Media package on algae textile dyes: The sustainable future for fashion
Modern textile dyes rely on unsustainable petrochemicals. Researchers are finding a new, more sustainable alternative in algae.
image: Algae Textile Dye Pigment
Credit: European Science Communication Institute gGmbH
The dyes used in the clothes industry almost always come from fossil-fuel based chemicals. In the long-term, this will not be sustainable.
In Sweden, scientists in the EU research project Locality are exploring whether algae can provide a more sustainable way to dye textiles.
Some algae materials are already used in textile fibres says Anna Björkquist, a research engineer at the University of Borås. She and her team are now exploring ways to use the pigments from algae to now dye textiles.
They are working with others in the project to create a waste-free production process.
In Norway, other partners in the project are growing algae using only light, water and the unneeded nutrients from a nearby fish farm.
The LOCALITY project is also using a mix of commercial and partner-supplied organic material in its dyeing trials. They are extracting pigments from this material using a solvent based on alcohol or water.
The microalgae used in the initial trials is Spirulina, which produces blue pigment. Ida Näslund from the start-up Mounid, near Gothenburg, experiments with it to develop the textile dyes.
She says that they previously used a two-step process to first dye the fabric and then treat it so that the dye remained on the clothes.
Their new “plug and play” method requires them to just apply the algae-based dye.
However, those initial small-scale trials must be approved and the dyes rigorously tested to prepare them for the textile industry. This is done at the University of Borås.
The key technical challenge is to apply the blue dye to the textile and make sure that the process works on an industrial scale. This means the drying process must be fast enough, and the shelf-life of the dyed fabric must be tested.
Right now, different binders and fixation methods are being tested to see how well the dyed fabric retains its colour.
Research shows that algae-based dyes could be part of the solution to achieving a sustainable textile industry. However, this would require a change in perspective.
“I think the industry is... realising that it's coming to its limits,” said Ida Näslund. “We need to change the way how we work with within the textile industry overall.”