Cutting Edge 6 min
Polymers - High fibre innovation
A little over half of the world’s textile output is used by the garment industry where Natural fibres though very much used are being steadily being ousted by artificial or synthetic fibres, which are now found in nearly two thirds of all clothing made. This was only to be expected, given that versatile-by-design polymers are powerful drivers of innovation…
Polymers - High fibre innovation
Polymers - High fibre innovation

Fashion becomes sustainable!

Biopolymers are putting on a show

Although the fashion world is fickle and ever-changing by its very nature, it is now aiming for sustainability! This new trend has taken a hold of the industry, and even has its own stylists and shows, such as the Ethical Fashion Show whose catwalks are now filled with brands showing off their green fibre. 
Their latest collections explore the attractive properties of oft-neglected natural fibres such as flax and hemp. In this new organic and fair trade composition, the cotton comprising 4% of all crops and utilising 25% of all pesticides will have to keep a low profile.
Green chemistry also has new possibilities to offer, thanks to the new artificial fibres derived from bio-sourced polymers. Launched by food giant Cargill in 2003, the Ingeo fibre derived from the polylactic acid of corn made quite a splash during Gattinoni's show at Rome's Alta Moda 2010.

Other fibres look towards non-food plant sources such as Lyocell, a product made from wood pulp and made famous by Naomi Campbell in 2001. More recently, Crabyon, made from the chitin of crustacean shells, made its first appearance at the Copenhagen Fashion Summit in 2009.
Although synthetic fibres are struggling to offer a favourable carbon footprint through fashion, they are making the most of the increased interest the world of sportswear is showing for recycled materials.

 

Milder treatments for finishing textiles

Although green style competitions are mainly focused on materials, the real stakes are to be found elsewhere. Principally at the stage of textile finishing, in which European companies are trying to reduce the harmful impacts of the finishing, dyeing and printing processes in order to thwart competition from countries with laxer environmental regulations.
All textiles, regardless of their intended purpose, undergo a finishing treatment process during which various chemical composites are deposited on their surface by heat, steam or radiation treatment. Besides the toxicity of certain additives, whose use is highly regulated, such processes require high amounts of water and energy for synthetic textiles.

 

The European FAFEX programme is currently busy developing a "mild" solution for finishing synthetic fibres. The new method consists of depositing the additives as an ultrafine aqueous polymer solution, no longer onto the fabric itself but rather onto the surface of the filament, during the extrusion of the thread. The process should make it possible to improve the fabric's anti-static, anti-stain, anti-UV and antibacterial properties without harming the environment.

Greener dyeing through CO2

According to the World Bank, the textile industry is responsible for 17 to 20 % of worldwide water pollution.
No surprises there! It takes approximately 100 to 150 litres of water to dye a single kilo of fabric. On top of that, various chemicals, of which some are notoriously toxic, are also added to the equation. On an industrial scale, this activity - when conducted in compliance with rules and regulations, which is not always the case, therefore requires significant and costly wastewater reprocessing processes.
Dutch firm DyeCoo, founded in 2007, came up with a radical solution for dyeing polyester without using water. To achieve this, it developed the first carbon dioxide dyeing process. Its secret lies in the behaviour of CO2 which, when it isn't floating about in the atmosphere, liquefies under high pressure.

Therefore, all that is needed is to inject CO2 gas into a tank containing the textile and to increase the pressure to 250 bars for the dye, dissolved into the now liquid CO2, to permeate into the fabric. Once pressure has been returned to normal, the fabric has been dyed and remains bone-dry. What's more, 95% of the CO2 can then be reused.
Not only is this process environmentally sound, it is also twice as fast and helps to reduce production costs by 30 to 50 % thanks to the savings made in terms of energy and dye.

 

Recycled plastics given a brand-new lease of life

Fleece paved the way for fibres derived from recycling plastics. The Outdoor industry, carried by the wilderness trend, has long favoured technical textiles and has made these new materials its hobbyhorse. Established brands and new brands alike are competing for a part of this market through clothing made from 100% recycled polyester. 
Fashion designers are tuned in to "organic" fibres and have now adopted recycled materials. For accessories, certain brands such as Reversible are putting the emphasis on reusability with their bags made from PVC tarpaulins or vinyl floor coverings. But there are others who are banking on full recycling.

 

In this context, young Spanish entrepreneur Javier Goyeneche launched the Ecoalf brand in 2007 with the aim of using 100% recycled materials. His clothes and fashion articles are manufactured through processes leveraging local resources. The nylon used for the bags and swimsuits comes from disused fishing nets. The T-shirts and sweatshirts are made from recycled cotton. Surprisingly, he was the first to combine recycled polyester and fibres from recycled coffee grounds in certain articles of clothing.

Recycling textiles - unravelling the problem

The clothing collected for recycling is often made from various textiles and mixed fibres, which makes sorting a complex proposition…and separating fibres, all the more difficult. This explains why the recycling of textiles often results in non-woven fabrics commonly used in the automotive or construction industries and which only require pulping. 
However, separating the fibres to obtain materials suitable for spinning is quite a different matter!
In France, Mapéa has risen to the challenge and is currently experimenting with compounding. The process involves mixing textile fibres with other thermoplastic materials to produce pellets suitable for plastic injection.

 

Processes relying on the chemical dissolution of clothing can also be used to extract certain polymers, provided, however, that the fibres are not too heterogeneous.
Two Swedish companies have made their mark in this area. Re:newcell has developed a chemical process for separating cellulose fibres and manufacturing viscose. Sportswear manufacturer Klättermusen, for its part, relies on partners such as Teijin to recycle the synthetic fibres in their clothing. 
This Japanese company was a pioneer in this field and has been widely emulated throughout Asia. The Zhejiang Fuyuan Regenerated Resource company recycles the 100% polyester uniforms of the People's Liberation Army, which, given the numbers, simplifies sorting and supply.

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