San Francisco-based startup LifeLabs has signed a production deal with South Korean textile mill Shinhan to scale its WarmLife thermal fabric technology, broadening supply chain access for outdoor and activewear brands worldwide.
LifeLabs, the San Francisco-based materials science company behind WarmLife temperature-regulating performance fabric, has signed a production partnership with South Korea’s Shinhan, a woven fabric mill specializing in technical textiles for outdoor and activewear. The deal is designed to move WarmLife from limited runs toward scaled manufacturing, widening access for global apparel brands evaluating next-generation thermal comfort materials.
A nano-layer approach to lighter thermal performance
WarmLife uses a metallic nano-layer embedded in the fabric structure to reflect radiant body heat back toward the wearer, aiming to deliver warmth without the bulk of conventional insulation. By tapping Shinhan’s manufacturing capabilities in advanced woven constructions, LifeLabs is betting it can accelerate the path from patented concept to repeatable, high-volume supply for brand development and commercial programs.
The partnership was marked with a signing ceremony at Stanford University on Apr. 6. LifeLabs later presented WarmLife and its wider materials portfolio at the Functional Fabric Fair in Portland, Oregon.
A scale play in a competitive thermal market
Beyond the technology claims, the announcement underscores a practical hurdle in performance-textile innovation: brands typically require reliable, scalable production before committing a new fabric platform to seasonal development cycles. For LifeLabs, which also develops CoolLife cooling technology, bringing WarmLife into an established mill’s manufacturing footprint signals an effort to meet that bar and position one of the more closely watched recent fabric launches for broader commercial adoption.
Background
LifeLabs is a materials science company founded by Stanford Professor Yi Cui and CEO Sophia Ou. The company develops high-performance textiles through two proprietary platforms: WarmLife®, a thermal fabric that uses a metallic nano-layer to reflect body heat back to the skin, and CoolLife®, a cooling fabric built on nanoporous polyethylene polymer technology originally developed at Stanford, which allows infrared radiation to pass through the fiber rather than reflecting it onto the skin.
Vice president Ben Ryan, whose career spans The North Face, Arc’teryx and Salomon, joined LifeLabs to lead brand partnerships. The Shinhan deal extends the company’s manufacturing infrastructure for WarmLife as it seeks broader adoption among outdoor and activewear brands.
Shinhan is a South Korea-based woven fabric mill specializing in technical textiles for outdoor and activewear applications. The company positions itself around technology, innovation and digital transformation within the textile industry.
