A new project in Sweden will carry out research to create sustainable production of new textile fibre from wood based raw materials or recycled bio-based textiles, Swedish trade and invest council Business Sweden said on its website. The project ‘Establishing locally produced textiles in Sweden’ has received a budget of SEK 45.4 million (approximately $5.23 million) to carry out research over the next three years. The grant is the first such amount given for innovation project by BioInnovation, the strategic R&D initiative between the chemical, textile and forest industries. The project, being supported by companies, research institutes and academia, will be led by Pernilla Walkenström from Swerea IVF, which develops and implements new technologies and new working methods within a range of sectors focusing on product, process and production development. The growing middle class and urbanisation is expected to triple the global demand for textile fibres by 2050. In such a scenario, the project would investigate whether, and how, sustainable bio-based textile production can be achieved through the production of textile fibres from wood based raw materials or recycled bio-based textiles. The project is a strategic initiative to develop the area around the nonwoven and textile materials in Sweden. It will be done by creating an overall knowledge platform for the new cross-industry collaboration and new business models, and by taking out individual examples as proof-of-concept, Business Sweden said.
