Abstract
Fiber-based materials have accompanied human life for thousands of years. Dating from 6300 to 6150 BC, braided ropes made from flax fibers are just one example that proves a knowledge of fibers and building products has existed for a long time. 1
During recent years, the scale of fiber-based applications has grown significantly. At a micro level, researchers are producing and investigating nanofibers and even weaving them into molecular structures. 2 On the other end of the scale, oil platforms are now fixed by ropes made from ultra-high-molecular-weight polyethylene stretching over 3 km in length. 3 Since 2013, large wind engine blades made from glass fiber-reinforced composites have enabled rotors to reach incredible diameters of over 164 m. 4
These and many other highly engineered fiber-based products have been made possible only by a deep knowledge and understanding of the theory, technology, machines, and materials that underpin fiber-based products. Highly engineered products are created by highly educated people, for whom high-quality sources of information are required.
To satiate the modern academic and industrial readers, SAGE has launched Journal of Textiles and Fibrous Materials. The journal is a new peer-reviewed, open-access publication media dedicated to facilitating the rapid and wide dissemination of research in the areas of textiles, clothing, and all kinds of fiber-based structures.
The highly developed, electronic manuscript submission system, SageTrack, combined with an extensive, proven list of professional reviewers, will guarantee not only a fast and thorough peer review process but the papers published in the journal will be of the finest standard.
Open access will enable breakthrough texts to be instantly accessible to all researchers, industry professionals, and students, and even those simply interested in textiles.
The scope of the journal is broad in order to cover all aspects of fiber-based structures. In addition to standard “fundamental research” and “review” articles, the journal will also publish “applied research” papers to reflect the state of the wider textile industry.
Following the lead of countries such as Germany, Switzerland, and Austria, these articles seek to bridge the gap between academia and industry by enriching researchers with an understanding of practical problems and industry experts with specialist, theoretical knowledge.
Classical fundamental research papers will comprise the majority of the journal and a number of special issues on topics as diverse as nanofibers, modeling, and smart textiles are in preparation and will be launched shortly. Please take a look at these topics and the journal’s Aims and Scope on its webpage—if you are interested in textiles, clothing, or fibrous structures, your research will undoubtedly be of value to us.
We particularly encourage PhD students to finalize their first “state-of-the-art” chapters and submit it as a manuscript to our journal. Our Editorial Board and reviewers pay special attention to manuscripts from young researchers and will always offer friendly, constructive feedback for improvement which will be invaluable experience to gain when writing your full thesis.
We also welcome manuscripts from experienced researchers and professors whom, after decades of intense work, want to immortalize their knowledge in a journal that will educate future generations on textile research.
Dear colleagues and friends, I implore you to take some time and write down your thoughts in a good manuscript. The journal will happily disseminate your research all over the world. All manuscripts are distributed under a Creative Commons license, meaning you can reuse texts directly in your expert works and distribute freely among your students and peers. As I’m sure you will agree, this makes our research and teaching lives much easier!
Thank you