The textile industry played a major role in Taiwan’s early postwar development. In fact, by the 1970s, textile and garment exports accounted for nearly 40% of Taiwan’s total exports, making Taiwan one of the world’s largest textile exporters, alongside Hong Kong, Italy, and South Korea at the time. However, with the wage rise and raised environmental awareness, Taiwan’s textile industry pivoted towards developing high value-added products. In this light, ITRI collaborated with the textile giant Hualon Corporation and established a manufacturing process for fine denier PET filament, which not only significantly increased polyester fiber productivity but also paved the way for the later development of microfibers.

In 1990, ITRI created breathable, moisture-permeable microfibers that were also waterproof and heat-retaining. These microfibers could be made into high-quality clothing and artificial leather products. At the same time, the shoe industry were experiencing a decline, and San Fang Chemical Industry Co., Ltd., which had initially specialized in synthetic leather, were looking to transform its business. To do so, San Fang teamed up with ITRI to develop 0.15-denier microfibers. Together, they built Taiwan’s first microfiber artificial leather factory, a success that transformed San Fang into one of the top three artificial leather suppliers in the world.

After the success of microfibers, ITRI continued to work on mass production technologies and fiber innovation. This included the development of photochromic fibers, rapid polymerization catalyst technology, new polyester composite yarn functional fabrics, hollow microporous polyester fibers, and square nylon 66 industrial fibers. In 2002, ITRI established the New Fabric Strategic Alliance to integrate various chemical technologies, spinning processes, and weaving methods to create high-added-value fibers, yarns, and fabrics. These efforts laid the foundation for achieving a 70% global market share of functional fabrics, earning Taiwan the moniker of “Silicon Valley for textiles.” In 2011, ITRI successfully ventured into the field of biomedical materials and developed negative-pressure fiber materials for treating chronic wounds.

In 2020, amidst the COVID-19 pandemic, ITRI took an active step by utilizing domestically-produced raw materials to develop a meltblown polypropylene (PP) material for the intermediate layer of medical masks. This breakthrough removed the nation’s dependence on foreign mask technologies and established Taiwan’s self-reliant mask supply chain.