Supported by the Kering Material Innovation Lab, Albini_next, the think tank of the Italian shirt fabric manufacturer Albini Group, and the Vienna Textile Lab have announced a cooperation project in which they want to explore the possibility of using microbial dyes for dyeing applications on cotton and other natural fibers.
The aim is to develop a more sustainable dyeing method for dyeing various textile products. This is to meet the increasing demand for more sustainable production methods with less environmental impact, which is becoming increasingly important for retailers, brands and manufacturing companies.
“The renaissance of biodegradable, non-toxic and natural dyes has begun as we see a growing number of sustainable fashion brands and consumer sentiment in the industry. We see ourselves as ‘enablers’ for all these different sustainability goals. Working with strong industrial partners like Kering and Albini helps us to understand how our microbial dyes behave on different fabrics. Through our close cooperation, we are learning a lot and can thus bring our manufacturing method to an industrial level better and faster,” comments Karin Fleck, CEO and founder of Vienna Textile Lab, in a statement.
Microbial dyeing applications for cotton and other natural fibers
“Our Innovation Hub is the starting point to reach the new frontiers of innovation, which is only possible by collaborating with realities like Kering and Vienna Textile Lab. Together we can achieve incredibly high levels of innovation and sustainability, as we are doing with the transformation of microbial colors into new innovative dyes that are a more sustainable alternative to traditional synthetic colors. It is a long process: it takes time and effort, but together we will achieve unprecedented results,” added Albini Group President Stefano Albini.
Albini_next was launched in 2019 as the think tank of the Albini Group. It is dedicated to accelerating ideas and technology transfer between academia and industry by combining and revising input, ideas and solutions from different fields. The goal is to envision new products and processes and then develop them, “with a creative and unconventional approach that looks for unprecedented solutions to specific problems in the textile sector,” says Albini.
Established in 2013, Kering’s Material Innovation Lab is both a library of sustainable fabrics and an engine for change within a complex supply chain. “A large part of the laboratory’s work consists of working with suppliers to promote traceability and the sourcing of more sustainable and innovative materials with a lower environmental impact,” explains Kering. Part of the lab’s job is also to check the degree of sustainability of a particular fabric or innovative material.
Vienna Textile Lab (VTL) is an Austrian biotech startup working to produce microbial dyes from naturally occurring microorganisms for applications in the textile and fashion industry. The goal is to create a competitive and more sustainable alternative to traditional synthetic dyes and pigments. “With a view to circularity, Vienna Textile Lab enables its customers to manufacture more sustainable products that are less toxic while supporting biodiversity and waste prevention by improving their production processes,” says VTL.