---
title: "What clothing and kit things are made of"
description: "13 clothing and kit objects broken down component by component, with the reason behind each material choice."
url: https://atoneplace.net/made-of/clothing/
site: "At One Place"
---

# Clothing and kit — what they are made of

13 clothing and kit objects, broken down.

| Object | Made of |
| --- | --- |
| Velcro (hook and loop) | Two nylon tapes — one of stiff hooks, one of soft loops — copied directly from burdock burrs. |
| Leather | Animal hide whose collagen has been chemically stabilised so it cannot rot — usually with chromium salts. |
| Gore-Tex | A stretched PTFE membrane whose pores are far too small for a raindrop and far too big for a water vapour molecule. |
| Denim | A cotton twill with indigo-dyed warp and undyed weft — the dye sits on the fibre surface, which is why it fades. |
| Helmet | A hard shell to spread the blow over a crushable polystyrene foam liner that is destroyed by one impact. |
| Bulletproof vest | Many layers of woven aramid or polyethylene fibre that catch and deform a bullet; rifle threats need a ceramic plate. |
| Zip (zipper) | Teeth of metal, moulded acetal or nylon coil on a polyester tape, forced together by a wedge inside the slider. |
| Synthetic leather | A polyurethane or PVC skin on a textile backing — including the plant-based ones, which still need a plastic binder. |
| Running shoe | A knitted synthetic upper over a foam midsole and rubber outsole — about a dozen materials, all glued together. |
| Shoe sole | A rubber outsole for grip, a foam midsole for cushioning, and increasingly no clean way to separate them. |
| Wetsuit | Closed-cell neoprene foam full of nitrogen bubbles, faced with stretch jersey — the gas insulates, not the water. |
| Life jacket | Closed-cell foam or a CO2-inflated bladder, in a nylon cover — rated in newtons of buoyancy, not in size. |
| Button | Usually cast polyester resin; the good ones are shell, nut or horn, and you can tell by touch and temperature. |

- [Velcro (hook and loop)](https://atoneplace.net/made-of/velcro/) — Two nylon tapes — one of stiff hooks, one of soft loops — copied directly from burdock burrs.
- [Leather](https://atoneplace.net/made-of/leather/) — Animal hide whose collagen has been chemically stabilised so it cannot rot — usually with chromium salts.
- [Gore-Tex](https://atoneplace.net/made-of/gore-tex/) — A stretched PTFE membrane whose pores are far too small for a raindrop and far too big for a water vapour molecule.
- [Denim](https://atoneplace.net/made-of/denim/) — A cotton twill with indigo-dyed warp and undyed weft — the dye sits on the fibre surface, which is why it fades.
- [Helmet](https://atoneplace.net/made-of/helmet/) — A hard shell to spread the blow over a crushable polystyrene foam liner that is destroyed by one impact.
- [Bulletproof vest](https://atoneplace.net/made-of/body-armor/) — Many layers of woven aramid or polyethylene fibre that catch and deform a bullet; rifle threats need a ceramic plate.
- [Zip (zipper)](https://atoneplace.net/made-of/zipper/) — Teeth of metal, moulded acetal or nylon coil on a polyester tape, forced together by a wedge inside the slider.
- [Synthetic leather](https://atoneplace.net/made-of/synthetic-leather/) — A polyurethane or PVC skin on a textile backing — including the plant-based ones, which still need a plastic binder.
- [Running shoe](https://atoneplace.net/made-of/running-shoe/) — A knitted synthetic upper over a foam midsole and rubber outsole — about a dozen materials, all glued together.
- [Shoe sole](https://atoneplace.net/made-of/shoe-sole/) — A rubber outsole for grip, a foam midsole for cushioning, and increasingly no clean way to separate them.
- [Wetsuit](https://atoneplace.net/made-of/wetsuit/) — Closed-cell neoprene foam full of nitrogen bubbles, faced with stretch jersey — the gas insulates, not the water.
- [Life jacket](https://atoneplace.net/made-of/life-jacket/) — Closed-cell foam or a CO2-inflated bladder, in a nylon cover — rated in newtons of buoyancy, not in size.
- [Button](https://atoneplace.net/made-of/button/) — Usually cast polyester resin; the good ones are shell, nut or horn, and you can tell by touch and temperature.