Circular & Biobased Textiles Innovation Hub’s Post

This year's feature: The Labs on Fibre (LOF) Research Project Launched in March 2023, this groundbreaking initiative aims to explore and enhance recycling possibilities for post-consumer textiles, specifically targeting non-reusable textiles. In this project, prominent social economy actors in Flanders, including Oxfam, Kringwinkels, and We Make Hope, collaborate to tackle the challenge of recycling the substantial amount of textiles that cannot be reused. Together, these organisations gather over 20,000 tons of textiles annually, with approximately 10% classified as waste due to their non-reusability. Key Highlights: ☑️ Featuring multiple partners, this project underscores the importance of cooperation in textile recycling initiatives. ☑️ Transforming non-reusable post-consumer waste into new products, promoting sustainability. ☑️ Addressing the challenge of finding buyers for recycled materials, emphasizing the need for market development in the recycled product sector. The project is structured around six lab setups where partners investigate various recycling options for non-reusable textiles. These labs serve as experimental grounds for testing and developing new value chains on a micro-level, with the ultimate goal of scaling up successful processes upon completion of the research phase. Match with them! Are you a ☑️ Chain partner, organisations processing post-consumer textile streams, such as: denim, 100% cotton, polyester, poly-cotton and blends for felting. ☑️ Buyer, companies, brands and designers interested in implementing recycled materials in their products and ideas. ☑️ Company or tech startup that is developing new recycling technologies or materials processing methods. ☑️ Universities and research centre that specialize in materials science, sustainable development and improving circular chains. Join us to learn more about this innovative project and explore potential collaborations that can drive the future of textile recycling! 📅 18 & 19 September 2024 📍 1931 Congress Centre, ‘s-Hertogenbosch 🎟️ https://lnkd.in/d9MMrHh #CircularTextileDays #Sustainability #Innovation #CircularEconomy #TextileInnovation #GreenFuture

Here are a few exciting things in next-gen materials which have happened in April so far!🙌 1. Scientists at Imperial College London collaborated with Jen Keane, CEO of Modern Synthesis, to grow the upper part of a shoe using bacteria as an animal-free and plastic-free leather alternative and activated the production of black pigment from the bacteria, which dyed the material from the inside! Tom Ellis, Professor in Synthetic Genome Engineering, shared that this material is an environmentally preferable alternative that can be made without petrochemicals and will biodegrade safely.🙌 2. Copenhagen Fashion Week is not just setting trends but also standards in sustainable fashion! Starting next year, Copenhagen Fashion Week runways will ban collections containing virgin fur, animal skins, or feathers. Participating brands also are required to showcase products made using more sustainable materials. But will the other fashion weeks follow?💃 3. Dr Benjamin Droguet, Founder & CEO of Sparxell, and Professor Silvia Vignolini discovered ways to replicate vibrant colors in nature using plant-based cellulose. Backed by a recent $3.2 million funding round, including investments from the Circular Innovation Fund and L'Oréal, Sparxell aims to accelerate the development and commercialization of this renewable, toxin-free, and fully biodegradable resource to eliminate synthetic chemicals from colorants in cosmetics, fashion, paint, and packaging. 4. Joey 🌱 Pringle, Founder of Veshin Factory, announced new sister companies to support the scaling of next-generation materials. MATTTER, founded by Yidi Chen, provides material application tests and connects materials to brands while offering sustainability-related communication and marketing plans. LISHIN, founded by LUKE H., is driven by regenerative product design to give next-generation materials the best design applications ready for bulk production. With MATTTER and Lishin, Veshin Factory can collaborate and build successful partnerships with innovators at all stages to accelerate the transition.🤝 5. Hyosung Performance Textiles invests $1 billion towards establishing multiple Bio-BDO production plants capable of yielding 200,000 tons annually. Bio-BDO are produced by fermenting sugars derived from sugarcane, replacing traditional fossil raw materials such as coal by 100%. Powered by Geno BDO technology, this initiative not only accelerates the Materials Transition and production of sustainable materials derived from plant- or waste-based feedstocks but also offers a remarkable 90% carbon avoidance.🌎💡 For more industry news direct to your inbox, sign up for our newsletter here 👉 https://lnkd.in/gwSRxMgU #Materialinnovation #Nextgenmaterials #Innovation #Sustainability #Fashionweek

I3 RegioGreenTex project is also contributing to the Re Hubs strategy

1. 2. 3. 4. 5. The 5 seconds you took to read that - 100,000 plastic bottles have just been consumed worldwide. Yes, you read it right: in one 1 second, the world used 20,000 plastic bottles. The good news is: there are ways out. The future is already here. It’s just unevenly distributed. How to undo the pain of this uneven distribution? This is the mission we took upon ourselves: we are mapping the world’s entire map of suppliers who are producing materials that unf*ck the Earth. You can download the 1st version of the map. Link in the comment 📌 A sneak-peak? - Papkot™ 🇫🇷 Making packaging plastic-free, recyclable, and biodegradable by replacing plastic with pure paper - @Squim / MOGU 🇮🇹 Feeding mycelium with organic residues from other industries, to craft a new class of flexible mycelium materials - Modern Synthesis 🇬🇧 Crafting a new class of natural textiles, which displace animal-and-fossil-fuel derived alternatives. - ECOSILKY 🇻🇳 Creating natural and sustainable fabrics - from Banana, Pineapple to Lotus Organic Cotton fabrics - COPAR Smart Packaging 🇦🇺  Producing Australian made, sourced, owned wheat straw packaging And many more. What's next? You are more than welcome to join forces with us in this quest. And we have 2 little challenges for you: - #1: Which suppliers/innovators/manufacturers are we missing from the map? We need every single one of them. Let us know their names in the comment. - #2: We also look for experts in biomaterials. Why? We are brewing some good event for you in upcoming months. If you know one single expert we should definitely be in touch, tag them in the comment. A cleaner future is just around the corner. This is what we believe to our core. Let’s do this? #ACleanerFuture

Dive into cutting-edge innovations with our Circular & Biobased Textiles Innovation Hub! Explore the 5️⃣ innovation themes shaping our online formats: 🌿 Biobased Materials & Processes: Discover new biobased fibres and their applications. Learn essential facts for processing innovative biobased fibres. ♻️ Circularity/Recycling: Explore the latest in recycling technologies and their technical state-of-the-art. Uncover the availability, properties, limitations, and advancements of recycled materials. 🌱 Ecodesign: Delve into eco-design requirements and best practices for textiles and clothing. Master designing for durability, repairability, recyclability, and biodegradability. 🧪 Sustainable Chemistry: Explore alternatives to hazardous chemicals in processing and functionalisation chemicals. Learn how to minimise emissions of chemicals and microplastics throughout a textile product's lifecycle. 🌍 Sustainable Supply Chain: Optimise your supply chain for environmental, social, health, and safety requirements. Understand necessary data, standards, and certificates for textile sustainability management. Excitingly, our program evolves based on your input! Shape the discussion by suggesting topics, fostering flexibility in addressing emerging challenges, research developments, and innovations. Join us in advancing textile sustainability⬇ https://lnkd.in/e7-u2rpC

Many industries are being ushered into a more sustainable future whether they like it or not, due to regulatory mandates. But the reality is, we live in an era of fast fashion, where despite the best efforts of sustainability campaigners, people buy more clothes than they wear, resulting in them being burnt or ending up in landfills.  Less than 1 per cent of used textiles worldwide are recycled into new textile fibres. But now, a novel technology is changing things for the better. German startup eeden has developed a chemical process that recovers cellulose from cotton and transforms polyester into its basic building blocks. Both raw materials can then be processed into new, high-quality textile fibres and given a second life, creating a sustainable and economically beneficial closed loop. I spoke to Steffen Gerlach, co-founder of eeden, to find out more. 

Today, we are launching the SOLSTICE project, focusing on 𝘀𝘂𝗽𝗽𝗼𝗿𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘀𝘂𝘀𝘁𝗮𝗶𝗻𝗮𝗯𝗹𝗲 𝗴𝗿𝗼𝘄𝘁𝗵 𝗶𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝘁𝗲𝘅𝘁𝗶𝗹𝗲 𝘀𝗲𝗰𝘁𝗼𝗿 by enhancing recycling with new sorting methods, and ensuring feedstock traceability using the Digital Product Passport🧶 SOLSTICE is based on a holistic approach that encompasses all stages of waste prevention, 𝗴𝘂𝗶𝗱𝗲𝗱 𝗯𝘆 𝗮 𝟱𝗥 𝘀𝘁𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗲𝗴𝘆: 𝗥𝗲𝗷𝗲𝗰𝘁/𝗥𝗲𝗱𝘂𝗰𝗲, 𝗥𝗲𝘂𝘀𝗲, 𝗥𝗲𝗽𝗮𝗶𝗿,𝗥𝗲𝗽𝘂𝗿𝗽𝗼𝘀𝗲 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗥𝗲𝗰𝘆𝗰𝗹𝗲. These solutions will be tested and refined in 𝗱𝗲𝗺𝗼𝗻𝘀𝘁𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝘀 𝗰𝗼𝗻𝗱𝘂𝗰𝘁𝗲𝗱 𝗶𝗻 𝟰 𝗘𝘂𝗿𝗼𝗽𝗲𝗮𝗻 𝗰𝗶𝘁𝗶𝗲𝘀 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗿𝗲𝗴𝗶𝗼𝗻𝘀: Grenoble (France), Berlin (Germany), Prato (Italy), and Catalonia (Spain). Coordinated by Axel'One, an open innovation platform in chemistry-environment in France, the consortium includes 24 partners from 7 European countries: ALIA SERVIZI AMBIENTALI SpA, Circle Economy, Circular Berlin, Cromogenia-Units, SA, Denge Kimya A.S., Departament d'Acció Climàtica, Alimentació i Agenda Rural de la Generalitat de Catalunya, German Institutes of Textile and Fiber Research, Fuchshuber Techno-Tex GmbH, Grenoble-Alpes Métropole, IFTH, INDRESMAT®, Leitat Technological Center, LYON INGENIERIE PROJETS, Comune di Prato, Next Technology Tecnotessile, Pellenc ST, POLYMERIS, Recyc'Elit🌍, Spin-PET srl “ Solutions for your Innovation", TECHTERA, TEXFOR - Confederación de la Industria Textil, Textile ETP and Université Claude Bernard Lyon 1's Institut Lumière Matière Discover more about SOLSTICE⬇ https://lnkd.in/eSXFYDn5

With an estimated 92 million tonnes of textile waste created each year, most of which ends up in landfills or burned, the textile industry is relying on innovation to become more sustainable. The German #startup eeden has developed a chemical #recyclingtechnology that targets the recycling of cotton-PET blends. The technology recovers cellulose from cotton and transforms polyester into its basic components. Both products can then be processed into new, high-quality textile fibres. #upcycling #circulareconomy More via Springwise https://lnkd.in/gFBAtwcM

While Asia accounts for one-third of clothing exports worldwide, research shows that less than 1% of clothing textiles recycled in Europe are used to create new clothes - but this may be about to change. Surprisingly, the technology to make recycling clothes possible has only just been invented. It will be interesting to see how this technology progresses and if it can aid a circular economy. https://lnkd.in/gh-djTTJ

🚀ACHEMA 2024: What were the highlights? True to myself, I am fashionably late once again reporting on Sustainability news, but at least this one makes up with a lot of interesting innovations to cover! During ACHEMA, held in Frankfurt last June, start-ups showcased in the field sustainable textile dyes, alternatives to microplastics, innovative recycling technologies, and AI-supported applications, placing sustainable chemistry in the front of everyone's minds again! The main aim of these innovations are towards waste reduction, emission lowering, and alignment to ever tightening sustainability standards. ACHEMA 2024 helped these industries get visibility on a global stage. Here are a few examples! 🎻 Vienna Textile Lab Developing biodegradable dyes and pigments from microorganisms, partnering with fashion brands and textile mills to drive sustainable manufacturing. 🥤 BIOWEG Creating bio-based, 100% biodegradable alternatives to fossil chemicals, replacing microplastics with high-quality functional ingredients. 🍼 Mavisol Utilizing AI-powered quality monitoring for PET packaging production, enabling the wider use of recycled PET without compromising quality. ♻ Plastale Presenting solutions for the circular economy, co-exhibiting at the ISC3 booth to connect with global investors and stakeholders. 🌳 Banyan Nation Providing innovative recycling technologies that support a circular economy, showcased at the Innovation Stage. Other innovative start-ups like Energy Robotics GmbH, Coac GmbH, Nextmol, Blueplasma Power, ETB Technologies, FRE Technologies, AllocNow, UniteLabs, and Exomatter also joined in the fray and presented groundbreaking ideas, further advancing sustainable chemistry. Have a look at the article for more insights! #Sutainablewednesday