ABSTRACT Shape memory polymers (SMPs) and their composites offer a promising route for transforming textiles from passive materials into adaptive, programmable, and responsive systems. For smart clothing, their importance lies not simply in macroscopic shape recovery, but in using molecular switching to regulate textile interfaces and transport pathways. This review provides a textile‐oriented perspective on polymer‐based shape memory composites, focusing on how programmable polymer networks are translated into fibers, yarns, membranes, fabrics, coatings, Janus interfaces, and garment‐level functions. Recent advances in segmented polyurethanes, semicrystalline switching systems, elastomeric networks, biobased polymers, porous structures, conductive nanocomposites, and textile‐reinforced composites are discussed in relation to processability and wearable relevance. Representative applications include adaptive thermal–moisture management, responsive wettability, shape‐changing textiles, sensing, compression therapy, medical devices, protection, and sustainable smart garments. Beyond shape fixity and recovery ratios, this review emphasizes recovery stress, response speed, safe activation, breathability, comfort, laundering durability, textile manufacturability, and garment‐level validation. The major challenge is to connect polymer‐level shape memory with measurable improvements in comfort, protection, therapy, sensing, actuation, fit, and sustainability under realistic wearing conditions. Future SMP smart textiles should evolve from proof‐of‐concept samples toward body‐safe, washable, scalable, circular, and human‐centered adaptive clothing systems.
Guan et al. (Tue,) studied this question.