Zips: an ingenious source of frustration

I’ve inflicted all kinds of damage on zips. You name it, I’ve done it. From bending zips to breaking their teeth and closing suitcases that were way too full without any sense of rationality, just the power of despair. I’ve pulled zips when I shouldn’t have pulled them. Washed when I shouldn’t have washed them. Tugged when I shouldn’t have tugged them. And yet I still always expect zips to glide effortlessly when I jerk them about, trying to get them to interlock. It usually works. I’ve no idea how much time this great invention has saved me over the course of my life by letting me bypass buttoning up or hooking together. Probably a lot. And yet – if it doesn’t work just one time, I take my anger out on this small part. It actually happened recently. My jacket ended up turning into a straitjacket when the zip got stuck on the fabric just under my chin. It was obviously the fault of the horrible zip.

I couldn’t help but think of that when I went past the YKK stand at the sports trade fair OutDoor by ISPO. YKK is the only brand from the zip world that I’d recognise. Well, I was thinking of that and about whether or not there’s a way to avoid getting fabric stuck in a zip. Surely it can’t be that hard, even though zips love chewing through thin fabric. So, I double back and ask what the industry intends to do in the fight against the problem I had. Shortly afterwards, I’m sat opposite Jan Cees. A friendly, serene Dutch man who gets me a drink of water and, amidst the hustle and bustle of the trade fair, finds time to answer my questions.

Journey into the world of zips

«I don’t know much about zips,» I say, apologetically, as I’m not a buyer looking for 300,000 new zips and therefore not the kind of person he’d probably be dealing with normally. «It’s OK. I know a bit about them,» he answers and guffaws.
Jan Cees is just one of the 44,000 people working in the zip industry. Although Yoshida Kogyo Kabushikikaisha (YKK) does manufacture a few other joining techniques, at its core, it’s an empire that interlocks the world. So there must surely be a solution to my problem. For instance, the anti-snagging zip I read about at YKK. It’s reportedly designed with a plastic sheath over the slider to stop fabric getting between the teeth. I reckon that sounds practical.

But Jan Cees, on the other hand, thinks that’s the wrong approach. «In my experience, in nine out of ten cases, better construction prevents a lot of problems,» he explains. What he was referring to was the whole construction of a zip plus the product it’s being built into. «For instance, if it’s sewn too snuggly, that can also be a reason for your zip getting stuck.» Then there’s the question of the right type of material. «If you use a zip for biking that’s too light, it’ll be too weak and just cause problems. Nevertheless, plastic is still the better solution. The reason being that if bikers sweat and metallic parts are used, salt from the perspiration can cause those parts to oxidise.»

I nod like the Churchill dog and realise that it’s not as straightforward as just shifting the blame onto «the zip», which was my enraged citizen reflex. The world of zips itself is also complex. We can already see that in its history, which is closely interlocked with Switzerland. Ultimately, Martin Othmar Winterhalter is considered the inventor of the modern zip. He came up with the ingenious idea with the ribs and grooves that could be produced industrially, founded RiRi zips, lived like a king and ended up in a psychiatric hospital. So much success and yet not a smooth life.

Tricky situations are obviously baked into the product. In some way or another, we all lose against a zip a some point. Failing with a zip usually means failing because of yourself and your own impatience. Perhaps the reason why a Japanese company ended up becoming the industry’s world leader is because as a nation, the Japanese are intrinsically attentive and traditionally place importance on cohesion. Company founder Tadao Yoshida made «Cycle of Goodness» YKK’s business philosophy. The idea behind it is that no one can be successful unless others are part of their success. Fundamentally, it’s like the zip merging (or merge in turn) method on the motorway. It only works smoothly when everyone is on board. There’s definitely something in it. And the zip has actually developed slowly but steadily. I just didn’t notice.

The zips of the future are already here

There’s a QuickBurst® zip that makes it easy to tear clothes or parts of them off your body. You can get waterproof and fireproof zips or curved versions that give your chin some breathing space. There are also click-TRAK® zips with a fastener that saves you fiddling around when you’re trying to put the zip together. Then there’s the TouchLink™ zip that uses NFC tags to provide «digital ID» info about a product or to act as a «lifekey» by delivering health information to the emergency services.

From the teeth to the slider, the zip has evolved – and I used to think it was a product that had been fully developed. Almost nothing is impossible. Apart from the one, sure-fire way to deal with material that’s stuck. I’m secretly still hoping for a game changer. Along the lines of Jan Cees doing a Steve Jobs and pulling the phrase «one more thing» out of the bag. But that doesn’t materialise. «In the manufacturing stage, you have a lot of opportunities to avoid problems,» he emphasises, mantra-like. «I think that’s better than a workaround like the anti-snagging zip.» That’s a shame. But I did worry that would be the case. Because even in this sleeping bag test, the so promisingly christened part was only partially successful and occasionally got jammed in the thin fabric.

I may not have a magic bullet for my initial problem, but I know the story of zips hasn’t reached its end yet – there could still be progress. And zips were smart even before they were able to do things like transfer data. However, even this field has to meet the challenges of the advancing world.

Circular fastenings

All sectors are facing the same questions when it comes to sustainability. And it’s often a matter of finding common answers. Only then can products be designed more sustainably right down to the last detail. «Some people consider sustainability to mean a product having a long lifespan. Meanwhile, others give first consideration to materials. Their primary concern is that no material should be used that harms the environment. Some people straddle both camps and agree with a mix of both. Then there are those who are interested in circularity, and that’s more precise,» explains Jan Cees. The reason being that there’s a loop. «When we make a product using just one material, such as nylon, you get better circularity as it’s easier to recycle.»

Obviously, zips made of ocean waste plastic and ambitious eco designs have been around for a long time. But a lot of zip issues also affect end users on a daily basis. Because all too often, a broken zip marks the end of the road for clothes. «Something we really want in the zip industry is to improve repair options.» I intend to pay more attention to zip care in the future so that it doesn’t even get to that stage.

What you can do to look after your zips

What should I do? I mean, what should I pay heed to in particular in the future? Jan Cees smiles softly and says: «Always wash your clothes inside out and with the zips done up. That stops your zip getting damaged and it harming other material.» I feel like I’ve been caught out. I practically never do that. For me, it’s partly laziness, while other people just don’t have the time. «It’s not done in an industrial laundry context either.» Given the way I treat my zip, I really shouldn’t complain if it gets jammed now and then. Violence isn’t the solution. Looking after it would be a better option. Candle wax, a pencil or silicon spray, for instance, can all help to keep your zip in good shape.

Now that I’ve come to the end of my journey into the world of zips, my view of this fundamentally ingenious principle has changed. In future, I’ll try to pull myself together first. The eight rules that I find on the YKK website all boil down to this: take care when using your zip. Open it completely. Close it completely. Don’t use it the way I’ve always used it. Don’t be mislead by the idea of a zip. This could be the biggest mistake in construction. You should think of it as something you pull rather than something you tug at.