FABRIOTIC: Biotic textiles as an enabler of improved circularity

Project Summary

One barrier to textile circularity is the disconnect between textiles and fabric care industries. Clothing that is difficult to keep clean and smelling fresh presents a significant challenge for circularity by increasing washing, reducing clothing lifespan and limiting reuse potential. In fact, consumer research identified that persistent malodour is responsible for direct disposal of clothing to landfill rather than donation to charity. To address this problem, better integration between textile design and fabric care products is required to develop solutions to keep clothing in use for longer. Safe biotics such as Bacillus are used as finishes in non-washables (e.g. mattresses) and are present in some fabric care products. This research aims to develop and test prototype biotics for clothing as a living interface to demonstrate that co-design of textiles and care products could enable a circularity breakthrough. The research focuses on developing a biotic system for 100% polyester sportswear; a textile fibre with a strong potential for closed loop recycling, but with a significant problem with persistent malodour.

Investigators

Dr Jane Scott, Ewelina Bien (Design & Textile Technology, Newcastle University); Prof. Richard Thompson, Dr Max Kelly (Environmental Science, University of Plymouth); Dr Angela Sherry, Rebecca Pearman (Microbial Environments, Northumbria University). 

Project partners 

Dr Neil Lant, Katherine Latimer (Procter and Gamble)

Funder

Future Fibres Network Plus Flexible Fund supported by the UKRI Circular Fashion and Textiles Programme: Network Plus—a trilateral initiative from the Natural Environment Research Council, Arts and Humanities Research Council and Innovate UK (Grant Ref: NE/Y004035/1).

Project duration

Oct 2024 - Sept 2025