CBE JU Governing Board discusses the future of bio-based textiles

Demand for manufactured bio-based textiles to increase

During yesterday’s CBE JU Governing Board meeting, the textile innovation expert and Secretary-General of the European Technology Platform for the Future of Textiles and Clothing Lutz Walter presented today’s textile landscape:

• 65% of the global fibre production and consumption are fossil-based, and this share keeps on increasing. More than a half of all fibres used today are polyester, which is a versatile and cheap material but presents significant sustainability challenges.
• 35% of all fibres are bio-based, and around 30% of them are natural fibres, mostly cotton. Although cotton can be a renewable resource, its cultivation requires a lot of water and land, which the growing world’s population will need to use for food. Manufacturing bio-based fibres is therefore a viable solution across different textile fields. 
• 6-7% of the world’s fibre production and consumption are estimated to come from renewable resources, mostly wood-derived cellulose. Other natural fibres like hemp, which is easy to cultivate across our continent, present an interesting opportunity for the textile sector. This is an innovative sector with a high growth potential, in which Europe takes leading position with more advanced and diversified fibre production and a higher demand for sustainable solutions. Global population growth, increased consumption in emerging economies, new application fields like hygiene and medical textile products for seniors, and new markets like outdoor and recreation are likely future fibre demand drivers.
   

Bio-based fibre manufacturing in need of sustainable solutions

The textile sector faces three main sustainability challenges:

• The textile production relies heavily on the use of fossil-based chemicals, which need to be replaced by bio-based solutions.
• The production facilities must switch from the use of fossil to renewable energy.
• The manufacturing and supply chain requires digitalisation and automation tools to produce on-demand, locally.

Cost-efficiency in comparison with fossil-based textile production remains a significant economic challenge of the sector.

Europe can only solve these challenges by developing circular value chains for sustainable textiles, with a focus on:

• Gradually replacing fossil-based with renewable fibres.
• Scaling the production of manufactured cellulosic fibres and improving their environmental footprint.
• Developing bio-based synthetics and novel bio-based fibres.
• Replacing fossil-based with bio-based chemicals along the entire production cycle. 
• Developing and scaling efficient recycling technologies for all material types, including the bio-based one.

CBE JU at the forefront of bio-based textile innovations

CBE JU is funding projects that untap the potential of the current technological advancements in several areas such as material sciences, process and environmental engineering, biotechnology, manufacturing systems, information technology and others to tackle the challenges of the bio-based textiles sector. 

As example, 14 partners of our EFFECTIVE project, with Vaude sportswear company among them, have designed bio-based polyamides and polyesters from renewable plant-based sources, such as leftovers from the sugar beet industry, rather than crude oil. These greener and structurally improved materials can then be used to manufacture a wide range of consumer products. The project has already produced sportswear, a swimsuit and biking pants, and an entirely bio-based nylon carpet for cars. Thanks to their innovative design, these products can be recycled more easily than the current alternatives on the market. In addition, thanks to their properties and circular production method, these products will potentially reduce CO2 emissions by 28% to 45% compared to the current products on the market. 

The GRACE project is using cotton waste from spinning, hemp shives and miscanthus as the sole raw materials to produce sound insulation & decorative wall panels and bind them together with mycelium of fungi. This is a very innovative way to use textile waste to manufacture goods for a very different sector.

CBE JU is also supporting robust collaboration among all actors involved in the long textile value chain to achieve breakthroughs in sustainability. The public-private partnership brings together teams of primary producers, such as farmers and foresters, researchers, innovative technology providers, which are often small businesses, and large industries, which can bring the innovations to the market, to work on circular bio-based textile solutions. 

As example, the CBE JU-funded FIBSUN project is cultivating wood biomass, hemp and other industrial crops on degraded soils and marginal lands to produce novel fibres and solutions for the textile, automotive and construction industries. The project’s objectives are to reduce the pressure on the currently available woody biomass, restore degraded ecosystems and optimise all aspects of these new bio-based fibre value chains – from cultivation practices and industrial processes to business models and understanding of consumer needs.