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Naia™cellulosic fibers Researchers created

biodegrade within 13 weeks a fabric that can
‘Hear’ Heartbeat

A recent study from the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (WHOI), the world’s leading independent
nonprofit organization dedicated to ocean research, exploration, and education, shows that Naia™ Scientists at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and their collaborators at Rhode Island School of
cellulosic fibers entirely disintegrate in the ocean within 13 weeks, and are biodegradable within months, Design have created a fabric that can hear sounds around you and inside your body. The team wove a flexible
so they do not persist in our oceans. piezoelectric fiber into the fabric to create the garment. Piezoelectric materials “generate internal electrical
charge from applied mechanical stress,” per Sciencing’s Francine Mends. When the fiber is exposed to sound
This means that fabrics made with Naia™ have a reduced impact on the environment and help us on waves, vibrations create electrical signals—similar to how our ears work. The team wove the fibers in with
our mission to achieve a more sustainable fashion industry. Furthermore, Naia™ cellulosic fiber is traditional yarns to create panels, which they then sewed into a shirt.
produced in a safe, closed-loop process where solvents are recycled back into the system for reuse.
Naia™ is OEKO-TEX® 100 Product Class I certified and is made with no hazardous chemicals listed on The fibers can also amplify sounds, which could help those who are hard of hearing. This solution could also
the ZDHC Manufacturing Restricted Substances List. help detect cracks in buildings or be woven into a net to monitor fish.

With full transparency from tree to fiber, Naia™ is responsibly sourced from sustainably managed pine Piezoelectric materials have “huge potential” for a variety of applications. The researchers also tested whether
and eucalyptus forests and plantations to ensure no deforestation of ancient and endangered forests. clothes could act as a fabric stethoscope by sewing a single fiber into the inner lining of a shirt. It could be used
This effort to create a more sustainable textiles industry was recognized in Canopy’s 2020 Hot Button in maternity clothes in the future to monitor a baby’s fetal heartbeat, and the fabric can
Report, where Eastman ranked third for our sustainable production of Naia™ cellulosic fiber and was even be machine-washed.
acknowledged for fiber innovation through our recent launch of Naia™ Renew—a circular fiber produced
from a portfolio of hard-to-recycle waste materials diverted from landfill. Thus, switching to these fibers
could solve the pollution problem across the textile value chain.
Colorbox

Jeanologia’s new technology
for sustainable garment dyeing

S360o: A new circular textile cycle process promoting sustainability
The Spanish technology firm Jeanologia has Jeanologia technologies with no cost to the
Spain-based mill Textil Santanderina is closing the The textile waste is processed with stripping launched Colorbox, which allows brands to reduce environment was a key consideration in its
loop with its S360 production process. S360o is an machines that break the yarns and fabric into smaller water and chemical usage by 60 percent and energy development. The firm’s ozone G2 technologies give
innovative, sustainable circular cycle that gives pieces during the recycling process before pulling by 45 percent during garment dyeing. A key factor in Colorbox-dyed garments a natural color fade, while
fabrics a brand-new life. The solution takes pre-and them apart into a fiber. The mix is carded several Colorbox is that it allows brands to work at very low laser finishing can be applied to give garments a
post-consumer waste and upcycles it into new times to clean and mix the fibers before being spun liquor ratios (1:2-1:4), Silla said. Combining the low unique look.
textiles. At a recycling plant in Morocco, the fabric into new yarns and textiles. Textil Santanderina is a liquor ratio process with the nanobubbles, which
first goes through stripping machines that separate cutting-edge company located in Cantabria and one uses air instead of water for specific steps of the It is also possible to measure the environmental
the scraps into smaller pieces, and then the fibers are of the textile benchmarks for quality and service. The process, further reduces the use of resources. The impact of each garment finishing process with
carded to clean and combine before spinning. The company is customer-focused and has an extensive addition of Colorbox builds on Jeanologia’s efforts to Jeanologia’s EIM software for transparency.
product range that includes everything from cotton
mill saves on water, chemicals, and energy by classics to the latest innovations using technical save water. The company reports that the amount of Garments dyed with traditional processes have an
repurposing scraps and deadstock. fibers. water it has saved is comparable to the annual water EIM score of 49, which is medium impact, and
consumption of one million people.
garments dyed with Colorbox are low impact with an
Integrating Colorbox with other sustainable EIM of 30.

March/April 2022 March/April 2022