MATERIAL INNOVATION AND SUSTAINABLE FASHION ALGAE

MATERIAL INNOVATION
AND
SUSTAINABLE FASHION ALGAE

2023 APRIL ISSUE

NARRATED | ANGIE LEE
PHOTO SOURCING | NG TSZ CHING, NATALIE
EDITED | IAJ TEAM

From the Desk of the Publisher

This material, algae, is still at its early stage of development and before it will become the staple material like cotton, it will still take a very long process and many of the processes will need to have the education for the consumers and the commercial promotions.

The writer, Angie, has told us all the benefits due to algae’s biodegradable nature and since it is growing in the water, it doesn’t take any fertilizers and also no farming equipment that are used on land would be applicable.

Also its use is unlimited, and for clothing and textiles, medical gears, uniforms, the personal protective equipment, natural dye stuff, plastic packaging, food.

I even suspect that it can be inexpensive for some of the staple applications. Let’s keep an open mind to accept the product once it has arrived in the market.

What is Material Innovation and Sustainable Fashion?

It may not come as a shock that fashion industry is the second biggest polluter in the world due to fast fashion trends. Scientists are working on the climate impact of the fashion industry as it is such a good model of the industry for us to learn. Also the kind of interconnected issues and worldview allowing it to progress forward as it has a history at the beginning of the textile industry.

In the 1930s, nylon, a commercially effective synthetic fiber was exceptionally accepted as a revolutionary material. Nylon supplanted silk and used in stockings, carpets, clothing, hoses, seatbelts, etc. It was developed during the processing of polymers which derived into nylon materials such as: acrylic, spandex, vinyl and polyester. They are all coming from plastics made from petroleum-derived polymers.

Polyester, one of the foremost common soft plastic utilized within the textile industry, is a prime derivative. In fact, the non-biodegradable fiber can be found in an estimated of 60% of the clothing. According to Business Insider and based on a report from the International Union for Conservation of Nature: “Between 15% to 31% of the estimated 9.5 million tons of plastic are discharged into the oceans and can be utilized as renewable feedstocks. The microplastic, which comes from the micro-polyester and almost two-third of which comes from the washing machine while processing synthetic textiles.”

Since the mass generation accepted the plastic 60 years ago, mankind has delivered over eight billion metric tons of plastic, just 9% has been reused, and another 12% burned. The rest, nearly 80% of the plastic ever produced became landfills which has affected our natural environment. Some of them found their way into waterways, streams, rivers and oceans. Plastic is collecting in our oceans at a disturbing rate – the biggest concentration of ocean plastic disposal, and the incredible Pacific trash found between California and Hawaii, is assessed for three times the area of France, whereas the heart-breaking pictures of sea creatures entangled in plastic are shockingly common. Plastic pollution has gotten to be an unforgivable issue.

With these alarming statistics, environmentalists have looked for conceivable solutions to moderate down or prevent further harm. The common population is developing more mindful of the issues with fast fashion and seeking more sustainable options. Scientists and designers are now looking at alternative fabrics and using fibers that can replace the use of polyester fiber and avoid these harmful microfibers from tainting our oceans.

On the other hand, there are three key points we have to consider when we are using natural fibers. Firstly, the growing of the fibers which is depending on freshwater for irrigation, and during the period the use of chemicals for the pesticides. Secondly, the dyeing of textiles which is using an abundant water and chemicals for coloring and softening. And thirdly, during the production process in every stage, the utilization of energy is required.

Scientists and fashion innovators targeted, “ Harness the power of renewable algae to create a genuine impact against climate change.” A green solution is not only referring to food, or pharmaceuticals, but the searching from oceanic life forms as sustainable materials is becoming a viable solution. Algae becomes one of the very powerful green solutions, especially for fashion. Algae-based fibers are sustainable and can become the materials that can be morally used and to help cotton for instance which is more expensive and has been extensively used in our fashion industry.

How Can Algae Materials Revolutionize Fashion?

Algae and fashion has never had anything to do with one another. Algae is not only food to eat, it could well be the eco-friendly ingredient that will limit the impact on the environment. For the time being, with the substitution of the petroleum-based materials that prevailed in the world and are presently polluting it is more common to utilize fabric made from agricultural industry using renewable plants like sugarcanes and corns. Be that as it may, considering the growing of crops on a scale essential to cover our plastic enslavement would require a massive amount of fertilizers whose production creates a large amount of greenhouse gas emissions and the farming gears using fossil fuels. Meantime, to achieve our new need for bioplastics, forests and other lands would have to changeover to rural utilization. Therefore, these are not the best ways to form materials by growing crops and cultivating woodlands in places that are already rich in biomass.

Algae is the one of critical biodegradable fibers for the next revolutionary material. Algae are rich in protein and absorbed the carbon dioxide. There are now a few textile materials out there in the market that have algae in their compositions.

What is so extraordinary about algae? According to the Fashion Journal, there is a small but increasing group of innovators believe in the using of living bacteria, like algae, is the key to zero-waste sustainable fabric. It can be made in bioreactors so it doesn’t require large amount of land or the use of harmful pesticides. It is also totally biodegradable with all pieces breaking down into non-toxic substance when tossed away.

Scientists have used 3D printing to form a tough, sustainable material from algae that could be utilized to make clothes and labels. Since the material, reported in the journal Advanced Functional Materials, is made of living, that means breathing algae, and clothing made from it would be photosynthetic, absorbing carbon dioxide from the air and breathing out oxygen just like plants. Furthermore, the material is simple to produce on large scale and is biodegradable.

Bio-textile like this may offer options to change the direction of the modern fashion industry, which nowadays is an environmental disaster. Manufacturing clothes for ever-changing low-cost fashion comes in more carbon emissions than flying and shipping industry combined.

As a greener alternative, a few companies and designers are approaching eco-friendly fashion based on algae. Algae does not take up precious land, grows incredibly fast, and uses much less water and resources than accustomed natural materials such as cotton, wool or silk. But on its own, it is not a tough material that can cope with durability for a long time.

In China, the blooming of the algae that have clogged the waterscapes in Qingdao in 2008 when the city was hosting the Olympics sailing contest. The waters off Qingdao, a major port city on the Yellow River, had been covered by green algae since late June. The city dispatched thousands of boats to scoop up the plants, which covered 1,746 square kilometers of the waterway.

However, the modern alginate fiber is processed to turn destructive algae into a valuable resource for future. Since 2010, a few plants and technological companies were joined by Qingdao University and Qingdao Xiyingmen group, one of the largest leading textile companies in China. The environment-friendly fiber was created from different species of algae at national laboratory for materials and textiles. Exploring the process of algae, extract fiber and producing fabrics. It is a noteworthy development to have valuable-added fiber for high-tech fabric and medical textiles such as bandages, fire-proof gear for fire-fighters, medical uniforms and other protective clothing. The high-strength alginate fiber can moreover be extracted from brown algae, green algae and a few of those destructive algae known to be harmful to marine ecology. As China is one of the world’s largest algae aquaculture and manufacturing countries, the country accounted for more than 50% of the world’s total output. Algae farms have also begun to emerge in Europe recently.

What Else Can Algae Made For?

In 2014, one Israeli startup is exploring a non-toxic, biodegradable and low-energy textile by algae. Algae is utilized to form natural fibers and dye with less water, and creating zero waste and pollution. Another Israeli company Algatech, make vertical algae cultivation which is developed in seawater indoor and runs on solar energy. It’s not at all like cotton, it doesn’t take up agricultural land and has no carbon emission and doesn’t need any fertilizer.

Algatech changes the algae into a liquid formula for dyeing or turning into textiles when combined with cellulose, a fiber plant, which garment manufacturers can do it using Algatech’s exclusive recipe.

In 2020, A joint project aimed to develop a more sustainable alternative to ascertain the chemical textile dyestuff. Sustainability and the environment are at the forefront for workwear manufacturer Fristads, startup company Mounid and knowledge center Wargon Innovation. It is a 4-8% of the total climate impact in the world by the textile industries. Traditional textile dyeing makes up a quarter of that emission and the process is also extremely water and chemical-intensive.

There are two revolutionary innovations for this project- Algae ink from Mounid AB, and Göteburg in Sweden. The other one is digital spray technology from Imogo AB, Limhamm/Sweden.

The algae ink colors allow us to make products that will secure both nature and human well-being. And it is appropriate for innovative resource-efficient spray-dyeing techniques, so with algae ink combined with these innovations, we will be able to spare further water and energy utilization by almost 90%. Algae ink for spray-dyeing techniques is the hope for common utilization soon.

The Mounid’s unique process is a digital technique and advanced method since they were the foremost resource-efficient technique and an alternative non-toxic color solution suitable for digital coloring procedures. They made a few inquiries about colors in nature and got into algae and became totally fascinated by its range of colors. They are doing a pilot venture and the objective is to promote soon. The goal is to have at least 4 demonstrations from participating brands ready for market by the end of the project in autumn 2023.

Numerous microalgae are consumable and are cultivated commercially in Southeast Asian countries, where they are prevalent for cooking and supplements. There are utilized prominently for different purposes. Algae is an excellent substitute for chemical fertilizers, chemical dyes and pigments. It controls the emissions of carbon, and carbon compounds. Advanced innovation has procured numerous valuable substances from them. Currently, they serve for multiple purposes, making fibers for making high-tech fabrics, personal protective equipment (PPE), textiles for medical field, firefighters and medical bandages, which may also fall into PPE. Algae also has the potential to replace plastic packaging.

In a big step towards sustainable fashion, scientists create more biodegradable carbon-capturing textiles from algae. The demand is increased by numerous fashion brands utilizing sustainable materials for the fashion trend. Algae innovation keeps developing and algae will be the substitutes for plastic and chemical dying stuff and can be used extensively. Biodegradable fiber materials reduce gas emissions and without take up agricultural land. While the cost of algae keeps reducing for more common use in the market and it will be the key textile material and dye stuff in nearly future.