Innovation stories love the moment something works. A droplet beads on fabric. A printed layer looks crisp. A recycled fibre tests strong. In the lab, under the right conditions, you get the photo. You get the graph. You get the satisfying sentence: proof of concept. And then comes the part that decides whether any of it matters: making it reproducible. BioSusTex does not describe its innovations as if they are finished products waiting to be adopted; it describes them as tec

Researchers at Aalto University has developed an effective new method for removing persistent reactive dyes from cotton textile waste, offering a major step forward for sustainable textile recycling and circular fashion systems. The study, titled “An effective color stripping process for reactive dyed cotton waste,” was recently published in the journal Industrial Crops & Products. The research introduces a two-step chemical treatment capable of removing up to 99% of color fr

Most people have had this experience, even if they’d never use the phrase for it. You buy the “eco” version. The refill, the plant-based, the “non-toxic,” the “clean.” You feel good about the choice and then something is… off. It does not work as well. It wears out faster. It smells odd. It leaves residue. Or, months later, a headline suggests the replacement ingredient might have its own problems. It is not that the intention was bad. It is that swapping materials is rarely

Confezioni Mario De Cecco is an Italian company with over 60 years of experience in the production of workwear and Personal Protective Equipment (PPE). With a strong focus on worker safety, health and protection, the company operates in a highly demanding sector where garments must meet strict technical requirements and comply with internationally recognised ISO standards. Their products are designed to deliver advanced performance features such as waterproofing, resistance t

© The authors. BioSusTex is proud to celebrate a new research publication that contributes important knowledge to the development of safe and sustainable by design (SSbD) approaches for early-stage innovation. Published in RSC Sustainability on 2 April 2026, the paper is titled “Life cycle based risk and opportunity mapping: a systematic collaborative procedure to integrate environmental and health aspects into early innovation for scoping and pre-screening for safe and susta

There is a comforting myth we tell ourselves about recycling: that it is something that happens at the end. You wear a thing until you are done with it, and then, somehow, it becomes raw material again. The story is neat. The bin is the boundary. After that, it is someone else’s problem, solved by someone else’s system. Textiles do not work like that. With textiles, the end is mostly decided at the beginning. Not because people do not care, but because fabrics are engineered

There is a moment, usually at the worst possible time, when you realise a print is not just a print. It is the crackle on a favourite tee that turns from “vintage” into “flaking”. It is the sticky patch on a hoodie after too many dryer cycles. It is the logo on workwear that still looks sharp while the fabric underneath has started to thin. Prints are memory, identity, brand, belonging; often the whole reason we keep a garment in the first place. They are also a material choi

Valvan is a Belgian engineering company specialising in advanced sorting and baling systems for the textile and recycling industries . With more than four decades of experience in designing intelligent industrial solutions, Valvan has built a strong reputation for delivering reliable, high-performance systems that help companies handle complex textile waste streams efficiently and safely. At the core of Valvan’s approach is a commitment to innovation, durability and custome

There’s a particular kind of confidence that comes from a good rain jacket. You send a child to school on a wet morning and don’t worry about the walk from the car to the gate. You step onto a ferry deck or a worksite or a windswept platform and trust that your clothes will do their quiet job. You don’t think about the fabric at all; only about the weather, and how little it’s managing to interrupt your day. That “quiet job” is harder than it looks. A textile has to repel wat

BioSusTex is proud to celebrate a new research publication that adds an important perspective to the project’s work on safe and sustainable textile innovation. Published on 19 March 2026 , the paper “Early-Stage Simplified SSbD Screening of a Removable, PVC-Free Screen-Printing Ink: A Qualitative Life Cycle Perspective” , published in Sustainability, presents a qualitative sustainability assessment of an innovative textile printing ink designed to help address some of the env

Stretch has become so normal that it’s almost invisible. It’s in the waistband that doesn’t dig in, the sports top that keeps its shape, the denim that moves with you, the workwear that still feels wearable at the end of a long day. A few percent of elastane can turn a garment from “fine” into the one you reach for again and again. It’s also one of the quiet reasons textile recycling so often stalls. Because the moment you add stretch, you’ve stopped making a single material

BioSusTex is proud to celebrate an important new milestone: the publication of a research paper arising from our work, officially made available on 10 March 2026. This publication marks a significant achievement for the project and highlights the value of close collaboration in addressing some of the most pressing sustainability challenges in textiles. The paper, “A comparative study of textile recycling techniques for dope-dyed cellulosic fibres: Viscose vs. lyocell-based pr

A good textile is supposed to disappear. Not literally, as you still feel the softness of a sweatshirt, the reassuring weight of a coat, the give in a waistband. But when a textile is doing its job, you stop noticing it. You stay dry. You stay comfortable. The print holds. The colour survives another wash. A stain doesn’t become a catastrophe. That ease is not accidental. Modern textiles are among the most engineered things we touch every day, and much of their engineering ha

Bee Granted , a consultancy company specialising in strategic innovation and EU-funded research, contributes to the BioSusTex project by ensuring that the work carried out by the consortium translates into meaningful, long-term impact. With a focus on communication, dissemination and exploitation , Bee Granted plays an important role in aligning the technical achievements of the project with stakeholder engagement, market pathways and policy relevance. The company is led by

Blåbær Production , based in Bergen, Norway, is a design and production company with a clear mission: to combine design, functionality and sustainability in the creation of clothing, footwear and textiles. As a small but highly committed enterprise, Blåbær is known for its strong focus on sustainable materials , chemical safety and responsible supply chain practices , all of which align seamlessly with the goals of the BioSusTex project. The company’s involvement in BioSusT

Sun Tekstil , one of Turkey’s leading textile manufacturers, brings a strong industrial and innovation-driven perspective to the BioSusTex project. With a deep commitment to sustainable transformation, Sun Tekstil is contributing both technical expertise and strategic vision to advance circular and bio-based solutions in the textile industry. The BioSusTex team at Sun Tekstil is led by Bekir Boyacı , R&D Center Manager , a textile engineer with extensive experience in sustai

Texia , a Spanish textile finishing and treatment company, brings valuable industrial expertise to the BioSusTex project, bridging the gap between research and real-world application. The company specializes in the manufacture of high-quality cotton textile products, both in rolls and seamless formats, through its two proprietary brands: ROLL DRAP® and MY DRAP®. Known for its commitment to sustainable innovation and responsible production, Texia plays a critical role in vali

Stockholm University (SU) plays a vital role in the BioSusTex project by contributing advanced expertise in analytical chemistry to assess the chemical safety and sustainability of textile innovations. With a strong research foundation in hazardous substances and consumer product safety, SU supports the project through the development and application of high-sensitivity screening methods, contributing critical data to inform risk assessments, life cycle analysis (LCA) and Sa

IVL Swedish Environmental Research Institute (IVL) brings to the BioSusTex project an impressive breadth of expertise in life cycle assessment, sustainable chemical management, and Safe and Sustainable by Design (SSbD). With a multidisciplinary team of experts and a commitment to bridging science, policy and industry, IVL plays a pivotal role in advancing the project’s vision of a more sustainable textile sector. The IVL team in BioSusTex is led by Amanda Lundberg , project m

Vividye, a pioneering Swedish start-up, joins the BioSusTex consortium with a clear mission: to transform the textile industry through...