Ventile

Ventile, is a registered trademark used to brand a special high-quality woven cotton fabric first developed by scientists at the Shirley Institute in Manchester, England. Originally created to overcome a shortage of flax used for fire hoses and water buckets, its properties were also useful for pilots' immersion suits, but expensive and leaky if exposed to sweat or oils.

Extra-long-staple (ELS) cotton fibres are used to form a low-twist yarn, which is then woven into a tight high-density textile to create a 100% cotton fabric, capable of providing an effective barrier against inclement weather. In wet weather the softly spun yarns - within the tight weave - dynamically expand to form an effective barrier against the elements.

Currently the only manufacturer of this specification of cotton textile is the Swiss firm Stotz & Co AG, which spins, twists, weaves and dyes the raw materials, and sells the textile directly under its own branding of etaProof cotton, supplying clothing manufacturers and wholesale textile distributors globally.

British production of Ventile eventually ended in the late 20th century but the trademark continued to be used by the British company Talbot Weaving (Chorley) Limited to market their wholesale distribution of etaProof cotton fabrics until 2017 when the trademark ownership was transferred to the manufacturer Stotz & Co AG. Alternative registered trademarks, owned by other commercial organisations used to market, promote or distribute the fabric, include Supermarine and Duuton3.