The Government requests that responses be submitted electronically to
[email protected] and
[email protected] by August 20, 2018 by 5pm EST. This Sources Sought Announcement is to assist the U. S. Army Natick Soldier Research, Development and Engineering Command (NSRDEC), Natick, MA is conducting a market investigation to identify domestic products, suppliers, and manufacturers of moisture management technologies that could be integrated into a textile for the purposes of providing environmental protection, improved wicking performance, or faster draining performance over textiles currently being utilized for individual Soldier uniforms and equipment. Potential solutions shall be capable of being integrated into textile materials, have a service life of at least 120-days under combat/field use, be compatible with current camouflage patterns and material shades, be fast drying, and not significantly reduce the moisture vapor transmission rate of the fabric. The U.S. Army currently utilize materials that have uniform properties throughout the textile structures it employs for uniforms and equipment designed for use by individual Soldiers. Fabrics with these uniform properties offer little control over moving moisture, both from the environment and generated by the Soldier, which results is a number of drawbacks include moisture being trapped is in undesirable areas such as behind body armor or underneath load carriage equipment. This moisture also impedes the performance of E-textiles and moisture sensitive wearable garments. This RFI is focused on developing novel solutions to moisture management by exploring fabric structures that employ moisture management technologies in specific subsections of the fabrics to create capabilities including but not limited to; 1. Channels within the textile to protect conductive fibers and/or integrated sensors from moisture present in the environment or generated by the wearer 2. Wicking fibers, films, and/or membrane strips paired with non-wicking fibers and/or films to produce textiles with zones of wicking and draining. 3. Textiles or films with passive properties to move moisture away from the material along a unidirectional axis. 4. Textiles or films that collect liquid moisture and aggregate it together to increase the draining/drying characteristics of the material. The contents of the White Paper should include: 1. Company address, telephone number, primary contact(s) with e-mail address(es) and CAGE code. 2. Please provide business size (indicate your socioeconomic status), applicable NAICS code, DUNS number and CAGE code. If you hold a GSA Federal Supply Schedule contract, please identify your contract number. (Respondents must be registered in the Central Contractor Registration (CCR) database in order to obtain a DUNS number. Firms may register with CCR at (http://www.ccr.gov). 3. Brief statement of capability demonstrating background, experience, skills, ability and availability to fulfill the Government's requirements described herein, This can also include current or past performance of providing this or similar products to the Government. Interested parties are invited to submit a response to this Sources Sought Announcement. THIS IS A SOURCES SOUGHT ANNOUNCEMENT ONLY This Sources Sought Announcement is issued solely for information and planning purposes and to identify interested sources. THIS IS NOT A SOLICITATION. No contract will be awarded from this announcement. This Sources Sought does not constitute a Request for Proposal (RFP) or a promise to issue an RFP in the future. It is subject to change and is not binding on the Government. Further, unsolicited proposals will not be accepted. Funding is not available at this time. The United States Army has not made a commitment to procure any of the items/services discussed, and release of this Sources Sought Announcement should not be construed as such a commitment or as authorization to incur cost for which reimbursement would be required or sought. Response to this Sources Sought Announcement is voluntary and no reimbursement will be made for any costs associated with providing information in response to this and any follow-on information requests. All submissions become Government property and will not be returned. Not responding to this Sources Sought Announcement does not preclude participation in any future RFP if any is issued. If a solicitation is released, it will be synopsized in the Federal Business Opportunities (FedBizOps) website. It is the responsibility of the potential responders to monitor this site for additional information pertaining to this subject. RESPONSES: Interested parties may identify their interest and capability by sending responses regarding this requirement to the NSRDEC via e-mail ONLY to
[email protected] and
[email protected] no later than August 20, 2018 by 5:00 p.m. EST. The U.S. Government will not pay for any information or administrative cost incurred in response to this Notice. All costs associated with responding to this Notice will be solely at the expense of the interested party. QUESTIONS: Any questions for clarification may be emailed to
[email protected] and
[email protected] no later than August 13, 2018 by 5:00 p.m. EST. Verbal questions will NOT be accepted. Questions shall NOT contain proprietary or classified information. An unattributed list of questions and answers will be published at the same web location of this Sources Sought Announcement.