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Projects For The Future Of The Textile Industry
Woolpower is constantly evolving, and our goal is to make things a little better every day. That’s why we lead and take part in several projects together with other companies, organizations and institutes to move the Swedish textile industry forward. Here are some of the projects we have previously participated in.
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Can algae be the solution for future textile dyeing?
Wet processes in textiles, such as dyeing, account for a large share of the total environmental impact. Dyeing is a resource-intensive process that requires large amounts of water, energy and chemicals.
Today, Woolpower’s yarn is dyed in a closed system by our yarn supplier in Germany. By participating in the project Algbläck for non-toxic and low-carbon textile dyeing, we are working together with partners to develop innovative technologies that could eliminate fossil-based raw materials in the future and reduce the use of water, energy and chemicals.
Foto: Mounid
Algae-based dyeing
The spray technique reduces waste and enables flexible, on-demand production. It also significantly lowers the use of water, chemicals and energy compared to conventional textile dyeing, where garments are dyed in large dye baths. Instead, the color is sprayed onto the fabric from both sides, penetrating and bonding with the fibers.
In the ongoing algae ink project, different shades of blue and green have recently been tested on cotton, wool and polycotton fabrics to evaluate factors such as color adhesion and intensity. The algae ink, developed by Mounid with Ida Näslund leading the work alongside researchers Niklas Strömberg and Susanne Ekendahl, is completely non-toxic and fully biodegradable, unlike conventional dyes.
The results are promising. The colors are evenly applied to the fabrics, and the shades are vibrant and rich. Some of the challenges the project is working to solve include ensuring the color withstands repeated machine washing at 60°C, in line with the companies’ requirements for color fastness.
The goal of the project is to develop at least four prototypes from participating brands.
Project partners:
Mounid
Baux AB
Fristads Kansas AB
IVL Swedish Environmental Research Institute
Martinson, Imogo AB
Sjuhäradsbygdens Färgeri
Stromtech
Miljösus
Woolpower Östersund
Wargön Innovation
The project is supported by Vinnova within the Sustainable Industry program.
Woolpower participated in the project Algae Ink for non-toxic and low-carbon textile dyeing between 2021 and 2023. The algae ink developed by Mounid is non-toxic and biodegradable, and the spray dyeing technique reduces waste as well as the use of water, energy and chemicals. During the first phase of the project, prototypes were created on various materials, including our yarn, before the focus shifted entirely to cellulose dyeing after the initial stage. The project included testing of color fastness, life cycle analyses and the identification of circular business models.
The project has now been completed. Although we will not proceed with dyeing our yarn using algae ink, it has provided valuable insights into sustainable dyeing methods and opportunities for a more circular textile value chain.
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Can we extend the life of wool fibers?
According to circular principles and a life cycle perspective, the goal is for the fibers used in garments to be recycled indefinitely. This is a major challenge facing the entire textile industry. For us, it is important to contribute to industry development and drive innovation. That is why, in 2021, Woolpower initiated a collaboration with RISE and Filippa K to explore whether wool can be chemically recycled.
Photo: RISE
Extend the life of wool fibers
Wool that is mechanically recycled multiple times eventually becomes too short to be spun into new products. The vision of this project is to break down the wool fiber into its core components and then spin it into a new filament fiber, similar to viscose.
If successful, this could help close the loop for wool through true “closed loop recycling.”