Flax was traditionally grown as a crop in the Netherlands, and Dutch linen was one of the most sought-after for a long time because of its good quality. Today that is no longer the case. Therefore, in 2018, Crafts Council Nederland, in cooperation with the Fashion Design Master of ArtEZ University, initiated ‘The Linen Project’ to revive the economic viability of local flax cultivation and linen production in the Netherlands, while transforming it in a sustainable way.

Local and recycled: Enschede Textielstad was founded in 2013 by Annemieke Koster to create responsibly produced fabrics from recycled yarns and local raw materials such as flax, hemp and wool for apparel and interior textiles. To keep the supply chain as short and regional as possible, one of the main focuses of the concept is to develop smart and circular uses of waste streams and local resources – for example, Dutch wool. Its quality is not good enough to make clothes from, and to date there has been no viable business model in sight for this resource – so it has been burned. However, what is not good enough for clothing may be absolutely sufficient for other purposes, so Enschede Textielstad now weaves fabrics from the wool that are ideal for upholstered furniture.

The same applies to linen – there have been no projects with economic viability in the Netherlands to date. To change this, The Linen Project was founded in 2019 as an initiative of Crafts Council Nederland and ArtEZ University of Fine Arts (see feature in also this Sustainable Innovations issue). In 2020, the two projects began a collaboration based on division of labor, with Enschede Textielstad acting as a weaving mill for flax cultivated in the Netherlands.

From old to new: Pre-Loved is a biotextile concept in which new products are created from used post-consumer textile waste. In a unique production process, low-quality mixed textile fibres are transformed into a robust, paper- and leather-like material that is suitable for a variety of applications – from fashion to interior design and product design.

Designer Sarmite Polakova gives waste a new meaning in this context: instead of something negative, she perceives it as a surplus recyclable material that can, however, at the same time be a resource for the creation of something new – the focus here is on circularity: it is about the recyclability of the material; a product made by Studio Sarmite can be dissolved at the end of its life and the textile fibres can be used for the next production cycle. The lightweight material displays a processuality, revealing a new aesthetic and highlighting each previous life of a worn garment through nuances of colour and texture. It can feature marble-like patterns as well as hues accentuated by natural dyes.

Bio-based, locally produced, on demand: that’s MYCOTEX by NEFFA – a flexible material whose properties lie somewhere between leather, plastic and artificial leather. Production takes place in three steps: First, customisable and/or recyclable forms are created in an automated 3D design process. With the help of liquid fermentation, innovative materials are produced – the technique works for mycelium, but is also suitable for other biomaterials. In the end, the final textiles are produced by robotic applications without any weaving, cutting or sewing. In this way, the modelling process is similar to the injection moulding process – except that only natural materials are used instead of plastics.

More than Mycelium: At the beginning of the project, founder Aniela Hoitink focused in particular on the material MYCOTEX. Within the last three years, this has developed into NEFFA, a completely automated manufacturing method for different types of biomaterials. NEFFA stands for New Fashion Factory. The innovative system is based on automation, can be recycled and offers unlimited freedom of design. The patented process offers unprecedented design freedom to create silhouettes and textures that would never have been possible with traditional manufacturing methods and creates a local and completely transparent process that can be adapted to constant changes. For the textiles of tomorrow.

Textiles as witnesses of time: SLOW PATTERNS is a collection by the Berlin studio Meyers & Fügmann that changes over time due to the influence of sunlight. This works by using an unconventional technique that combines the natural and the artificial. In concrete terms, this means that European is woven and dyed in Europe by hand, with the side effect of preserving traditional skills of the European textile industry. The collection combines wool with synthetic yarns. When the textiles are exposed to UV light, the natural dyes fade over time, while the stable synthetic colours retain their shades, changing the materials and eventually revealing delicate patterns.

When the programmers of KNITWEAR LAB teamed up with 3D software specialists, a completely new idea for more sustainable, cost-efficient and design-oriented pattern development and knitwear production emerged. By combining virtual and material knitting, it is possible to reduce the massive waste during the pattern and pre-production phase in the industry and to further advance knitwear development with the help of smart technologies. Knitting on a new level: The revolutionary aspect of the method is the combination of innovative-virtual 3D technology with classic-conventional knitwear. The virtual design can be implemented exactly as you see it, while the actual knitted fabric that you perceive haptically and visually can be virtualised exactly as it was knitted.

Every year, more than 120 million tons of textile fibers are processed worldwide – more than a third of them are petroleum-based synthetic fibers, i.e. resource- and emission-intensive, causing waste and polluting the environment. An alternative is needed. But: Where do the fibers for the clothes of the future come from – are textiles that grow on trees or shoes that come from the sea a pure utopia?