Vinnova invests in sustainable transformation of the textile system
Vinnova has been involved in supporting the SIPTEX project in its three phases. What do you think are the most interesting results from the project?
- SIPTEX is a fine example of the innovation journey we want to see in the program Challenge-Driven Innovation, from bringing together the entire value chain around an important societal challenge to implementing the results in reality. I find it amusing to see that the project has come all the way to having a functioning automated textile sorting plant even though they have had some major challenges along the way, not least a pandemic that put sticks in many wheels.
What parts of the project would you like to see further development of?
- The really exciting thing starts now in terms of taking further results into reality and ensuring a stable market for the sorted textiles and creating a profitable business model.
How does Vinnova support more efficient textile recycling and reuse of fibres in other ways?
- Vinnova has financed many textile projects over the years, but we see that it is not enough to have a single initiative to bring about the necessary system transformation. We need change in several places in industry, in sales and in society. Recycling is not enough, for example, but we need to zoom out and have the whole system as a perspective. Vinnova's Sustainable Industry area is currently investing heavily in preparing system demonstrators for a sustainable textile system, I believe that textile sorting can play a central role in the upcoming work. A system demonstrator points not only to the need for technological innovation, but also to behaviors, culture, regulations, interfaces and markets and how they need to evolve in order for the desired change to become a reality.
Looking at the textile industry as a whole, what are the main challenges that Vinnova focuses on? How do you work to mobilize the textile industry?
- Since autumn 2021, Vinnova has been working to mobilise the textile system through various workshops where we have identified various key challenges to achieve a more sustainable textile system. Examples of key challenges identified in the work include the need for “new ways to own and use textiles”, “efficient and profitable collection and sorting” and “design for traceable and sustainable textiles”. Here you can read more about Vinnova's commitment to a sustainable transformation of the textile system: Vinnova invests in sustainable transformation of the textile system
Textile recycling is a complex challenge that needs extensive cooperation, just like several other societal challenges where several actors need to work together to reach a solution. How does Vinnova work to benefit this type of collaboration?
- The vast majority of projects funded by Vinnova are collaborative projects. We would like to see project partners from several parts of the value chain participate in the projects and that there is a clear commitment from the actors who need the solution that the projects address. When it comes to our investments in system demonstrators, we encourage collaboration across industry boundaries, which we do not always see in our research and innovation projects.
What are your dream projects in the textile field going forward?
- I think it would be fun if Sweden could once again become a textile producing nation so that we can manufacture our own sustainable textiles from forest raw materials and recycled materials. In order to have competitive local production in Sweden, new ways of producing textiles are required, for example through more automated production processes. I think there is a lot to be learned from collaborating across industry boundaries and across industries.
Siptex stands for the Swedish Innovation Platform for Textile Sorting.