Material science innovator, Pangaia, and circular fashion and textile technology group, Infinited Fiber Company (IFC), have launched a range of shirts made from a new textile fibre said to be created entirely from textile waste.
The collaborators say the new technology, Infinna, is created from cotton-rich textile waste that is broken down at the molecular level so that the cellulose in the cotton can be captured and be reborn as new fires. Because it’s made of cellulose – a building block of all plants – Pangaia says Infinna is biodegradable and keeps biomass in circulation, which aids the long-term vision for the technology for clothes made with the new material to be recycled again in the same process together with other textile waste.
“Pangaia is constantly searching for technologies that can help us utilise waste streams and Infinna reimagines how we can recycle and manage textile waste,” says the company’s R&D Director Craig Smith. “We are entering a new era of breakthrough innovations in circularity and this launch opens a doorway to the future of textile recycling.”
Furthermore, Pangaia and IFC have announced a multiyear development deal alongside this first release and will make the range available on the brand’s B2B platform, Pangaia Science, which aims to introduce breakthrough textile innovations and patents through essential products and partnerships.
“We dream of a future where ‘waste’ is not wasted but seen as the valuable resource it can be,” added Kirsi Terho, IFC’s key Account Director. “Pangaia are really leading the way in exploring circular materials to replace virgin resources. We couldn’t be happier that their customers will be the first to experience wearing a shirt made 100 percent out of textile waste that has been cleaned up and broken down at the molecular level to be given a new life as brand-new textile fibres. We want to change the image of regenerated textiles being somehow inferior and feel confident that this collection will demonstrate just that.”