SINGAPORE — September 30, 2024 — British climate tech company Matter and Paradise Textiles, the material science and innovation hub of the Alpine Group, have announced a groundbreaking collaborative project to bring Matter’s Regen.™ for Textile Production to market—the world’s first microfibre filter specifically designed for textile manufacturers. This pioneering technology aims to tackle the urgent issue of global microfibre pollution, setting a new standard for sustainable practices in the textile industry.
Created by Matter, Regen.™ for Textile Production represents a major advancement in sustainable textile manufacturing. This groundbreaking filter efficiently removes microfibres during textile manufacturing processes. It is powered by Matter’s patented self-cleaning filtration technology to deliver a low energy, low cost microfibre capture solution that offers effective wastewater filtration without the carbon impact.
The technology also reduces chemical use, prolongs the life of water reuse systems and significantly cuts operating costs. A single manufacturing site could save up to 3 million kilowatt-hours annually and capture over 90 tonnes of microfibres*, reducing carbon emissions over 2000 tonnes of CO2.
Working in collaboration with Paradise Textiles, Regen.™ for Textile Production, which is currently in its R&D phase, is set for installation at Paradise Textiles’ new state-of-the-art low impact fabric mill in Egypt by Q4 2025. Once operational, it will serve as a showcase of the technology for manufacturers and brands keen to adopt the new filtration device.
This announcement builds on the launch of Matter’s successful microfibre filter for home laundry systems with BSH, under the brands Bosch and Siemens. Matter, who raised $10 million in their Series A funding round in 2023, are backed by investors including S2G Ventures, SOUNDwaves, and Regeneration.VC, the climate tech fund backed by Leonardo DiCaprio.
Unveiling Regen.™ for Textile Production, and their collaboration during Regeneration.VC’s Annual Meeting at New York Climate Week, Matter and Paradise explained how Regen.™ for Textile Production offers a revolutionary solution capable of reducing microfibre pollution across all 150,000 global textile factories, which are estimated to be responsible for 20% of the world’s clean water pollution.
Microfibre shedding is a major contributor to microplastic pollution, a significant concern as these tiny particles are now found in our water, air, soil and food sources. Scientific studies have revealed alarming evidence that microplastics infiltrate the human body and have been linked to serious health concerns, including respiratory issues and chronic conditions. The global textile manufacturing industry is responsible for around 120,000 tonnes of microfibre emissions per year, resulting from production, dyeing and washing, underlining the need for urgent industry change.
The collaboration between Matter and Paradise Textiles has been instrumental in advancing Matter’s industrial programme for textile manufacturing. Paradise Textiles, part of the Alpine Group, an end-to-end fashion supply chain partner, recognised the game-changing potential of Matter’s technology for the textile industry and proactively approached Matter with the opportunity to collaborate. Leveraging their expertise in textiles and fibre pollution mitigation, Paradise collaborated closely with Matter to explore how this innovation could be adapted and scaled within textile manufacturing, setting the stage for this groundbreaking collaboration. Over the last 2.5 years, they have provided insights into textile processes, funded early research, and helped shape Matter’s Microfibre Assessment Program (MAP) to establish a service model and maximize fibre capture across Alpine Group’s facilities. Alpine Group, a major producer of materials and apparel, manufactures for brands including The North Face, Lululemon, American Eagle Outfitters and Puma. With over 15 facilities worldwide, Alpine represents the breadth of the apparel industry.
Adam Root, Founder and CEO of Matter, said: “We are delighted to collaborate with Paradise Textiles on this groundbreaking project. It will demonstrate to the fashion industry that a viable solution to this colossal problem of microplastic pollution is within reach. Having co-pioneered the Microfibre Assessment Programme (MAP), which is already benefitting the rest of the industry, it’s an exciting next step to work on this project together to cap microfibre pollution from textiles production and drive further, much needed, change towards a circular solution.”
Lewis Shuler, Head of Innovation at Paradise Textiles, said: “At Paradise we are committed to collaborating with industry innovators and brands to make a material difference for the future of the fashion and textile industry. Matter’s Microfibre filter presents us with an effective way to reduce the environmental impact of the textile and apparel manufacturing process, whilst also reducing operational costs, which is a real game-changer for the industry. We look forward to continuing to drive this exciting project forward and exploring new ways to implement sustainable technologies that can transform the industry at scale.”
Posted: September 30, 2024
Source: Alpine Group
