BioSusTex - Towards Absolute Safe and Sustainable Biobased Textile

The project “Towards Safe and Sustainable Biobased Textiles” (BioSusTex) aims to demonstrate the rapid development of key technologies that will significantly impact the textile value chain. This need has been highlighted by key industrial partners within the consortium. BioSusTex focuses on cotton and cellulosic textiles, targeting increased recycling rates and the substitution of harmful compounds by:

1. Delivering an optimized cellulosic fiber recycling process for dope-dyed man-made cellulosics.
2. Developing efficient and sustainable pre-processing techniques for removing elastane, dyes, and impurities from post-consumer blended cellulosic textiles, while avoiding potential toxic degradation products during processing.
3. Creating a biobased, PFAS-free water-repellent coating using an innovative methodology with temporary surfactants.
4. Developing removable biobased, PVC-free print formulations.

Significant improvements in these key technologies, in line with the Safe and Sustainable-by-Design (SSbD) framework, are expected to notably enhance the sustainability of the textile value chain. Additionally, BioSusTex will provide technical solutions and address industry needs for rapid assessment methods by:

5. Further developing analytical methods and prediction tools related to toxicity evaluation.
6. Building a novel Decision Support software tool that implements the SSbD methodology.
7. Creating a database compiling all the data generated in the project.

With this in mind, BioSusTex aims to pioneer key technologies to enhance the sustainability of the textile value chain. These efforts include optimising recycling of cellulosic fibres, developing sustainable pre-processing techniques, creating bio-based water-repellent coatings, and providing analytical methods and prediction tools for toxicity assessment. 

These initiatives are in line with the Safe and Sustainable-by-Design (SSbD) framework, designed to promote sustainable innovation within the textile industry.