Dunedin company Gimono has developed a merino wool blend Gi, the costume worn by martial-art athletes, to replace the traditional double-woven cotton clothing and address discomfort issues.
Gimono director Lavinia Calvert said cotton Gis did not breath, they were heavy, abrasive against the skin, absorbed moisture, shrunk and restricted movement.
They started thinking about a replacement fabric when Ms Calvert and her martial-arts enthusiast husband and fellow company director Grant Scott were in Japan in late 2005 for judo training.
Ms Calvert said each night when her husband came home his Gi smelt of sweat and he had bloody abrasions from the cotton rubbing against his skin.
"We got talking and asked why no-one had come up with a breathable, more comfortable Gi? Every other sport has performance apparel, and it seemed odd to us that martial arts didn't."
Neither has a background in textiles, clothing or apparel. Mr Scott is a builder and martial arts instructor and Ms Calvert has a corporate background in international business and marketing.
"How hard could it be?" she recalled them asking themselves.
They started looking at existing textiles, but nothing met their list of needs of being comfortable, strong, able to stretch and recover from being gripped, pulled and tugged during bouts, did not shrink, can be washed and retain its colour.
Wool was widely used in the active outdoor market, because it had similar qualities required by martial arts, but it stretched, so Ms Calvert asked AgResearch Textile for help.
In 2007, they had their first sample fabric, a wool-polyester blend, which has since been refined to a final product that is a third the weight of cotton Gis and met their list of requirements. The wool layer is next to the skin.
A patent is pending on the fabric, with Gis selling for between $300 and $400, similar to a top-priced cotton garment.
Ms Calvert said their target market was the estimated 70 million serious adult martial-art athletes, and it is an international market.
The International Judo Federation alone has 182 member countries while mixed martial-art fighting was the fastest growing sport in the United States.
Ms Calvert said they made jackets, shorts and pants, with the fabric made in Auckland and garments in Christchurch.
