A company has claimed a remarkable sales success with a pioneering textile for athletes.

Ilkley-based Woolmark - the world's leading wool promotion company - said sales of Sportwool garments, which are licensed to manufacturers, increased by 250 per cent in 2002 compared to 2001.

The material, unlike normal wool, is a breathable fabric and is proving popular with a range of performers including mountaineers, cyclists, golfers, tennis players and skiers.

More than 70 manufacturers are licensed to sell Sportwool garments, including high-profile firms such as Ellesse, Fila and Mizuno.

Malcolm Campbell, Woolmark commercial director, said intensive research was beginning to pay off. "Sportwool is increasingly becoming the high performance fabric of choice for the discerning sportsman and woman," he said.

"The enthusiasm of professionals in every major sport all around the world fully justifies the years of painstaking development and the cutting edge research behind this most versatile of fabrics."

Swedish golfer Niklas Fasth, a member of the victorious Ryder Cup team in 2002, and Australian champion skier Alisa Camplin, a gold medallist at the 2002 Winter Olympics, are two top sports people who have voiced their appreciation of the fabric.

Sportwool claims to be useful in keeping competitors cool by allowing body vapours to escape, keeping the wearer cooler and drier.

The complex natural structure of Sportwool means that it does not act as a barrier to moisture, like most synthetic fabrics. Instead, it draws the body's natural cooling system - perspiration - away from the skin and expels it into the atmosphere before it becomes sticky, clammy sweat.