Designing Affordable Cooling Sportswear for Tropical and Developing Countries

Lack of cooling comfort adversely influences the health of endurance cycling athletes, especially those living in developing tropical countries. Existing cooling solutions have targeted athletes in developed and non-tropical regions. Hence, this research investigates how to develop low-cost cooling sportswear to enhance the cooling comfort of those disadvantaged athletes. Several sportswear prototypes were co-designed and tested with endurance athletes in Sri Lanka to identify the considerations for cooling sportswear design. This research proposes applying contextual factors (economy, culture, and climate) in the FEA (Functional, Expressive and Aesthetic) apparel design model to investigate the needs of the target athletes.