Fashion has a growing obsession with being branded ‘innovative’. Just a few years ago the pragmatic, proof-driven rationality of science and technology seemed at odds with the ephemerality of fashion. It seemed even more at odds with the aspirational storytelling typical of consumer brands. But we live in an age of renewed celebration and trust in science. We also recognise our vulnerability to climate change, which scientists explained decades ago, and is happening now to all of us, in our cities and towns. What then, could be more important than catapulting innovation to solve fashion’s environmental ills? Well, unchecked, innovation can be carried out for its own sake. And fashion does have a propensity to lean on the marketability of new materials and products, rather than tackling the biggest environmental and social problems first. It is therefore a relief that the latest development from materials science and apparel company Pangaia isn’t chasing a whizz-bang invention, but pragmatically puts existing materials to best use, to optimise what already exists. I spoke to their Chief Innovation Officer, Dr Amanda Parkes, to understand the industry’s scope for leveraging current materials and technologies, rather than reinventing the wheel while emissions rapidly escalate, and drought and floods ravage countries around the globe.
Dr Parkes has been on a global hunt for material innovations that will propel Pangaia into the sustainability stratosphere—including upcycling carbon emissions into textile printing ink and harvesting natural wildflowers as insulation for their winter coats, in place of animal down. These represent just two of dozens of innovations that the company is either sourcing or developing, but Dr Parkes is the first to admit that delivering materials that boast lower environmental impact than incumbent ones requires both short and long term material planning. “Sexy lab breakthroughs are just 10% [of the work Pangaia does]”, she says. The ambition of the company is to become “Earth Positive by 2023” and the “R&D portfolio spans evolution, revolution and disruption” she explains. Their newest materials, launching today—FRUT Fiber™ and PLNT Fiber ™, are “in the evolution category” she declares.
These two new fiber blends aim to offer brands and consumers an alternative to cotton. The reasons are many. Cotton demand is growing, but global capacity is limited by the vast amounts of water and land needed to grow it. Alternatives are needed to fulfil the ever-increasing demand, but the planet dictates that we cannot choose an alternative that threatens biodiversity, emits greenhouse gases or contains toxic chemicals—mistakes the textile and apparel industry has been making for decades. Pangaia’s solution is to source cellulose (the key component of cotton) from other plants—naturally abundant ones, that do not require intensive farming and chemicals to grow. They also regenerate naturally. Over the past year, the Pangaia team has tested cellulose fibers from 12 plant sources, to hit on a magic combination of superior softness, high performance and a lower environmental impact than organic cotton— the benchmark and the material they hope to replace in their product range with FRUT FIBER™ and PLNT FIBER™.
Pangaia has successfully developed and sourced the two cellulose fibre blends from fruit and plant raw material origins. The former contains cellulose from bamboo, pineapple and banana leaves. The latter blends bamboo, Himalayan nettle, eucalyptus, and seaweed. But isn’t all cellulose just, well, cellulose? Isn’t this effectively combining the same ingredient, just from a more diverse larder? The sustainability weary journalist in me wondered, could the trademark names merely be a branded nod to the raw source? It turns out that the names do represent varied fiber characteristics, which result from the different processing methods of the fibers. By combining chemically and mechanically processed fibres, the differing cellulose molecular chain lengths result in different tactile and tensile properties of the yarns. Dr Parkes reports a visible and tangible variation in the texture and lustre of the yarns, which carries through into the knitted jersey fabric that the company has developed.
Source: https://www.forbes.com/