FEASIBILITY STUDY
A feasibility study for
WOOD FASHION
Technology Project
Date:
24/08/2010
By:
Catharina Eden Ltd
INDEX
PROJECT SCOPE .................................................................................................................................................................... 3
CURRENT ANALYSIS ....................................................................................................................................................... 4-12
CURRENT FASHION TRENDS ...................................................................................................................................... 13-15
REQUIREMENTS .................................................................................................................................................................. 16
POTENTIAL MARKET ................................................................................................................................................... 16-17
RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT ................................................................................................................................... 18
CONCLUSION ........................................................................................................................................................................ 18
APPENDICES .................................................................................................................................................................... 19-20
Project Scope
The Flexible Wood Technology Project (Eden Wood) is Finland based and aimed at
researching the possibilities of developing and producing sustainable and environmentally
friendly fabric using Finnish wood as its core composition. Students from three leading
universities (Lahti, Mikkeli and Lappeenranta) will jointly carry out the work, lead by professors
from each university.
The universities will collectively study wood fibres physical and chemical properties as well as
mechanical properties of untreated and treated fibres. They will attempt to explore and expand
the possibilities wood is suitable for and to find out whether modern polymerisation processes
such as mechanized defibreing, classification, refinement processing, softening, cottonization,
spooling and finally fabric manufacture are available for wood. The possibility of making wood
flexible by manipulating its natural properties will also be explored.
The research and development work will be carried out with the joint collaboration between
Mikkeli Technology Centre Ltd (Miktech),The Centre of Expertise Programme (OSKE),
Lappeenranta University of Technology and Lahti University. The majority of the work,
however, will be done at Lappeenranta University.
Miktech supports development activities in research institutes and in enterprises. Miktech
concentrates on exploitation of new technologies and inventions. Miktech is an activator for
new inventions and it promotes technology-based businesses.
Lappeenranta University’s areas of strength include energy efficiency and a long-standing
relationship with the Finnish forest industries. They also have a cluster called Forest Industry
Futurem which objective is to find new solutions for forest industry and to accelerate the
growth of especially sm-enterprises and to speed up the regeneration of the field.
Oske combines high-level research and diverse innovative activities with the necessary
technology, design and business competence. The programme is a tool for regional
innovation, which contains ready-made operating models and networks for the national and
international markets.
Catharina Eden will play a management role expanding understanding of the possibilities of
new wood technologies being used in the fashion sector. Catharina will be using her
experience of the cutting edge fashion, being the founder of her own label and one of the few
Finns working in the international high fashion, to bring the project to life and take it to the
international market. Catharina is also a passionate and active believer in sustainable fashion;
one of the key drivers of the Eden Wood -project.
Current Analysis
Similar products currently in the market
TENCEL® is the brand name owned by Lenzing Fibers of Austria for a recently improved
fabric from a fiber generically called lyocell. Lyocell is made from cellulose found in wood pulp
which has been harvested from tree farms. Cellulose is the natural polymer that makes up the
living cells of all vegetation. The fiber is produced via an advanced 'closed loop' solvent
spinning process, with minimal impact on the environment and economical use of energy and
water. Lyocell uses an amine oxide as a non-toxic solvent which is continually recycled during
the production process. Production plant emissions into the air from smokestacks and from
wastewater are significantly lower in comparison to many other man-made fiber operations.
Tencel won the European Union Environmental Award 2000 for "technology for sustainable
development". Despite its green credentials though, some of the it’s goodness is lost in the
manufacturing process as it uses a lot of harmful chemicals when dyed and finished.
Tencel is now used in the company’s own branded bedding linens, covers and mattresses and
is increasingly used in clothing too with H&M being the latest brand to adopt it in its range.
More about Tencel’s technical properties in the appendices.
H&M Summer 2010
Lenpur
Lenpur is a textile fibre from cellulose from a variety of trees including pine trees. The main
differences in Lenpur compared to other cellulose fibres is its softness, its moisture absorption
capacity, its ability to release dampness (as a yarn or fabric), its deodorant properties, and its
adsorption characteristics (due to its morphology). When mixed with other fibres, Lenpur is in
"mechanical synergy" with them.
Lenpur is mainly used in underwear and in women’s stockings. It is also used as yarns.
More about the techncal properties of Lenpur in the appendices
Feuille/Abeflex
Intended for the furnishing, automobile, interior decoration, fashion accessories and packaging
industries. Albeflex sheets are flexible wood claddings that are defibrated and sanded down
before being stuck onto leather or imitation leather, thereby allowing them to be sewn.
This material is not used in the fashion industry as it is too hard to be worn or made into
intricate details. It has, however been adopted in the accessories industry in handbags and
shoe heels.
Bark Cloth
It is made by beating sodden strips of fibrous inner bark of the Mutuba trees into sheets, which
are then finished into a variety of items. This is a decorative textile and is mainly used in
African countries and in traditional clothing. Bark Cloth is also used in Western countries in the
interior as wall coverings, furnishing, the automobile and sailing industries.
All in all there are very few clothing textile products from wood in the market at the moment.
The majority of the current offerings are more suitable to the interior world than for textiles.
However, the interest towards sustainable and eco fabrics in general is tremendous and the
supply to support such interest is not there. The few fabrics that are on offer at the moment is
just a drop in the ocean and more can be added to the market with relative ease.
Natural sources such as cotton, silkworm and sheep have offered relatively easy and
manageable fibres for refinement. New additions to the opened natural fibre market (not in
history though) include hemp, jute, kenaf flax, ramie and most notably bamboo (listed below).
Wood, however, is seen as a harder fibre to tackle. In addition to this, man-made fibres such
as acetate and polyester have saturated the desire for cheap fabric for the masses and hence
advances in natural fibre technology have not been in a high demand.
Today, however, man-made fibres are slowly becoming less popular and natural fibres,
produced in a sustainable way, are in return becoming more sought after. This is partly due to
the textile supply chain reacting to their consumer being more aware of local and global
impacts of their fabrics produced in an environmentally aware way, but also because the
cultivation and refinement methods have advanced to the point where the producers can offer
more competitive pricing than before. This means that garments made from natural fabric
sources are more accessible to the average consumer. Properties such as softness, durability
and colourfastness have also been improved, which makes garments made from these fabrics
more wearable than before and equal or even surpassing their man-made counter parts.
In addition to the technological advances in material innovations, the fashion industry is also
playing it’s vital part as fashion design is all about creativity and resourcefulness, pushing its
creativity to new horizons. Livia Firth’s (actor Colin Firth’s wife) open and genuine support for
designers with eco credentials is widely supported and her actions are applauded in the
fashion industry as is Stella Mc Cartney’s stand on all aspects of sustainable sourcing and
manufacturing. Both high profile ladies, to name just a few, serve as prime examples on how
fashion is ready and receptive for innovations in sustainability.
Overview of other bast fibres currently available
Bamboo
Bamboo has had the most success among all the new "eco-textiles" on store shelves—fabric
billed as environmentally friendly and made from materials such as soybeans, corn, milk,
seaweed and recycled plastic. Bamboo shows up in clothes sold in Nordstrom and Saks Fifth
Avenue, as well as sheets sold at Target, and it bears such deluxe labels as Ermenegildo
Zegna, Rag & Bone and Ralph Lauren, as well as more eco-focused brands. Because it is so
exotically soft, bamboo is often marketed alongside luxury fibers like silk and cashmere.
Bamboo's story sounds clear and appealing: like hemp, the plant grows quickly without the
irrigation, pesticides or fertilizer often used to grow cotton. It's often sold as "biodegradable,"
and the plant's antimicrobial properties have been used to market athletic clothes made from
the fiber. "People are switching from cotton to bamboo," says Aarti Doshi, regional manager
for bamboo-fabric distributor Doshi Group, based in Mumbai, India.
However, when looked below the surface bamboo fabric is less "eco" and "sustainable" than it
seems. The bamboo used in textiles has to be heavily manipulated to go from stem to store.
To create fabric, it's chopped up and dissolved in toxic solvents—the same process that
recycles wood scraps into viscose or rayon. Indeed, bamboo fabric technically is rayon.
Sameunderneath Summer 2010
Catharina Eden Spring Summer 2008
Hemp
Hemp is used for a wide variety of purposes, including the manufacture of cordage of varying
tensile strength, clothing, and also nutritional products. Hemp can be used as the sole
composition, but is commonly blended with other organic fibres such as flax, cotton or silk, for
apparel and furnishings, most commonly at a 55%/45% hemp/cotton blend. This fiber is not
favoured mainly due to its coarse texture.
The luxury brand Virdis Luxe, however, endorsed by actresses Uma Thurman and Laura Dern,
makes desirable clothing using hemp and the trend can only be predicted to grow even more
popular.
Virdis Luxe
Jute
Jute can be used to create a number of fabrics, but the most commonly known are Hessian
cloth, which is used for bags, wrappers, wall-coverings, upholstery, and home furnishings, and
Sacking. The latter is used as sacking for its heavy duty properties.
Diversified jute products are becoming more and more valuable to the consumer today. Among
these are floor coverings, home textiles, high performance technical textiles, Geotextiles,
composites, and more. Hessian cloth has been used from time to time in fashion with varying
results. Most recently in Calvin Klein resort collection, which received very poor reviews.
Calvin Klein Resort 2010
Kenaf
This bast plants stems produce two types of fibre, a coarser fibre in the outer layer, and a finer
fibre in the core. It matures in 100 to 200 days. The main uses of kenaf fibre have been rope,
twine, coarse cloth (similar to that made from jute), and paper. There are many other uses of
kenaf fibre such as insulation, cloth, soil-less potting mixes, animal bedding, packing material,
but none relating to the clothing industry. No evidence of Kenaf being used in fashion was
found.
Ramie
This is one of the strongest natural fibres and exhibits even greater strength when wet. Ramie
fibre is known especially for its ability to hold shape, reduce wrinkling, and introduce a silky
lustre to the fabric appearance. It is not as durable as other fibres, and so is usually used as a
blend with other fibres such as cotton, linen or wool. It is similar to flax in absorbency, density
and microscopic appearance. However it will not dye as well as cotton. Because of its high
molecular crystallinity, ramie is stiff and brittle and will break if folded repeatedly in the same
place; it lacks resiliency and is low in elasticity and elongation potential.
Despite its strength, ramie has had limited acceptance for textile use. The fibre's extraction and
cleaning are expensive, chiefly because of the several steps—involving scraping, pounding,
heating, washing and exposure to chemicals.
Korean ramie showcase
Flax / Linen
Flax is stronger than cotton fiber but less elastic. The best grades are used for linen fabrics
such as damasks, lace and sheeting. Coarser grades are used for the manufacturing of twine
and rope. Flax fiber is also a raw material for the high-quality paper industry for the use of
printed banknotes and rolling paper for cigarettes and tea bags.
Some fashion designers are of the opinion that, unlike other fibre materials, the beauty of linen
lies in its unique quality to crush. The outcome of crushes gives an exclusive look to linen,
even when worn formally. The cloth mills are making linen from colours ranging from creamy
white to light brown; dying linen is easy and does not fade after washing. Presently, trousers,
dresses, shirts are being made by linen. Interesting cuts, well-defined edges, frills, handpainting, delicate embroidery and machine work can further highlight the look of the fabric.
The variety and uses of linen have gone broader in fashion industry. It has become daily-wear
fabric; it has come a long way with cotton-mix, poly-mix and lycra blend. Linen is, no doubt,
ruling the market. Another distinct quality of linen is that dresses made out of it blend very well
with accessories of other materials. The different types of linen available in the market further
broaden the chances of experimentation.
Fashion designers usually prefer Egyptian, Japanese and the wrinkle-free poly- mixed
Egyptian linen. Irish linen is prized for its fine white colour as it is the colour of summer.
Scottish linen is lighter in colour than Irish linen, but it is an extraordinary summer choice.
French linen is differentiated by fine designs, ranks high on the summer calendars. All
mentioned types of linen are ideal for every type of garment.
When it comes to colours, beige and white are the best choices for linen dresses. Orange,
tangerine and fuchsia are also used by fashion experts to make a personalized statement.
Another aspect of this fabric is that it has somehow still maintained itself as a symbol of style,
elegance and comfort.
Lundstrom 2010
Hoss Intropia Summer 2010
Abaca
Abaca fibres is widely known as Manilla or Manila Hemp and is known to be the strongest fibre
existing. It is made of Abaca leaf heath which physically appears beneath the bark of a type of
banana tree. Indigenous tribes people such as the T’boli in the Philippines have made fabric
from Abaka for many generations using very basic and traditional methods. Today it’s use has
been refined and made into modern fabrics used across the furnishing and clothing worlds. It
can also be blended with other fibres such as cotton and silk.
Doo-Ri 2009
Current Fashion Trends
The world is changing, and as ever, fashion follows.
In my profession I make one off evening garments and wedding dresses, but I also run the
UK’s first garment sampling and small production unit that has been based on environmentally
and socially aware principals. In Eden Studio, the sewing unit, I meet a very broad spectrum of
UK based designers everyday and am thus in the centre of gaining knowledge on what
designers are looking for and need. Current trends are picked up very quickly and thoughts are
transferred into the coming trends of the future. More and more designers are talking to me
about eco-friendly fabrics and having difficulty with the supply and choice. As and average at
the moment 30% of designers with me use a variety of sustainable eco fabrics, mainly bamboo
and blends of bamboo, but more importantly the rest would seriously consider.
In the UK alone there are countless individual designers, either just starting out or more
established, who only use 100% certified sustainable/ eco fabrics. Esthetica, the initiative by
British Fashion Council is the environmental wing of London Fashion Week and will now be in
it’s seventh season. Another example is the large ethical section of Pure, the bi annual trade
exhibition in London that is even bigger in market sale power than LFW. Websites such as
Ethical Fashion Forum and Eco Fashion World as well as the Center for Sustainable Fashion
in London College of Fashion combined have thousands of new designers as members, all
sharing the same eco values. These designers are shaping the future of our fashion and with
their growing rate it is an inevitable truth that non-harmful fabrics will be the most popular
choice.
A few years back a ground breaking “Earth Pleadge FutureFashion” show was held in New
York in August 2008, where Givenhy, Ralph Lauren and Versace came together with
designers such as Diane Von Furstenberg, Stella McCartney, Donna Karan, Michael Kors, Jill
Sanders and Narciso Rodriques to kick off Fashion Week. Organized by Earth Pleadge, the
show was a one of a kind event displaying sustainable fabrics and organically grown, natural
fibres such as hemp, abaca, silk and wool as well as new materials such as bio-plastics and
man made cellulosics. “ These materials are all selected because the reduce harmfull chemical
and energy use, and protect land resources for future generations,” Leslie Hoffman, Earth
Pledge’s executive director. The event was sponsored by Barneys New York and Lexus
Hybrid.
Rodarte, for Earth Pledge FutureFashion 2008
Rogan, for Earth Pledge FutureFashion 2008
Back in the UK, the Financial Times, a highly revered newspaper has published three articles
in their monthly supplement “How to Spend It” about wood in its many forms. First one in
August 1 2009 talks how the modern jewellery and accessories market is tapping into the
organic qualities of wood and holding the ancient material as precious and versatile. Some
designers highlighted here include famous names such as Browns, Ericson Beamon, Louis
Vuitton and Harrods.
In October 17 2009 a three page article about Finnish wood design graces its pages with large
images and very complementary reviews on Finnish design values. It concludes in the
thoughts “Increasignly, Finnish designers are daring to explore these wider reaches of their
imaginations. Such idiosyncrasy has combined with real zeal for innovation and a sensibility
attuned to ecological concerns to bring the work of Finnish designers back to international
attention.” By Emma Chrichton-Miller
Most recent article on this subject was buplished in May 1 2010, where they talk about rattan,
bamboo and wicker as utterly contemporary choices for interior design. Since these there have
been many more other articles in other publications too, but as Helsinki will be the 2012 World
Design Capital, the focus from wood use has shifted to highlighting the design history of
Finland.
So with all of the potential market ready and available, wood fabric is not yet featured in
fashion. This is not, however, because it has been rejected by the fashion world, but because it
is not a choice yet. I have personally spoken to individual designers through my work who
were entertaining the idea of using wood in their collection, in one way or another. One
designer even wanted to carve the entire collection out of wood. So in short not only is the
natural direction of fashion and consumer behaviourism in favour for a new and innovative
fabric such as one made from wood, but also the interest for it has already begun.
To date there are a few examples of wood in fashion. Most famously Hussein Chalayan
created a very celebrated creation that begun as a table and then could be transformed into a
skirt. The now late Alexander McQueen, created a false leg out of carved wood for athlete
Aimee Mullins. Wood has featured more prominently in accessories in varying kind from shoes
to bags. (Pictures below)
Hussein Chalayan Autum Winter 2000-2001
Alexander McQueen 2009
In addition to these there are also others who have created articles of clothing using wood. A
few select companies such as Tencel and Lenpur have even made fabric, but none have
achieved what this project is out to achieve: a fabric made out of wood that is suitable for
fashion clothing.
In conclusion not only do the examples of fashion trends, press and current markets show a
steady increase in eco materials, but the word on the streets about a fashion collection made
entirely out of wood is already out.
Requirements
Funding
Possible avenues for funding:
-TEKES (the Finnish Funding Agency for Technology and Innovation)
-Government grants
-Corporate sponsorship
Funds will be used to pay University research and development work (detailed below), experts’
input and consultation, press, fabric mills involvement and possible patenting costs.
Research and development includes turning the fibres into fabrics by using already existing
factory equipment and facilities in Finland.
The estimated fund needed is 500,000€
Technology
Currently available technology used for the processing of bamboo and other bast fibres will
provide a starting point in The Flexible Wood Technology Project. These different fibres are
listed on pages 3 and 4 with additional information in the appendices.
Potential market for wood fabric
According to the non-profit organization Organic Exchange, global retail sales of organic cotton
apparel and home textile products reached an estimated $3.2 billion in 2008, a 63 percent
increase from the $1.9 billion market in 2007. The top ten users of organic cotton include some
of the biggest names in retail including Walmart, Nike, H&M, and the Inditex brand Zara.
“The buzz around organic cotton will continue to increase. But as soon as it is public knowledge that organic
cotton is going to remain a very small percentage of the overall raw material for the textile sector, we expect to
see the emphasis shift toward other sustainable materials. We also expect to see a greater emphasis on
reducing toxics and chemicals.” CKinetics report on Report on the Coming Decade, 2010
The message and direction of the use of organic cotton as an example is clear. As the market
for varied sustainable textiles grows, many more firms will begin demanding sustainability from
their manufacturers the same way they demand fair prices, fast delivery and high quality.
On the next page is an example of how hemp and flax as an example is sold across the world
Based on the market segmenting for flax and hemp the main market for the type of wood fabric
we are developing lies in two main areas: clothing and furnishing (with linen being a distant tie
with furnishing).
Potential marketing strategies include:
-Liasing with fabric agents across the globe
-Selling directly to large companies in fashion, furnishing for interiors and luxury automotives
-Subcontracting the sales to an already existing fabric mill supplier
Research and development breakdown
In the research we will explore whether wood is suitable for modern processes such as
mechanized defibreing, classification, refinement processing, softening, cottonization, spooling
and finally fabric manufacture.
Wood properties that need research funding are:
-Thermal properties
-Mechanical properties
-Shrinkage properties
-Filler properties
-Viscosity
-Cottonization possibilities
Viscosity explained
Viscosity is a measure of the resistance of a fluid which is being deformed by either shear
stress or tensile stress. It describes a fluid's internal resistance to flow and may be thought of
as a measure of fluid friction.
Cottonization of wood explained
Cottonization mean using already existing fibre refinement methods to manipulate wood fibres
suitable for blending with other natural fibres such as cotton, bamboo, silk, wool and linen. This
process would allow endless possibilities for wood as a new sustainable fibre for the future.
An example as to how wood fibre could be processed into being cottonizeable is by reducing
its lignin levels in the same manor as in China’s Hemp Research Centre in Beijing, where
through extensive development work the lignin content of hemp has been reduced from 8-10%
to 0.2%.
Conclusion
There exists a rare and unprecedented opportunity to forge ahead with a new project with dual
aims of promoting an new ethical and sustainable fabric production process and promoting the
Finnish timber industry during Helsinki Design Capital year 2012. The market exists as has
been described in the body of this feasibility study. The growing popularity of Bamboo fibre use
by global fashion brands in particular has highlighted how an ‘innovative’ and sustainable
fabric can be adopted into the mainstream. By working together with key Finnish institutions,
harnessing new ideas, research and hard work the opportunity exists to truly innovate. With
this in mind the proposed project partners are eager to move forward with the backing of
TEKES.
Appendices
Tencel water absorption in extreme air humidity
Lenpur Technical information:
“The first phase of research was aimed at confirming the structural data available from IR
studies, performed previously, using spectroscopic and chemical techniques. Confocal
microscopic analysis was performed; however, it did not yield useful information regarding the
structural differences in LENPUR and other cellulose fibres.
Carbon-hydrogen analysis was performed with the objective of obtaining an in-depth chemical
characterization. This testing established that fibre is composed of carbon, hydrogen, and
oxygen thus ruling out the presence of other elements such as nitrogen and halogens. This
result was confirmed by further SEM analysis.
Based on these results, it was hypothesized that the deodorising action could be related to
presence of natural substances, for example of terpenic nature, with double bonds able to
easily react with components of perspiration (ex. α-pinene); or the structure of the fibre is
characterized by elements that are present in larger quantities than in wood, like lignin, that are
able to firmly bond these components by hydrogen bonding or other very firm bonds.
It was presumed that the harsh chemical treatment that LENPUR fibre undergoes during
spinning would extract any natural substances, such as the non-structural components of
wood, so these substances would not remain in the yarn. In any case, it was determined that it
would be useful to verify this by performing release testing on the fibre with possible reactive
substances. Comparative extraction was performed on Modal, Viscose and Lenpur fibres with
a low polarity solvent (CH2CL2) and with a polar solvent (CH3OH, C2H5OH). The extracts were
analysed by NMR and did not highlight the presence of particular substances in any of the
fibres. This result confirms that volatile components present in the pinewood used for
producing LENPUR fibre are removed during the fibre preparation process and successive
spinning operations. Evidently the difference between Lenpur and other fibres must be of a
structural nature dependant on the wood raw material.
Research was therefore turned to the examination of the adsorbent ability of substrates,
examined using structurally defined molecules with different chemical and chemical-physical
characteristics. Two active ingredients, Ketoconazole and Acetaminophen (or Paracetamol)
were selected for testing purposes. The former has a complex structure, higher molecular
weight, quite high lipofilicity, although it contains highly electronegative atoms with doublet
electrons available for the formation of hydrogen bridges or electrostatic interaction with
hydroxyfunctional groups present in cellulose or in lignin. Acetaminophen is a smaller,
aromatic, molecule with a significantly lower molecular weight, characterized by a phenolic
acid group and, on the whole, more polar than Ketoconazole.
Considering that the adsorbent properties demonstrated by LENPUR are seen in finished
fabrics used for making clothing, the adsorbent tests were performed on white fabric made
using the previously analyzed fibres.
Method used
Known weights of fabric were soaked in a 0.2% Ketoconazole in ethanol solution for 1 hour.
After that time, they were removed from the solution and the excess solution was allowed to
drip off and the fabric was air dried. The samples were then extracted using methanol. The
active ingredients in the extract solution and in the remaining saturating solution after the
experiment were determined by HPLC.
A second extraction was performed using the same method in order to have another
measured parameter of absorbance power of the fibres. The results are shown in Table I.
Table I
FABRIC
EXTRACT I
mg/100 ml
Cotton
Viscose
Lenpur
19.79
46.49
37.13
SOLUTION AFTER
EXTRACTION I
mg/100 ml
66.08
67.78
71.98
EXTRACT II
mg/100 ml
9.79
12.54
7.87
Lenpur shows a trend of ability to bond with Ketoconazole that is similar to Viscose
having a high absorbency value demonstrated by the total amount released in the two
extractions.
Testing with Acetaminophen was then performed under the same experimental
conditions. The data is shown in Table II.
Table II
FABRIC
EXTRACT I
mg/100 ml
Cotton
Viscose
LENPUR
4.05
10.35
0.29
SOLUTION AFTER
EXTRACTION I
mg/100 ml
77.15
71.78
58.98
All of the previously tested fibres showed a greater ability of bonding with
Acetaminophen which is characterized by a lower molecular weight and by a greater polarity
that permits it to better penetrate into their structure and remaining more strongly bonded. The
greatest absorbency ability is shown by LENPUR demonstrated by the very low extraction
concentration accompanied by a low concentration in the remaining solution. Evidently,
LENPUR is able to establish stronger bonds with substrate demonstrating how different it is
compared to the other fibres. “ By Professor .Fedele Manna