting them is done, in and around Taiwan, Seawastex has a 49 percent smaller carbon footprint than virgin-manufactured nylon.
At 2023 Taipei Cycle, the company showcased its new collaboration with well-known tire-maker Maxxis. Sewastex will be used to make the casings under the rubber that meets the road (or trail). Nearly all bicycle tires today have nylon casings. A few high-performance tubular (sew-up) tires are still made with silk casings, which were once the gold-standard for durability and smoothness. (An old training partner of mine once proclaimed, "Riding silk sew-ups is better than sex!") Fewer still are made with cotton.
Now, if I were riding those Seawastex Maxxis tires in the peloton, I could really say I was "catching" other riders and "netting" a prize!
