Ventile, is a registered trademark used to brand a special high-quality woven cotton fabric first developed by scientists at the Shirley Institute in Manchester, England. Originally created to overcome a shortage of flax used for fire hoses and water buckets, its properties were also useful for pilots' immersion suits,[1] but expensive and leaky if exposed to sweat or oils.[2]
Extra-long-staple (ELS) cotton fibres are used to form a low-twist yarn, which is then woven into a tight high-density textile to create a 100% cotton fabric, capable of providing an effective barrier against inclement weather. In wet weather the softly spun yarns - within the tight weave - dynamically expand to form an effective barrier against the elements.[3]
Currently the only manufacturer of this specification of cotton textile is the Swiss firm Stotz & Co AG,[4] which spins, twists, weaves and dyes the raw materials, and sells the textile directly under its own branding of etaProof[5] cotton, supplying clothing manufacturers and wholesale textile distributors globally.
British production of Ventile eventually ended in the late 20th century[6] but the trademark continued to be used by the British company Talbot Weaving (Chorley) Limited[7] to market their wholesale distribution of etaProof cotton fabrics until 2017 when the trademark ownership was transferred to the manufacturer Stotz & Co AG.[8] Alternative registered trademarks, owned by other commercial organisations used to market, promote or distribute the fabric, include Supermarine[9] and Duuton3.[3]
[F]rom 1951, the Mk 7 onwards was made from ventile fabric, invented by the Shirley Institute just post war. [I]t was woven from Egyptian cotton in [a way that] would allow body moisture (i.e. water vapour) to pass through the interstices of the fabric, yet when immersed, the cotton fibres would swell to produce a waterproof garment. [S]uits had to be made from two layers of fabric to prevent the hydrostatic force of the water pushing its way through a single layer of fabric before the fabric had time to swell (Reference 172). Other disappointments were that it was very expensive to manufacture, expensive and labour intensive to construct the suits, and the fibres would not swell effectively when exposed to body sweat or greases.