Textile Insight

January/February 2019 ~ Textile Insight • 33 textileinsight.com Planet-Saving Solutions F or industry critics who com- plain that "there's nothing new in textiles," we say: "Rubbish!" Efforts to mitigate textile "rubbish" in the form of fast-fashion discards, microfiber ocean pollution, and harmful chemicals leached into the environment are driving the devel- opment of disruptive textile technologies. In an article about sustainable energy for Forbes, Brett Trusko, president and CEO, The International Association of Innovation Professionals, explains, "Disruptive sustain- able technologies are those that change the sustainability algorithm." Perhaps the same could be said about today's new textile technologies. Compostable Clothing The issue of synthetic microfiber ocean pollution – which does not biodegrade and eventually enters the food chain – has put a damper on our love affair with the micropolyester fiber used in much of our outdoor and athleisure wear, even when made from sustainably-sourced, recycled synthetics. PrimaLoft's recent launch of PrimaLoft Bio, a biodegradable microfiber insulation made from recycled PET, has disrupted the outerwear world. It's infused with a proprietary substance that attracts microscopic bacteria that break down the fiber, leaving behind water, CO2, methane, and biomass. Third party tests show that the fiber decomposes more than 80 percent in land- fill in a little over a year (compared with year two for regular polyester insulation) and 50 percent in seawater (compared with zero percent for regular insulation material). The company quickly followed up with the introduction of PrimaLoft Bio Performance Fabric. "We realized we needed to expand the work we were doing on the insulation to performance fabrics," explains CEO Mike Joyce. With brand partners searching for biodegradable shell fabrics to complement the insula- tion, PrimaLoft is partnering with other component makers to develop fabrics using the PrimaLoft Bio technology. "You have to share and collaborate if the industry is going to make an environ- mental impact," Joyce notes. Calling the manufacturing of double velour microfiber fleece "the biggest waste- producing process" due to microfiber shedding, Joyce says the first PrimaLoft Bio fleece prototype has been completed. Plans are to have four or five iterations of Bio Performance knit fleeces and technical fabrics ready for Q1. "When a garment ends up in the trash or the wastewater stream, we want it to turn it into something natural. We're good at fiber, so let's solve that." Biosynthetics – plastics made from biomaterials – could eventually be even more disruptive. Co-founded by a team of female PhDs in 2010, Mango Materials uses methane and bacteria to create PHB (polyhydroxybutyrate), a degradable biopolymer with properties similar to polypropylene. "We call it 'the unplastic'" says Anne Schauer-Gimenez, the company's VP of customer engagement. According to Schauer-Gimenez, research is ongoing regarding the aesthetics and performance of the polymer. "We can add other things to the formulation to make it stretchy, or create or enhance other properties." The company is currently working with melt spinning partners to create both hard and elastomeric yarns that are lightweight, hydrophobic, and won't melt in the heat. Most importantly, the raw fiber takes a month to biodegrade in compost, and eight weeks in a marine environment. Commercialization is tentatively sched- uled for 2020 – "the sooner the better," says Schauer-Gimenez. At present capacity of 10m pounds per annum, the biopoly- mer costs out about double the price of petroleum-based synthetics. "At 100m pounds we will be competitive," she claims. "Methane is cheap if not free!" Polartec, a pioneer of technical fleece development, has created Polartec Power Air, a fabric technology that tackles the problem of microfiber shedding through an innovative knit structure that encases the insulating fibers inside a construction using continuous yarn. While not compostable, the "bubble-wrap" structure sheds five times less fiber than traditional high-pile insulating knits. The company developed a test- ing protocol that simulated dozens of home washings and captured the shed microfibers in order to determine the percentage of weight loss due to shedding. The company calls Polartec Power Air "a foundational technology platform that will eventually provide shedding reduction to all existing apparel categories." Rethinking Antimicrobials Silver-based antimicrobial technologies, used to control odor in sportswear and other apparel, are also of concern. The Swedish Water & Wastewater Association (Svenskt Vatten) recently reported that silver antimicrobial treatments regularly leach into the water cycle when the treated clothing is washed. "Companies which market odor-reducing treatment sometimes claim that no leaching takes place during washing. However, the Swedish Water & Wastewater Association has carried out washes in a laboratory setting and can demonstrate that leach- ing takes place in all silver treatments on sportswear," the report states. Sciessent's Lava XL uses zeolites, mineral-based substances from volcanic ash. Paul Ford, Sciessent TECHNOLOGY | INNOVATION How Sustainability Is Driving Today's Disruptive Textile Technologies. By Debra Cobb

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