Digital Processing for BioMaterial Design and Sustainable Material Finishing

Dr Laura Morgan has been awarded a UWE Vice-Chancellor’s Early Career Researcher Development Award (2020/21) for the project Digital Processing for BioMaterial Design and Sustainable Material Finishing.  Resource use and waste in textile manufacturing poses significant socio-environmental issues, globally. Cited among the most pollutive industries, research towards a circular textile economy is imperative. This timely year-long study will examine the commercial viability of bio-materials as sustainable alternatives within the fashion and textiles industry. It will question current barriers to the use of these materials and address identified issues via a body of practical research into reduction of non-biodegradable textile waste and alternatives to chemical dyes and finishes that render textile goods ‘un-compostable’. The research will investigate digital processes for emerging bio-materials (e.g. bio-plastics), existing bio-materials (e.g. linen and other less conventional plant fibres), dye recipes, and the effects of laser processing and 3D printing on the chosen materials.