Smart textiles, a part of the present boom of wearables, is at the risk of being a newenvironmental problem as many axioms of sustainability are violated here, that of driving(mass) consumption, mixing of components of different material origin and no obvious wastehandling system when used and worn out. Smartness has been synonymous with integration ofelectronic conductivity functionality, typically realised by metal wires. Carbon allomorphsshowing low electrical resistivity might be an environmental friendly alternative.

Here we report on attempts with simple conductive graphite systems from which we makeconductive textile fibres, the production of which could be up-scaled to industrial volumes.Coating textile bulk fibers as polyester, polyamide, wool and cellulose based regenerate onesrather than (melt/wet) spinning new fibers, the mechanical properties are sustained makingthem processable within existing textile processes infrastructure.

Several different graphite compositions and different yarn topologies are compared. Twisting isshown to greatly increase the overall yarn conductance. Fabrics are manufactured with thegraphite yarns in the double role of being structural as well as functional. Furthermore, analphabet of fundamental electrical circuitry elements are demonstrated; conductor, capacitor,inductor. The devices are consisting of non-toxic components that are disposable andcompostable; showing the benefits of carbon based soft electronics.