Fortum and Spinnova present clothing made from wheat straw

Energy company Fortum and fibre technology firm Spinnova have presented their first prototype clothing items made using wheat straw as a raw material for textile fibre. The initiative aims to develop new business opportunities within the circular economy by utilizing agricultural waste.

The clothing, including a knitted t-shirt and a jacket and skirt made from woven fabric, was showcased at the Textile Exchange Sustainability Conference in Vancouver in October 2019. The material is reported to have an extremely low environmental impact from raw material extraction through manufacturing, verified by a life-cycle analysis.

The collaboration utilizes fractionation technology, developed by Fortum's associate company Chempolis Oy, for processing the straw. Spinnova's technology, in turn, mechanically converts microfibrillated cellulose into fibre without harmful chemicals or dissolving processes. Spinnova states that its technology is adaptable for various biomass-based materials.

Fortum and Spinnova plan to establish a production facility within their future biorefineries that will process residual biomass, such as straw, into cellulose-based materials. These biorefineries would be based on fractionation technology, expected to enable efficient resource utilization and lower environmental impact compared to other methods.