Fortum, a major European energy company building new business options in the circular economy, along with the sustainable fiber technology company Spinnova are showcasing the world’s first clothing made from agricultural waste, namely wheat straw, at the Textile Exchange Sustainability Conference in Vancouver, this week.
The showpieces include a knitted t-shirt, as well as a jacket and skirt made of a woven fabric on organic cotton warp. The prototype material is unique also due to its extremely low environmental impact from raw material extraction, processing and manufacture, verified by life-cycle analysis (LCA).
Spinnova’s technology, presently in a piloting phase, turns micro-fibrillated cellulose (MFC) directly into fiber mechanically without any dissolving or harmful chemical processes. Fibers of the now showcased clothing were produced at Spinnova’s pilot facility in Finland, which also means that Spinnova’s technology can be applied to various biomasses without further technology development. Now Fortum and Spinnova plan to establish sustainable fiber production at Fortum’s future biorefineries that will use residual biomasses such as agro waste.
The biomass will be processed into materials for bioproducts of lignocellulosic origin, as well as cellulosic products. The refineries will be based on fractionation technology, enabling highly resource-efficient utilisation of wheat straw and resulting in significantly lower environmental impact compared to other processing technologies.
