Chemically recycled garment prototype presented in Stockholm
3-4 April 2017, Stockholm
Last year a team from Finland (including T2C partners Aalto University and VTT, alongside University of Helsinki) won the Global Change Award (GCA), an annual innovation challenge organised by the H&M foundation*.
Their entry was to ‘Make waste cotton new’ using Ioncell-F technology. Since last year’s award, Aalto University has been prototyping various knit structures using Ioncell-F yarns, and at this year’s awards Pirjo Kääriäinen from Aalto’s GCA winning team and Essi Karell from T2C have exhibited a garment prototype to demonstrate how far they’ve come in 12 months.
The prototype is a translucent ivory coloured top with delicate frilled detailing. The fabric resembles linen, with the softness of cotton. The top is constructed with a combination of hand and machine stitching.
Essi Karell, Doctoral Student from T2C partner Aalto says “Although the samples of chemically recycled materials we are currently knitting and testing are small, they provide strong evidence of what is possible, and will hopefully inspire designers to adopt circular practices resulting in a real change in the fashion industry.”
The prototype was also shown in the H&M Change Makers Lab at Fotografiska, Stockholm. This event brought together around 250 change makers (including partners, innovators, governments, investors, trade unions, NGO's, other brands) to:
- explore how to accelerate the shift from linear to circular
- understand the potential of new technologies and transparency
- emphasise the power of human rights and social impact
and, most importantly, to collaborate and challenge the existing practices together.
*More about H&M Global Change Award and the winners here. A €1 million grant is shared by five winners that show potential to shape the fashion industry and to help protect the planet. This year the grant was divided according to the public's votes at Stockholm City Hall, 4 April 2017.