From the Lab: Nettle Positive

Nettle fibres and dyes / Source: Nettle Positive

EuropeNettle FibreTextiles

3 MINUTE READ

Mayer Nissim

Not just the scourge of the playground, nettles have long been used as food and medicine, and now circular design specialist Eva Pujol is exploring how the stinging plant can be turned into textiles.

Pujol might not be the only nettle textile innovator (Pangaia's nettle denim being another notable example), but when its fibres are combined with her innovative bacterial dyes, we can sense a truly sustainable solution in our grasp.

Nettle fibre / Source: Nettle Positive

Nettle fibres dyed with bacterial dyes / Source: Nettle Positive

WHAT IS NETTLE POSITIVE?

Eva Pujol is working with nettles to create a regenerative solution for the fashion industry. She sources materials and fabrics – either pure nettle fibres or a nettle and organic cotton blend – exclusively from Swiss company Nettle Circle. They harvest nettles from the Himalayas, supporting local communities and taking care not to disturb the local ecosystem. Once sources, the raw fibres are woven into squares on a table loom in a similar way to making linen from flax.

Nettle Positive isn’t just about the fibres. The project also makes use of bacterial dyes to give the textiles their colour. After some failed experiments with liquid cultures, Pujol sourced janthinobacterium lividum and serratia marcescens bacteria from the grow lab at Central St Martins and extracted their pigment from the plate culture. The microorganisms are mixed with ethanol to kill off any nasties and liquid filtered to eliminate any residue. The fabrics and fibres are submerged in the liquid before it is autoclaved at 120°C to guarantee safety. The final material is benignly biodegradable, with Eva observing and recording swift decomposition of samples buried in compost.

As to where Nettle Positive can go next, with nettles and bacteria in abundance there is no limit on raw materials, but Pujol needs investment, funding and her own lab to scale up production.

Nettle fibre / Source: Nettle Positive

WHAT PROBLEM IS NETTLE POSITIVE SOLVING?

Nettle fabrics are nothing new. People have been making clothes from the plant for a couple of thousand years, but Cotton completely took over thanks to its ease of harvesting and spinning. Synthetics came on the scene in the 20th century and further pushed traditional bast fibres into the background.

The problems with polyester are well known. It can take up to 200 years to decompose, and during its lifetime will shed microplastics every time it’s washed. Cotton is much better, but too often uses vast quantities of water, as well as relying on chemical fertilisers and pesticides. By contrast, nettle fibres are easily compostable and much less resource-intensive to produce. Nettles can also be grown in cooler climates without the need for pesticides, herbicides or irrigation.

The dyeing element of Nettle Positive potentially solves an even bigger problem. Synthetic dyes are notorious for the environmental damage they bring. From the pollutants and toxic fixers leached into rivers when they’re applied to the massive amount of water the dying process needs.

The range of colours Nettle Positive manages to create from two types of bacteria doesn’t yet compete with the rainbow offered by synthetic dyes, but any sustainable addition to the market is surely a welcome one.