Page 80 - November-December-2018
P. 80

80                                                                                                                                                                                                                             81
                                           Solar panels embedded



                                           in clothes can charge                                                                               HeiQ Pure SPQR - Triple action


                                           mobile phone




            Nottingham Trent University has developed a way to   invisible to the naked eye and cannot be felt by the                   sustainable odour control technology
            embed miniaturized solar cells into yarn that can be   wearer. For all intents and purposes, garments
            knitted and woven into textiles. Tiny solar cells the   appear exactly the same as any other form of
            size of a flea can allow wearers to generate electricity   clothing despite having the capability to generate
            on the move and charge items like mobile phones   electricity.
            and smart-watches.
                                                              Embedding miniaturized solar cells into yarn, clothing
            The technology has been tested and proven to      and fabric can be created that generate power in a
            charge a mobile phone and a Fitbit. The cells are   sustainable way. Up to 200 miniaturized cells can
            encapsulated in a resin which allows the textile fabric   generate 2.5-10 volts and up to 80 miliwatts in power.
            to be washed and worn like any other form of      The university’s Advanced Textiles Research Group
            clothing. Measuring only three millimetres in length   made a proof of concept textile of 5cm by 5cm size
            and 1.5 millimetres in width, the cells are almost   with 200 cells.






                 Worn Again Technologies



                   Cyndi Rhoades, Circular



                   Economy Awards finalist                                                                                         The two Swiss innovators, Odlo and HeiQ are co-launching HeiQ Pure SPQR, a triple-action sustainable odour


                                                                                                                                     control technology for functional performance clothing, another innovation in the HeiQ Fresh Tech product
                                                                                                                                      family. The new product has been in the development for the past three years and will be engineered into
              For the Circular Economy Awards, Leadership     industry conferences and colleges, informing                                                   Odlo’s Spring/Summer 2020 next-to-skin products.
              Award Category, Ms Cyndi Rhoades, CEO Worn      government policies and holding training sessions
              Again Technologies (London based) has been      for those outside of the industry, unrelentingly                      Delivering a triple action for odour control efficency, HeiQ Pure SPQR is derived from renewable and recycled
              selected. The award honors those who have       pursuing the shared vision of a circular resource                       sources: first, with only one-tenth of silver-ion content as compared to general silver-based odour control
              demonstrated inspirational leadership in the journey   world. The company concluded, “Cyndi is proud to               treatments, it is able to effectively impair the metabolism of bacteria (the process that turns odourless sweat
              towards a circular economy and the winner will be   be a Circular Economy Awards finalist and will                     into body odour). This is due to the second action – bio-based amino sugar polymer anchors silver-ions to
              announced at the World Economic Forum in Davos.  continue to be a champion and leader for the                         amplify their performance and durability. And third, at a microscopic level, the amino sugar polymer creates a
                                                              circular economy.”                                                    durable barrier film around the fiber, preventing odour compounds from sticking on the textile. Thus, garments
              According to the company, Cyndi Rhoades has                                                                                   can be washed easily at low temperature, which extends the usable life of the garment and
              been an early visionary of technology as a key   The Circulars, an initiative of the World Economic                                                         is more sustainable.
              enabler to a circular textiles future. Worn Again   Forum and the Forum of Young Global Leaders, in
              Technologies began its pioneering textiles recycling   collaboration with Accenture Strategy, is the world’s           Mr Høgberg added, “We have tested odour control treatments from multiple suppliers. The result from the
              technology over seven years ago. Since then,    premier circular economy award programme. The                                  Odlo-HeiQ co-innovation is by far better than anything else we find in the market today.”
              Cyndi and the Worn Again Technologies Senior    award offers recognition to individuals and
              Team, have been galvanizing industry support,   organizations across the globe that are making                       Mr Carlo Centonze, co-founder and CEO of HeiQ said, “It’s with great pride that we fulfil our promise to our late
              building strategic partnerships and increasing   notable contributions to the circular economy in the                mentor Odd Lofteroed Jr. to never give up and never be content with the status quo. Once again with Odlo we
              awareness of this topic through speaking at     private sector, public sector and society.                             are one step ahead of our competitors in providing a better and more sustainable odour control solution.”

               November/December 2018                                                                                                                                                                    November/December 2018
   75   76   77   78   79   80   81   82   83   84