Innovative Technologies for Sustainable Textile Coloration and Surface Design

The environmental impact of textile dyeing and finishing is of paramount concern in the textile industry. Research into two emerging textile processing technologies, laser processing and enzyme biotechnology, were investigated as a means of applying new surface design and coloration techniques with a focus on improving the efficiency and sustainability of existing textile design and finishing methods. Each technique considered a reduction in energy, dye chemicals, and subsequent waste water effluent for sustainable textile processing. Through industrial stakeholder engagement and cross-disciplinary research involving textile design, fibre and dye chemistry, biotechnology and optical engineering, the work resulted in a catalogue of new coloration and design techniques including:

• Laser enhanced dyeing for wool and wool blend textiles;

• Peri-dyeing: a laser dye-fixation method for textiles; • Laser moulding for synthetic stretch textiles;

• Laser fading linen;

• Laccase catalysed coloration for textile fibres; • Laccase catalysed decoloration to achieve decorative surface patterning; • Enzyme generated surface patterning;

• Enzyme assisted printing for decorative surface patterning.