Fashion is the next frontier for clean tech as textile waste mounts
Much of the fabric produced today is a blend of cotton and polyester, which is more durable than pure cotton. But the blended fibers are extremely difficult to separate and therefore challenging to recycle.
'It's so hard to mechanically separate them. You can't comb it apart,' says Sonja Salmon, a textile science professor at North Carolina State University. 'A machine will think it's the same thing.'
That's why Circ turned to chemistry instead. Its technology uses water as a solvent, plus pressure, to break down large polyester molecules — polymers — into their building blocks, or monomers, says Peter Majeranowski, the company's president. This helps separate the two types of fiber. Circ then purifies the polyester monomers and the cotton so they can both be reused in textile production.
The startup has spent significant time 'refining and developing our process to ensure that our materials are better than virgin, from a greenhouse impact,' says Majeranowski.
In addition to venture and supply chain investment, Circ has received investment from Patagonia, Inditex (Zara 's parent company) and the European fashion platform Zalando SE. The company would like brands to sign multi-year contracts to use material recycled with its technology. But making commitments for several seasons is uncommon in the industry, Majeranowski says — 'a muscle that brands aren't used to.'
Dyeing the fabric that gets sewn into garments is an energy-intensive step in the manufacturing process. Conventionally, pigments are heated to very high temperatures so that the color can bind. EverDye says it's found a way to do this with room-temperature water.
Mineral pigments used for textiles are generally negatively charged, says Christelle Chauffeton, a research scientist at EverDye. The fabric is also negatively charged, so the two have no affinity and the color won't adhere. That's why the dyeing process typically relies on additives, binders and high heat.
EverDye takes mineral pigment and 'synthesizes it directly on a nanoparticle of biopolymer,' says Chauffeton, that was chemically modified to be positively charged. When the biopolymer (or natural polymer) is put next to a negatively charged fabric, the pigment will go on the fabric without additives or the need for intense heat. Later, another application of heat causes the nanoparticles to come together and form a film on the surface of the fibers, trapping the pigment.
The startup can now dye fabrics brown, orange or yellow and is fine-tuning its approach to create blue, red and black hues. 'It takes time to adapt the formulas,' says Victor Durand, EverDye's head of operations.
It launched a small capsule collection last October and is doing pilot testing with brands including Lacoste and Petit Bateau. The company is currently raising money for its series A funding round.
'Our goal is to be a regular provider of dyes in the supply chain,' Durand says.
EverDye and Circ join a host of firms innovating in pursuit of lower-impact textiles, such as Boston-based Galy, which grows cotton in a lab to reduce the crop's heavy water and fertilizer use, and Algaeing, an Israeli startup that makes biodegradable yarns and dyes out of algae.
Buying clothing secondhand — or just buying less of it — is an effective way to shrink fashion's footprint. But the global business of making new garments isn't going away anytime soon. Circ, EverDye and their peers are working to clean up the process step by step.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Euronews
2 hours ago
- Euronews
Mental health innovations take centre stage at VivaTech Paris
VivaTech opened its doors this Wednesday in Paris, marking the start of Europe's most important tech and startup annual event. With more than 165,000 expected visitors and nearly 14,000 startups from over 50 countries, the ninth edition of the event is set to be the biggest yet. Just like last year, artificial intelligence (AI) is the star of the show. But this time, some of the most attention-grabbing innovations are those applying AI and tech to health care and mental well-being. 'Artificial intelligence is moving from science fiction to real-life application. And visitors will discover with the more than 13,000 start-ups what it is going to mean for business, for our everyday lives and our democracies," said François Bitouzet, Director General of VivaTech. There is a geopolitical context that is incredible in which tech and AI play a role, and we will analyse this during the next four days," he told Euronews. In a year marked by increasing geopolitical tensions and debates around technological sovereignty, Europe is looking to assert itself as a key player in AI innovation. But the tech fair also serves as a platform to explore how this technology can help address deeply human challenges. One such example is Emobot, a French startup developing an AI-powered tool that helps monitor mood disorders through a patient's facial expressions and voice. 'It's an app that is installed on the phone and on the computer. We analyse facial expressions every second while the patient uses their phone throughout the day," explained Antony Perzo, co-founder and CTO of Emobot. "We also analyse their voice. Then, we aggregate this data to monitor for symptoms of depression. All this data, we put it together and then make a dashboard for the doctor that allows them to follow the evolution of the mood disorder symptoms," he told Euronews. All this information is combined to generate a dashboard for doctors, allowing them to track the evolution of symptoms remotely. 'Psychiatry is one of the few disciplines where we can't visualise disorders. In other areas of medicine, we have MRIs or imaging tools. We wanted to create the first device capable of tracking and visualising mood symptoms over time. Think of it as a sort of thermometer for mental health', he said. Another mental health startup, AMOI, blends neuroscience with perfume to shift a person's mood in just minutes. Whether you're looking for focus, calm, energy or joy, AMOI claims its neuro-fragrances can deliver results within five minutes. With more than one in four people reporting feeling mentally unwell, AMOI's founder Pascale Fontaine, says her project is about offering accessible and enjoyable tools for emotional well-being. VivaTech runs until 14 June at the Porte de Versailles exhibition centre in Paris. The European debate on children's access to social media networks has begun, with three EU Member States promoting the idea of a "digital majority" or the age below which it would be forbidden to connect to such platforms. For France, Spain and Greece, the goal is to protect minors from dangerous online content. "Today, in the terms and conditions of use of these platforms, there is already a minimum age of 13," explains Clara Chappaz, the French Minister Delegate for Artificial Intelligence and the Digital Economy. However, Chappaz says: "We've all been children, it's very easy to change your date of birth. And so the current system means that, on average, children are logging on and creating accounts from the age of 7-8." France, Spain and Greece believe that the algorithms used by social networks expose the very young to addictive content that can ultimately lead to increased anxiety or depression. They also argue that excessive exposure may limit the development of certain skills and impair cognitive abilities. The EU currently has legislation in place in the form of the Digital Services Act (DSA), which tackles illegal online content such as hate speech, terrorism and child pornography. The law has been in place for almost two years for larger platforms and search engines, and just over a year for smaller organisations. But for industry representatives in Brussels, new legislation appears premature. "We believe that the new rules must first be properly applied. We haven't yet seen all the effects," says Constantin Gissler, Managing Director of Dot Europe, which represents online services and platforms in Brussels. "I think it's a bit hasty at this stage to be already discussing new rules and I think it's also very important that we take more account of the reality and implications for minors of such a ban," he adds. Paris, Madrid and Athens are also proposing the integration of age verification and parental control systems for devices connected to the Internet. The European Commission is currently working on an age verification application. Last month it published draft guidelines to protect minors, such as measures to verify the age of users or to set children's accounts as private by default. It is also conducting investigations against TikTok, Instagram and Facebook in relation to the protection of minors.
Fashion Network
3 hours ago
- Fashion Network
French Senate approves ‘anti-fast-fashion' bill chiefly targeting Shein, Temu
Louwagie said that the government will notify the European Commission of this bill even before the end of the joint parliamentary committee work that will start soon, and that the government will also work on the decrees regulating the bill's application, and notably define the thresholds that will formally identify an operator as 'ultra-express' or 'ultra-fast-fashion'. Before the vote, the representatives of the various Senate groups spoke to explain their positions on the vote. An opportunity to underline for some the positive amendments made to the bill, and its weaknesses for others. Many senators welcomed the removal of a provision of the 2022 anti-waste law on unsold goods, which allowed ultra-fast-fashion operators to benefit from tax allowances when donating unsold goods to charitable associations. The re-introduction of a blanket ban on advertising for ultra-express fashion operators was also appreciated. 'This law does not prohibit, it protects by defining what is abnormal. It protects our environment and that of our children. It protects the economy and our textile industry. We can be happy we are giving ourselves the means to achieve our goals,' said Nicole Bonnefoy, representing the Socialist, Ecologist and Republican group, adding that 'we welcome the re-introduction of article three, which will form a negotiation basis for requesting an amendment to the European e-commerce directive, so that these restrictive measures can be made to apply to companies based for example in Ireland.' Although the amendments have been approved by the groups, several points still prompted strong reservations. The introduction of the term 'ultra-express fashion' has led to much teeth-gnashing among environmental associations and sustainable fashion brands, which believe that the aim of fencing in all types of fast-fashion practices is no longer being pursued. Jacques Fernique of Ecologist group Solidarité et territoires insisted on this aspect, emphasising that the various laws will not enter into force for many months yet, since they have to be examined again by the European Commission and the joint parliamentary committee, something which won't happen before the autumn. 'Today's vote is a relatively positive step. Shein, Temu and Amazon are pushing to the extreme a business model that destroys local jobs and our city centres' appeal. But both ultra-express fast fashion and fast fashion adopt the same approach, selling transient, low-cost disposable products. This bill is targeting the ultra-fast fashion explosion, but we can't see why the penalties shouldn't potentially apply to everyone.' Fernique is campaigning for provisions that would 'push back against the kind of disposable fashion sold by foreign platforms but also by French and European companies. It's sustainable fashion that we ought to promote, regardless of the nationality of who sells it.' An issue which the majority of senators did not endorse. 'This bill has set a course. It doesn't pretend to solve everything, but it intends to draw boundaries,' said Valente Le Hir, who is affiliated with the Republican group and is the bill's rapporteur in the Senate. She has advocated for the middle ground in various issues, asserting that the Senate wants to draw up a 'stronger bill, not a travesty of it. We have said it's time to limit the excesses of express fashion without penalising those who are working towards greater sustainability in the industry. [The bill] has distinguished, within a poorly understood sector, what constitutes planned overconsumption and what constitutes sustainable innovation. We've clarified the target. We've drawn a clear line between what we want to regulate, ultra-express fast fashion as embodied by platforms like Shein and Temu, and what we want to preserve, in other words affordable, locally rooted fashion that generates jobs in France, that anchors our communities, creates connections and boosts local industry.' After the government will have sent the text over to the European Commission, the latter will have three to four months to comment. And while French MPs and senators will be working within the joint parliamentary committee, the Commission's analysis and observations will play a key role in the bill's final wording and provisions. In the meantime, the lobbying efforts that have been ongoing for months are set to continue.
France 24
4 hours ago
- France 24
Clothes at what cost? French fast fashion bill puts onus on Chinese brands
France's senate passed a bill to curb advertising and tax pollution on fast fashion, with lawmakers even talking up the distinction of ultra fast fashion - garments made in a hurry - more and more using polyester and other polluting plastics, shipped at warp speed by plane and which fall apart after only a few washes. Has the bill been partially stripped bare though? The new version seems to include a carve-out for European giants that peddle cheap clothes with the focus mostly now on China. In fact, Europeans like the Trump administration are working to close the tax loophole on the kind of small parcels that go out by the millions from small garment factories in China. And while the likes of Shein and Temu enroll big names to lobby, including a former European Commissioner and a former interior minister of Emmanuel Macron, we asked who's winning the hearts and minds of consumers in this battle over an industry that represents up to ten percent of humanity's carbon footprint.
