Advanced Functional Fabrics of America (AFFOA)

Advanced Functional Fabrics of America Institute

Fast Facts

Established	April 2016

Website	https://affoa.org/

Mission	Rekindle the domestic textiles industry by leading a nationwide enterprise for advanced fiber and fabric technology development and manufacturing, enabling revolutionary system capabilities for national security and commercial markets

Headquarters	Cambridge, MA

Consortium Organizer	Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT)

Satellite Locations	Drexel University (Philadelphia, PA) MIT Lincoln Laboratory (Lexington, MA) University of Massachusetts, Lowell (Lowell, MA)

Institute Metrics

as of September 2024

148	Member Organizations
*Total Ongoing and Completed Projects*
270	Technology Projects
87	Education and Workforce Development (EWD) Projects
*Education and Workforce Development*
3,942	Participants in EWD Projects or Institute-led EWD Activities from FY20-FY24

Successes

Click here for the latest DoD MII Success Stories.

Project Examples:

AFFOA and MIT Beaverworks Summer Programming

AFFOA and Cambridge STEAM Career Exploration Program

Physiological Status Monitoring System

Institute Snapshot

AFFOA’s vision is a globally competitive, domestic supply chain in advanced fibers and fabrics. The institute delivers breakthrough capabilities and innovations for national security through de-risking university technologies, non-traditional defense contractor participation, and developing advanced textile systems. AFFOA centralizes the revolutionary fiber and fabric technology capabilities of startups, manufacturers, industry, and academia and organizes them to produce and manufacture advanced textile systems for DoD and commercial markets.

AFFOA addresses the spectrum of manufacturing challenges associated with developing and scaling advanced fibers and textiles from design through pilot production, helping to transition innovative technologies, and training the next-generation manufacturing workforce. The institute’s Fabric Innovation Network (FIN) of member companies enables the development and commercialization of advanced textile products while delivering the conventional qualities of fabrics to benefit the commercial consumer and Warfighter.

Institute Capabilities

Advanced Fiber & Fabric Development	AFFOA has end-to-end advanced fabric prototyping capabilities at its HQ with the ability to facilitate rapid prototyping, testing and evaluating, and pilot production of advanced fiber and fabric products that leverage fabrics as a service, work with the Fabric Innovation Network (FIN) to develop/integrate multiple technologies/components into transformative system-level demonstrators, build the next generation supply chain, and foster technology transitions - leveraging ecosystem capabilities - to increase manufacturability. The Defense FDC has similar capabilities which are used for classified work.
Fabric Innovation Network	AFFOA’s impact is amplified by the highly capable members comprising the Fabrics Innovation Network, which includes U.S. universities innovating in advanced fibers and fabrics, small and medium-sized businesses developing unique manufacturing know-how, start-ups and industry members engaged in shaping the textile marketplace of the future, and government labs and agencies helping to bring the most important national security problems to the forefront.
Fabric Discovery Centers	In support of AFFOA’s mission to rekindle the domestic textile industry, the Institute has established regional centers of excellence, called Fabric Discovery Centers (FDCs). Their purpose is to spur innovation and regional economic development aligned with advanced fibers and fabrics. Funded in partnership with local universities and state governments, FDCs are innovation centers with capabilities including advanced R&D, end-to-end prototyping, start-up incubation space, manufacturing process development and Education and Workforce Development (EWD) activities that support both DoD and commercial needs. AFFOA has established four Fabric Discovery Center locations: AFFOA’s headquarters FDC in Cambridge, MA (HQ FDC), an FDC at the University of Massachusetts Lowell in collaboration with DoD MIIs, ARM and Nextflex (UML FDC), an FDC at Drexel University focused on advanced knitting (PA FDC), and a defense-specific FDC located at MIT Lincoln Laboratory in Lexington, MA (DFDC). The DFDC is a collaboration between the Army DEVCOM-Soldier Center and MIT Lincoln Laboratory where classified work can be executed specifically for military applications.
Member Portal	AFFOA’s member portal documents member capabilities and technology and allows members to freely connect and network to catalyze new product development opportunities and relationships. AFFOA’s member portal includes enhanced member profiles detailing member interests, capabilities and technologies, an opportunities section to share relevant opportunities with the network, advanced fiber and fabric resources, and a message board for members to discuss topics of their interests.
Education & Workforce Development	AFFOA builds innovative and collaborative education and workforce development (EWD) programs to inspire, prepare and grow a skilled workforce that aligns with the future needs and landscape of the advanced textile industry. Core to AFFOA’s EWD mission are four thrust areas: Connecting industry stakeholders, Building industry awareness, Supporting the future workforce, and Promoting entrepreneurship.