Successes in the Fibre Sector

Successes in the Fibre Sector

Fibres and textiles make up a substantial portion of the materials and products in the Netherlands, and these are used in a variety of sectors, from clothing and upholstery, to industrial filters and transportation products. In 2019, a total of 5,973 kton of textile was available in the textile industry in the Netherlands, of which 646 kton was newly produced [1]. In the same year, 554kton was disposed of, either as waste within the Netherlands, or as second-hand textiles for export [1].

For applications in clothing textile, many natural fibre types are unfortunately also too coarse, meaning that they either do not see use or are only used for lower value applications, thus not stimulating their incorporation into industry. These two factors combined lead to the increasing use of synthetic, often oil-based, fibres instead of natural fibres. The result of this is an increasing demand for oil-based fibres, while readily available natural fibres pile up, unused.

In 2023 and 2024, great steps have been made in the development of the fibre sector, both in terms of efficiency of application, and in the types of fibres that are being used. These steps are focussed on maximising the circularity of fibres and materials that have already been made, and encouraging the development and use of innovative natural fibres and textiles that are biodegradable where possible, that are made from biobased sources (such as plant material, or wool).

Sectors

  • Recycled fibres – Developing methods to, and business cases around, reusing pre-existing fibres.
  • Natural Fibres – Developing applications for existing natural fibres.
  • Innovative fibres – Developing new fibre types from new sources.
  • New Materials – Developing new materials based on new/existing fibres.

Recycling Fibres

The recycling of old fibres is as important as the production of new ones. There has already been an investment of material and energy in producing those old fibres, making it important, both environmentally and economically to get as much use out of them as possible before they are disposed of. There are many ways to achieve this, and several recent innovative approaches:

Groningen Werkt Circulair

Within Groningen Werkt Circulair (GWC), one of the focus points is the development of a new type of textile workplace, for experimentation and the facilitation of circular textile use. The central principle is to build a system for a society without waste in the province of Groningen [2]. This means the development of a circular textile loop, where used textiles not suitable for direct reuse are collected, and mechanically (thus avoiding the need for chemicals) returned to raw fibres. The fibres can then be used within the workplace (see right), both by members of GWC and external parties, in art/production experiments and the production of new textiles.

Human Material Loop

Human Material Loop focusses specifically on creating value for human hair and reusing it to make a variety of textiles. They are developing a technique to refine human hair collected from hairdressers and barbers, softening the hair and making it suitable for use in the production of clothing textiles [3]. Through this process, human hair could become one of the next innovative natural fibres, one that is readily available and whose use can both reduce waste and provide renewable alternatives for currently available non-renewable textiles.

The CuRe Process [4]

CuRe focusses specifically on the extended recycling of pre-existing polyester, to reduce the quantities that are constantly being disposed of. To do this, they have developed a processing method, to wash and decolourise polyester from a variety of sources, including textiles. This decolourised material is then processed according to their CuRe process, returning it to colourless granulate, ready to be used again.

Natural Fibres

There is something of a revival of natural fibres as they are increasingly becoming regarded as a cornerstone in efforts to reduce the environmental impact of the textile industry. Both familiar fibres from days of old, and new innovative fibres are being developed, increasing the options for natural fibres, and the applications where they are being used again.

Project: Wad van Waarde [5]

The Wad van Waarde project in the north of the Netherlands aims to stimulate the return of linen as a valued natural fibre within the consumer textile industry, and to reintroduce flax as a fibre crop grown in the Netherlands. To do this, partners in the project have developed several linen-based products (see below).

Project: SHEEPWOOL [6]

Alongside the value increasing aims of Wad van Waarde, there is an international collaboration between the UK, the Netherlands, Israel, Greece, and Belgium looking both to stimulate the use of otherwise unusable wool types, by developing innovative applications that maximise the beneficial aspects of wool, and to encourage sustainable practices in sheep farming, raising native sheep species, and taking a holistic approach to raising sheep, considering the impact on both the sheep, and on the environment, of different practices.

Innovative Fibres

Alongside existing natural fibres, there are efforts to develop new fibres based on some surprising materials. Among these are substances we’ve all seen before, but perhaps never thought of as a potential textile: spider silk, and fungi.

Spider Silk [7]

Spintex is a British company founded in 2018, which is developing alternative silk materials, based on spider silk. They have developed a way to mimic the structural makeup of spider silk artificially, based on a liquid protein gel.

They claim that their silk threads can be produced from this liquid protein gel at room temperature, and that the fibres are biodegradable, due to the protein gel they are made of. The use of this synthetic protein gel removes the need for direct use of spider silk, preventing potietial issues surrounding the use of animals in the production of the silk, and presents the opportunity for the process to be more easily scaled up.

Mycelium

Fungus grows by extending mycelium fibres (hyphae) through the surface the fungus is growing on, creating a network [8]. This network gives stability to the fungus and acts as a root structure, ands this structure can be pressed to create sheets of material.

Mylium [9]: Mylium is usng this technology to develop an alternative for traditional leather that is vegan, but does not use ant polymers (plastic), as is the case with many current vegan leathers. To do this, Mylium grows mycelium in liquid culture, adding binders to improve the strength of the networks formed. This mixture is shaped to make material sheets, dried and coated to give additional properties.

MycoTEX: [10]

MycoTEX has developed technology to grow mycelium (the root-like structures that support mushrooms) into specific forms. This means they are able to use this technique, in combination with 3D technology, to effectively grow clothing items. The idea behind this is that thisa removes the need for cutting and sewing materials to make clothes, thus reducing the waste produced by these processes. Additionally, the use of mycelium to make these clothing items means that the items are biodegradable, preventing clothing textile waste when the garment has reached the end of its life.

Image taken from: https://hollandcircularhotspot.nl/case/mycotex-3d-produced-sustainable-textile-products-from-mushrooms/

New Materials

Natural Fiber Welding (NFW) [11]

NFW has developed a series of biobased materials, designed as alternatives to current polymer-based (plastic) and animal-derived materials. These materials include alternatives to leather [12], textile fabric [13], rubber soles for shoes [14], and foam sheets [15]. These materials are used in a variety of sectors, from fitness and footwear, to furniture and the autommotive sector. The goal with these materials is to provide more sustainably-conscious materials for use in high-tech applications.

Animal-free fur: Savian [16]

Savian has developed a technique to avoid the need for animal fibres, or polymer (plastic) based alternatives in the creation of fur and fur-like textiles. They make use of renewable plant fibres from nettle, hemp, and flax, alongside agricultural waste, to provide the resources for their production process. In doing so, they claim to have achieved a CO2  output reduction of between 40 and 90%.

Conclusion

There are a huge number of innovations being developed throughout the textile sector, at all stages of design and production. Those mentioned here represent just a few of the recent ones. There is still a long way to go, with textile work remaining a sector where a paradigm shift regarding the value of the textile and the labour needed to make it is necessary, but every step in the right direction makes a difference. The most important part, now that textile innovations are taking off, is not to rest on our laurels, but to keep pushing for more innovation, revaluation of textile and textile workers, and inversing sustainability in the industry.

 

References

[1] Van Oorschot J., Van der Voet E., Van Straalen V., Tunn V., Delahaye R., Voorraden in de maatschappij: de grondstoffenbasis voor een circulaire economie deel 2, Novenber 2020, Universiteit Leiden, [Online] Available from: file:///C:/Users/JonSaltEcoras/Downloads/Rapportage%20Voorraden%20in%20de%20maatschappij%202020%20final.pdf, Accessed on: 13/8/2024.

[2] Groningen Werkt Circulair website, date not specified, [Online] Available from: https://groningenwerktcirculair.info/, Accessed: 13/8/2024.

[3]: Human Material Loop, Date Not Specified, [Online] Available from: https://humanmaterialloop.com/, Accessed on: 23/9/24.

[4] CuRe Techniology, Date Not Specified, How it works, [Online] Available from: https://curetechnology.com/how-it-works/, Accessed on: 23/9/24.

[5]: Wad van Waarde, Date Not Specified, WadProducten [Online] Available from: https://www.wadvanwaarde.nl/wadproducten/, Accessed on:23/9/24.

[6]: University of Thessaloniki, European Wol Association,Start date TBC, Sheepwool Project, Contact: ewa@europeanwoolassociation.org.

[7]: Spintex, Date Not Specified, Technology, [Online] Available from: https://www.spintex.co.uk/technology, Accessed: 23/9/24.

[8] Islam, M.R., Tudryn, G., Bucinell, R. et al. Morphology and mechanics of fungal mycelium. Sci Rep 7, 13070 (2017)

[9]: Mylium, 2022, Technology, [Online] Available from: https://www.mylium.nl/technology/, Accessed on: 23/9/24.

[10]: MycoTEX, Date Not Specified, 3D produced sustainable textiles from mushroom roots, [Online], Available from: https://hollandcircularhotspot.nl/case/mycotex-3d-produced-sustainable-textile-products-from-mushrooms/, Accessed: 23/9/24.

[11]: Natural Fiber Welding, Materials, 2024, [Online], Available from: https://nfw.earth/materials, Accessed: 20/8/2024.

[12]: Natural Fiber Welding, MIRUM, 2024, [Online], Available from: https://nfw.earth/mirum, Accessed: 20/8/2024.

[13]: Natural Fiber Welding, CLARUS, 2024, [Online], Available from: https://nfw.earth/clarus, Accessed: 20/8/2024.

[14]: Natural Fiber Welding, PLIANT, 2024, [Online], Available from: https://nfw.earth/pliant, Accessed: 20/8/2024.

[15]: Natural Fiber Welding, TUNERA, 2024, [Online], Available from: https://nfw.earth/tunera, Accessed: 20/8/2024.

[16]: Savian, Date Not Specified, About Savian, [Online] Available from: https://www.savian.bio/, Accessed on: 23/9/24.