Spinnova: Introducing a fibre-technology for wood-based textiles
“It always seems impossible until it is done.” – Nelson Mandela.
Inspired by this quote, we decided to start introducing you to startups in the circular economy which have shown the courage to disrupt business as usual. We look forward to presenting you innovative and sustainable products, technologies and services on a regular basis. Contact us now if you want to be featured, too!
Almost half of all textiles worldwide are made of cotton. And the crop itself isn’t even the source of the problem when it comes to harming Mother Earth: it’s the cotton production method that is environmentally unsustainable. WWF indicates that nowadays in order to produce one kilogram cotton – which equals a single t-shirt and a pair of jeans – 20,000 liters of water are needed!
The more important it is to look for alternatives, leading us to a Northern European country, Finland, where, surrounded by forests and known for its lumber and paper industries, a startup called Spinnova is about to revolutionize the textile industry as we know it. In 2015, CEO Janne Poranen took the decision to spin a business out of an EU project fostered in the Finnish Centre of Finland VTT which centered around food fibres spun into textile fibre. The very difference of Spinnova compared to usual cotton or older wood-based fabrics: no harsh chemicals are used for this new kind of fabric. The only byproduct of the startup’s patented technology is evaporated water which is reused in production. Also, it needs very little water.
The end-product, a fluffy but firm wool made of pulp from FSC certified wood, possesses a similar stretch and strength quality as does cotton and can easily be dyed into different colors. Here is how Spinnova introduces their fibre on their website: