Imagine having affordable, washable and reusable diapers on the market instead of the 20 billion disposable diapers landing up in landfills every year. Or stuffing your wet boots with a microfibre "sock" that will dry it overnight.

These are some of the innovative products third year textile science students in the Department of Chemistry and Polymer Science at Stellenbosch University (US) came up with in response to a challenge by Gelvenor Textiles, a leading textile production factory based in Durban, South Africa.

The students were invited to use their theoretical knowledge, creativity and initiative to find science-enabled solutions to solve real life problems by making use of state-of-the-art textile technologies and research.

According to their lecturer, Ms Adine Gericke, the students were treated to an interactive lecture   on innovation in textiles, presented by experts on technical textiles, Tony Wardle and Sefton Fripp from Gelvenor's OPiN360 project. This was followed by another lecture on the latest developments in chemical textile material finishes, presented by representatives from Rudolf Chemicals.

Gelvenor Textiles and Rudolf Chemicals also supplied the students with technical product information, advice and chemicals worth thousands of Rand to complete their projects.

The students had seven weeks to design, develop and test their products. They then had to present their product and findings to a select audience. Some of the products showcased include, inter alia:

• A washable, reusable sanitary napkin consisting of a top layer with excellent wicking properties, a liquid directing design and an absorptive waffle weave cotton layer with antimicrobial properties, as well as a hydrophobic layer underneath to prevent leakage (developed by Selebale Motau and Kerrilyn Wood).
• An odourless, non-itching sleeve that wicks unwanted moisture away from the skin without causing excess drying to be worn underneath an orthopaedic cast. The knit structure improves the overall moisture management properties of the fabric and the silver finish prevent the build-up of odours and the growth of microbes (developed by Jani van Wyk and Duan Mostert).
• A completely washable and environmentally friendly diaper made from 100% knitted cotton with a super absorbent polyester microfibre insert and a water repelling external layer (developed by Annerike Cronje and Hildegard du Plessis).

Other projects included a super-absorbent sock to dry your shoes overnight (Marie-Christin Kempf and Chuma Gqola), a fashionable and light-weight trench coat to keep students dry and warm during the rainy season (Chandré Matlala), a nano-capsule with slow release fertiliser inside a degradable linen mould to replace the black plastic bags currently being used to sold seedlings in (Lourens Kleynhans and Marikie Bruwer), a fitted sheet with an antimicrobial finish that will also regulate body temperature to prevent night sweating (Simoné Groenewald and Arina Wessels), linen that can adjust its temperature depending on its surroundings (Siyabulela Mtyela and Rabia Rawoot), a foldable polyester shower mat with antimicrobial and antifungal properties that you can pack into your gym bag (Elmarize Oosthuizen and Simoné van Zyl), a water filtration system based on a nonwoven fabric with superior wicking properties that filter water accumulated from fog or overnight condensation (Jan du Plessis and Brenda van Wyngaardt).