Working with organic waste can bring circular solutions for the implementation of closed loops of organic feedstocks. At Fab Textiles we have been working with food waste since October 2018 and many researchers through their internship developed and evolved recipes for making food waste biocomposites. There are already some small companies that produce bioleathers with waste, one of them from Mexico called ECOPLASO that I had the possibility to get to know in one of my conferences at ¨Demand Solutions¨ in Miami 2018.
RECIPE / COFFEE BIOLEATHER
2G sodium alginate
2G dried coffee grains of any organic waste in powder
2G olive oil
5G glycerin
33G water
(everything is in grams using a precision scale)
MIX for calcification
7G of calcium chloride in 100ml of water
Various organic waste bio-leather samples
STEP BY STEP INSTRUCTIONS:
1- Weight all the ingredients with a precision scale.
2- Mix the powder together with the glycerin and the olive oil.
3- Add the water and use a mechanical blender to obtain an homogeneous solution.
4- Cast in a silk screen print frame ( you can create your own using any textile and wood)
5- Mix the Calcium chloride with water in a sprayer bottle.
6- Spray the biomaterial on top and bottom with the calcium chloride solution.
7- Let the calcium chloride act for 5´ and rinse with clean water.
8- Let the composite sample dry in a dry and warm place for one week. Depending on the thickness and the size of the sample it may take longer. It will also vary due to the local temperature and humidity.
9- When the product is dry you can separate it from the frame.
Note: As the sample dries, it can become curved, so place it between two level surfaces and some weight on top so at the end we can obtain a really flat sheet
The laser cut pattern can be found and downloaded HERE
BioShades Workshop, TCBL, Fab Textiles, Mazda Space, Barcelona, March 2018
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Textile dyeing chemical processes contributes significantly to pollution and results in waste products that find their way into our rivers and oceans. This problem can be addressed through the use of natural dyes, and by educating consumers on how to develop these on their own, using local raw materials. In the future, even the materials themselves will be consumer-produced. This forges a closer relationship between consumers and products, leading to a more sustainability-conscious society. Could dyeing with bacteria be an alternative to chemical dyes? With BioShades we explore the potential of dyeing with bacteria as a less harmful alternative to the environment. BioShades is a project part of TCBL that aims to renew the European Textile & Clothing sector. We explore new ways to design, make, and work together for inventing new business models to open up new markets.
MASDA SPACE – BIOSHADES WORKSHOP – 15TH OF MARCH 2017
The TCBL event was organized in a distributed way, running in many Labs all over the world at the same time. In Barcelona, 22 participants gathered in Mazda Space and performed a global experiment following a live demonstration lead by the TextileLab Amsterdam. Participating TCBL labs were set up with an inventory that included petri plates, inoculation loops, prepared nutrient broth, sufficient sterilization and safety equipment, and a sample of natural textile like silk. The bacteria used is called Janthinobacterium lividum (violacein) and the medium of growth is agar and LB broth. Textile dyeing with bacteria is part of the Fabricademy classes content.
BioShades Workshop, TCBL, Fab Textiles, Mazda Space, Barcelona, 2018
After an introduction into the days program and an overview of the previous research conducted, the participants were given instructions to fold or scrunch their silk samples – giving room for designers creativity and versatility of results.The samples were compiled and placed in an autoclave bag for 15 mins of sterilization, enough to kill off any previous microorganisms. Each sample was then placed in a sterile petri plate working within 10 cm of the Bunsen burner were the prepared LB broth was dispensed equally into each plate.Then each fabric was placed in a petri-dish, filled with LB broth medium and inoculated with the bacteria. Following this the plates were placed in the incubator with a temperature of 25ºC and left to colonize the fabric for 4-5 days. The unfolded results are as shown.
