STOCKHOLM, May 20 (Reuters) – A Stockholm restaurant crew is wearing cotton aprons that capture greenhouse gas from the air, in a pilot of a technique developed by H&M-backed researchers as the fashion industry struggles to lower its climate impact.
The textile industry has a large carbon footprint, something fashion giants are under increasing pressure to address as shoppers become more aware of the environmental impact of clothes and as global temperatures rise.
The Hong Kong Research Institute of Textiles and Apparel (HKRITA) has developed an amine-containing solution with which to treat cotton – fibre, yarn or fabric – making the cotton pull carbon dioxide gas towards it and capture it, to thereafter stabilise and store it on the surface of the textile.
HKRITA CEO Edwin Keh said in an interview his team had been inspired by techniques used in chimneys of coal-fired power plants to limit emissions.
“Many power plants have to scrub as much carbon dioxide as they can out of the air before the exhaust is released,” Keh told Reuters. “We thought ‘why don’t we try to replicate that chemical process on a cotton fibre”.
These cotton aprons can draw in CO2 and store it on the surface of the textile, thus lowering the climate impact by the textile industry https://t.co/O5IowPBLGO pic.twitter.com/D5lpXFhefi
— Reuters (@Reuters) May 21, 2022