re.solution wins ACHEMA Start-up Award 2024

On to the top of the the podium with textile recycling: The finalists were very close to each other in the evaluation

14-Jun-2024 - The winner of the ACHEMA Start-up Award 2024 is re.solution. The start-up recycles textiles containing polyester using a chemical process with renewable energy and low water and chemical consumption. With their innovation and business plan, the Aachen-based founders prevailed against nine other ...

An organic shoe grown from bacteria

Research team wants to initiate the transition to a sustainable fashion industry with new process thinking and innovative technologies

07-Feb-2024 - Shoes and trousers growing three-dimensionally from a nutrient solution. A robot mends a hole in a jacket and a tailor helps make it more fashion-forward, and all that for the cost of just a few euros. A Linz-based research team from the spheres of fashion and technology, creative robotics and ...

Self-driven and sustainable removal of oil spills in water using bio-inspired textiles

18-Dec-2023 - Researchers at the ITA, the University of Bonn and Heimbach GmbH have developed a new method for removing oil spills from water surfaces in an energy-saving, cost-effective way and without the use of toxic substances. The method is made possible by a technical textile that is integrated into a ...

Checking items of clothing using a smartphone, AI and infrared spectroscopy

Also suitable for food and skin testing

06-Oct-2023 - Researchers at Fraunhofer have developed an ultra-compact near-infrared spectrometer suitable for recognizing and analyzing textiles. Mixed fabrics can also be reliably identified through the combination of imaging, special AI (artificial intelligence) algorithms and spectroscopy. The technology ...

Listening in on laundry germs as they grow

First metatranscriptome study for washed laundry

08-Sep-2021 - Germans wash more than 5 kg of laundry per week. What many people don‘t realize is that even freshly washed laundry still contains significant amounts of microorganisms such as bacteria and fungi. A group of researchers led by Prof. Dr. Markus Egert at Furtwangen University (HFU) has been ...

Producing leather-like materials from fungi

Biofabrication includes upcycling of low-cost agricultural and forestry by-products

09-Sep-2020 - Leather is used as a durable and flexible material in many aspects of everyday life including furniture and clothing. Leather substitutes derived from fungi are considered to be an ethical and environmentally friendly alternative to traditional bovine leather. An international team led by ...

Antiviral treatment for textiles

08-Apr-2020 - An ETH spin-​off has developed a new treatment for textiles that reduces viral infectivity on treated surfaces. The technology can be used for face masks and other textile products. Recently, the ETH spin-​off HeiQ Materials presented an innovative antiviral and antibacterial treatment for ...

A transparent flexible material of silk and nanotubes

Nanotube interactions with silk fibroins - key to flexible, degradable electronics

02-Nov-2018 - The silk fibers produced by Bombyx mori, the domestic silkworm, has been prized for millennia as a strong yet lightweight and luxurious material. Although synthetic polymers like nylon and polyester are less costly, they do not compare to silk's natural qualities and mechanical properties. And ...

Medication you can wear

Drug equipped polymer fibers

15-Oct-2018 - Drug-releasing textiles could, for instance, be used to treat skin wounds. Empa researchers are currently developing polymer fibers that can be equipped with drugs. The smart fibers recognize the need for therapy all by themselves and dose the active ingredients with precision and accuracy. For ...

Nanomaterials: What are the environmental and health risks?

28-Feb-2018 - From nanoscale silver to titanium dioxide for air purification, the use of nanomaterials of high commercial relevance proves to have clear benefits as it attracts investments, and raises concerns. 'Nano' sized materials (a nanometre is one millionth of a millimetre) could pose environmental and ...