How Pangaia Turned Textile Waste Into Dye for Re-color Capsule
Material sciences company Pangaia is at it again, this time transforming textile waste into fresh dyes for its “Re-color” capsule.
The Re-color capsule features classic sweat suits from Pangaia dyed with the brand’s own textile offcuts using patented Recycrom technology that transforms textile waste into dye pigments. Four classic Pangaia styles — including hoodies, track pants, T-shirts and shorts — are being remade in a swath of colors from aloe green to coral pink.
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The collection ranges in price from $75 for the Re-color T-shirt to $175 for the Re-color hoodie. It is available online exclusively at Pangaia.com, beginning Aug. 4.
Pangaia is known for experimenting with innovative materials, and just this year, took its energy from fashion to food, launching health bars.
Some of the latest textile innovations for Pangaia are its Flwrdwn (down-fill made of wildflowers) and C-Fiber T-shirt (a blend of eucalyptus pulp and seaweed powder). In the midst of an online summer sale, some of the notable innovations are marked down on its website by as much as 70 percent in the case of a reversible Flwrdwn jacket. However, its latest Re-color capsule speaks to the many ways waste (and markdown culture) can be removed from the equation for fashion.
The Recycrom technology is a patented process from Italian textile chemical company Officina+39. With 30 years of experience in the chemical application field for textiles, Officina+39 produces and sells a range of chemical specialties, dyestuffs and pigments for the apparel industry.
The dye works for fabrics of cotton, wool, nylon or other blends. Because it transforms fibers into a fine pigment powder, Recycrom can be easily filtered from water, thereby reducing the environmental impact, the manufacturer asserts.
Every aspect of impact reduction counts. In a Fairchild Media Group sustainability event held virtually earlier this year, Dr. Amanda Parkes, chief innovation officer at Pangaia drilled down on the company’s mission. “We are really focused on thinking about a return to natural systems, a bio economy where there’s natural processes that are balanced and circular.”
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