The textile market covers a broad range of materials – both woven and nonwoven – used in applications ranging from clothing and apparel to interior and decoration textiles, technical textiles, medical textiles and safety and security products. Consequently, the textile industry has a significant impact on the environment and has faced mounting pressure across the entire value chain from end users, consumers and non-governmental organisations to improve its performance with respect to sustainability.
One response to this need has been the development of biobased fibres from renewable raw materials. Many biobased polymers have been developed, including polyethylene terephthalate (PET), polyethylene (PE), polylactic acid (PLA), starch blends, biodegradable polyesters such as polybutylene succinate (PBS) and poly(butylene adipate-co-terephthalate) (PBAT), thermosets (epoxies, polyurethanes [PUR] and ethylene propylene diene monomer rubber [EPDM]) and cellulose acetate...
