Amid the ongoing US-China trade war, Chinese products are flooding into the domestic market across all industries, and the chemical fiber industry, which is preparing for the summer season, is busy devising countermeasures. This is because pads and quilts using cold-sensitive materials have become very popular in Korea in the last three to four years, and Chinese counterfeits of these products have been imported indiscriminately, confusing the market.

Huvis (CEO Kim, Suk Hyun, 079980), specializing in chemical and fiber materials, announced on the 19th that it will take legal action against Chinese counterfeit manufacturers to protect its brand of cooling fiber ‘Duraron-Cool’, and will begin promoting a differentiated product lineup to strengthen product competitiveness. 

'Duraron-Cool' is a summer cooling material that provides a cool, refreshing touch similar to artificial silk, and is currently used by major Korean bedding brands. It has gained significant popularity in the summer bedding market, sparking a trend for cooling fibers. It applies the 'contact cooling' principle, which provides an immediate cooling sensation upon contact, and its main raw material, PE (polyethylene), has a higher thermal conductivity than cotton or nylon, quickly lowering the user's body temperature. 

Since its launch in 2022, 'Duraron-Cool' has seen consistent annual sales growth and currently holds approximately 70% of the domestic cooling fiber market. Amid this popularity, Huvis has recently taken measures against the influx of counterfeit Chinese products imitating Duraron-Cool. 

The company collected products suspected of being counterfeit and analyzed their Duraron-Cool content. The results revealed that some products used only a small amount of Duraron-Cool but claimed to use the entire amount, while others did not use any at all but were sold as if they did, leading to widespread consumer harm. Additionally, in terms of Q-max values—a key indicator of cooling performance—Chinese counterfeits have lower Q-max values, making it difficult to expect the expected cooling effect, and they also exhibit various quality issues such as easy discoloration and pilling, necessitating proactive measures.

In response, Huvis is significantly strengthening its authentication marketing efforts to completely block brand infringement. Starting from the 2025 season, the company will introduce new tags specific to each use, applicable only to 100% Duraron-Cool fabric, and will collect and dispose of all existing tags. It will also strengthen its ongoing monitoring system and respond with strong legal measures against any violations. 

As a strategy for differentiating from Chinese products, Huvis is also expanding the use of Duraron-Cool from bedding to apparel. PE materials generally have limitations in dyeing, but Huvis has developed ‘dope dyed yarn,’ which incorporates dye into the yarn, as well as fabric-dyeable ‘dyeable yarn’ and soft-touch ‘false twist yarn,’ enabling the realization of various colors and designs. Duraron-Cool for apparel is now being applied to cooling clothing and hats for domestic and international outdoor brands starting this year.

“Duraron-Cool is our representative summer product that has consistently earned the trust of our customers through its differentiated quality and service. We will strengthen our differentiation from Chinese products based on brand protection and technological competitiveness to lead the domestic cooling material market,” said Kim, Suk Hyun, CEO of Huvis.


[Photo] Huvis Duraron-Cool, 2025 season new authentication tags (3 types)

※ Note: According to global market research firm Business Research Company, the global cooling material market size expanded from 1.99 billion dollars (2.64 trillion won) in 2020 to 2.35 billion dollars (3.22 trillion won) in 2021, and is projected to increase to 3.44 billion dollars (4.71 trillion won) by 2025.