20 May 2022

Natural Materials Group Lunchtime Seminar: Focus on Textiles

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This webinar explored and focussed on how unlocking natural colourants and other natural materials can reinvent the global dyeing and textiles industry. Look back in time as we delve into the secrets of ancient flax technology, how these can be used to create a more sustainable future for textiles.

You will hear from:

Darshil Shah will talk about lessons from ancient flax fibre technology

Darshil Shah will talk about lessons from ancient flax fibre technology.

Qiaoyi Wang will give a talk entitled ‘Colorifix: unlocking nature's colorants for the global dyeing industry’

Ateeq ur Rehman will talk about 'Bio Inspired Textiles'

Our research on materials from biological organisms is essentially aimed towards inspiring the design and development of multifaceted engineering materials of the future. A big discovery happened in Kisumu in Kenya, where when stumbling across a group of insect farmers, we discovered a spider species (N. cruentata) that spins the world’s toughest egg case silk. We are now researching other types of silk cocoon architectures and are working to develop ripstop textiles based on them.

Kate Goldsworthy will talk about 'Accelerating Circularity: key challenges for the fashion & textiles industry'

We are currently moving towards a period of staggering innovation in the recovery of textile materials from waste-resources of animal, vegetable and mineral origin. At its best Circularity promises a future world where regenerative and restorative material solutions are at the heart of our material world; with designers creating new, compelling visions fora more sustainable F&T industry. This talk will present some of the key challenges in applying circularity in the context of climate emergency.