BEDFORD, Mass. — December 10, 2025 — Advanced Functional Fabrics of America (AFFOA) announced the third round of its Product Accelerator for Functional Fabrics (PAFF 3.0). The program provides access to AFFOA’s technical expertise, pilot development capabilities, and product-advancement resources to U.S. textile manufacturers, startups, and fabric innovators, with AFFOA covering labor costs enabled by government funding.
PAFF 3.0 expands the program’s scope to accelerate Digital Engineering/ Manufacturing, Textile Manufacturing Automation, Manufacturing Scale-Up, and advancing the TRL/MRL of Advanced Fibers and Fabric Products. The emphasis is on shortening development cycles and helping American manufacturers bring new products to market faster, without the burden of labor costs on participating companies.
“As a Manufacturing USA Innovation Institute, AFFOA is committed to directly supporting America’s textile innovation ecosystem and accelerating advanced fiber and fabric product development,” said Sasha Stolyarov, Ph.D., AFFOA’s CEO. “PAFF 3.0 provides U.S. companies with no-cost access to our team of technical experts and specialized equipment at AFFOA headquarters, enabling scale-up and maturation of new processes and products. In today’s climate of tight margins, PAFF offers a critical development pathway that can be difficult to achieve independently.”
Key dates for PAFF 3.0 are as follows: pre-proposals are due February 15, 2026; final proposals are due April 15, 2026; and award announcements are expected April 30,2026.
AFFOA will also host a webinar on December 17, 2026, at 12:00 PM Eastern Time to help potential applicants understand the process, capabilities, and FAQs., U.S.-based companies can register at affoa.org/PAFF. Notable prior PAFF awardees include Z-Polymers, LOOMIA, DCS Corp, and Nuream, which have advanced the development of new products and process capabilities through the program.
For more information about PAFF 3.0, eligibility, and how to apply, visit affoa.org/PAFF or contact AFFOA’s PAFF team at PAFF@affoa.org.
Posted: December 11, 2025
Source: Advanced Functional Fabrics of America (AFFOA)
