My issue with exciting things like this and solar heating is that in most cases we are nowhere near the technological limit of climate control efficiencies that can be achieved with a reasonable amount of effort.

My aunt was selling solar heating in Minnesota. People would be really interested until they found out the first step was doing a really thorough (and somewhat costly) job insulating the house, which provides more energy savings than the solar panels themselves in most cases (it's certainly more cost-effective). They didn't really care about saving energy, they just wanted solar panels as a status symbol.

As long as energy remains subsidized and people don't have to pay for the externalities they create by polluting, eco-friendly innovations like hybrid and plug-in electric cars, solar power, and breathable skins will remain of interest only as status symbols and badges of group identity.

(as an aside, Europe and Japan seem to do a better job of actually giving people financial incentives to waste less, although people should correct me if my view is naïve)