Pioneering methods to Improve textile recycling rates and encourage eco-friendly dyeing techniques using lasers and enzymes were launched at one of the UK’s leading sustainability exhibitions. The Future Fabrics Expo featured over 10,000 varied textiles and solutions aimed at assisting the fashion industry to take up sustainable materials and move towards circular practices.
Amongst the exhibitors were the Textile Engineering and Materials Research Group (TEAM) from De Montfort University Leicester (DMU), displaying collaborations that could potentially provide alternative materials and solutions to diminish the environmental impact of textile production, easing the industry’s shift towards circularity.
At the Expo, the joint efforts led by Professor Jinsong Shen of DMU and Loughborough University emphasised innovations such as laser technology for applying dyes directly onto textiles with considerably lower energy, water, and chemical consumption in comparison to traditional methods. Furthermore, biotechnological approaches utllising enzymes for dyeing textiles provided a sustainable option to conventional dyeing techniques, leading to energy savings and diminished effluent waste.
Researchers from DMU and Loughborough, emboldened by industrial partners such as Camira Fabrics, the Woolmark Company, and Fox Brothers and Co Ltd., also showcased a pioneering biotechnology approach developed through a BBSRC-funded project. This comprised recycling waste wool and wool/bast fiber mixed fabrics, unscrambling flax and hemp fibers from the waste materials and recovering dyes into powder form from redundant wool fabrics. This novelty holds promise for reprocessing recovered dyes to dye or print virgin wool fabrics, potentially making mixed textile materials recyclable and trimming down on landfill waste.
The Expo engrossed a diverse audience keen to explore environmentally friendly solutions to the challenge confronting the fashion industry, especially concerning the sizeable environmental footprint of conventional dyeing processes, which consume huge quantities of water and energy.
Professor Jinsong Shen, leading DMU’s TEAM, shared, “We are thrilled at the opportunity to display our innovative technologies in the Innovation Hub Zone at this year’s Future Fabrics Expo. These pioneering innovations showcase our commitment to promoting textile sustainability and supporting the industry’s shift towards circular practices.”
