Loop

Zarkon Group Real Estate Builders & Developers > Blog > Loop

Tag: Loop

Human Material Loop sets out to commercialise textiles made from hair
CategoriesSustainable News

Human Material Loop sets out to commercialise textiles made from hair

By Zarkon Group,

Dutch company Human Material Loop is using an unusual waste source to make a zero-carbon wool alternative that requires no land or water use: human hair.

Human Material Loop works with participating hairdressers to collect hair cuttings, which it processes into yarns and textiles and sometimes turns into garments.

Founder and CEO Zsofia Kollar was initially interested in human hair from what she describes as a “cultural and sociological” perspective before she began exploring its material properties.

Sweater made from hair
Human Material Loop turns human hair into yarn and textile for products. Photo courtesy of Schwarzkopf Professional

“Delving into scientific studies about hair revealed not only its unique characteristics but also the stark reality of excessive waste generated,” Kollar told Dezeen. “This realisation became a catalyst for a clear mission: finding sustainable ways to utilise hair waste.”

Elsewhere, human hair mats are being used to mop up oil spills and to create biodegradable stools, but Kollar honed in on the textile industry as the best target for her aspirations.

“Not only is the textile sector one of the largest markets in our economy, but it also ranks among the most environmentally taxing industries,” said Kollar.

Photo of five fabrics made of human hair folded and stacked on top of each other. They each feature small geometric patterns in shades of black, white and dark blue
The company wants to tackle the environmental impacts of the textile industry. Photo by Medina Resic

“Throughout history, we’ve utilised a variety of animal fibres in textiles, yet our own hair, composed of the same keratin protein as wool, often goes overlooked,” she continued. “Why not treat human hair as we would any other valuable textile fibre?”

According to Kollar, the use of human hair eliminates one of the major sources of greenhouse gas emissions in the textile industry: the cultivation of raw materials like cotton plants or farming of sheep for wool.

Waste hair does not degrade any soil, require any pesticide, pollute any water or produce any greenhouse gas emissions, she points out.

Photo of a pair of hands scrunching up a thick piece of black and white textured fabric
The textiles have many desirable attributes, says the company. Photo by Medina Resic

At the same time, hair has properties that make it highly desirable. It’s flexible, it has high tensile strength, it functions as a thermal insulator and it doesn’t irritate the skin.

Human Material Loop has focused on developing the technology to process hair so it can be integrated into standard machinery for yarn and textile production.

The company has made the waste hair into a staple fibre yarn – a type of yarn made by twisting short lengths of fibres together – and has several textiles in development.

It has also made a few complete garments, most recently a red sweater-like dress created in collaboration with the company Henkel, owner of the Schwartzkopf haircare brand.

Photo of a woman's torso wearing a deep red knit sweater
Human Material Loop’s collaborations have yielded products such as this knit dress, made with the company Henkel. Photo courtesy of Schwarzkopf Professional

The dress is intended for display at hairdressing events, as part of an initiative to foster discussion about alternative salon waste-management ideas.

Seeing completed products like these, Kollar said, helps to ease the discomfort or disgust that many people feel around using products derived from humans.

“Surprisingly, the material looks utterly ordinary, akin to any other textile,” she said. “A fascinating transformation occurs when individuals touch and feel the fabric. Their initial scepticism dissolves, giving way to a subconscious acceptance of the material.”

Photo of a piece of black and white thick woven fabric lying flat on a surface
People’s discomfort around the use of human hair is said to fade when they see the fabric

“The rejection usually stems from those who’ve merely heard about it without ever laying eyes on the garments themselves,” she continued. “It’s a testament to the power of firsthand experience in reshaping perceptions”

Kollar says Human Material Loop will also be targeting the architecture and interiors products market, for which she believes hair’s moisture resistance, antibacterial properties, and acoustic and thermal attributes will make it an attractive proposition.

The company has a commercial pilot scheduled for 2024 and also aims to create a comprehensive fabric library for brands and designers.

Photo of a pale woven textile made of hair by Human Material Loop
The company plans to make a build a full fabric library

Kollar had been making experimental textiles like a golden, scented tapestry woven from blonde hair for many years before setting out to commercialise the venture with Human Material Loop in 2021.

She is not the only designer to have attempted to utilise wasted hair cuttings. In recent years, Ellie Birkhead incorporated the material into region-specific bricks and hair was used to measure urban pollution in Bangkok.

Reference

Loop Loop finds way of anodising aluminium with plant-based pigments
CategoriesSustainable News

Loop Loop finds way of anodising aluminium with plant-based pigments

By Zarkon Group,

Dutch design studio Loop Loop has pioneered a process of adding colour to aluminium using pigments made from plants rather than petroleum.

Odin Visser and Charles Gateau, founders of the Rotterdam-based studio, claim to have created the “world’s first plant-based aluminium dying process”.

They have produced four bio-based pigment solutions that can be applied to aluminium through anodising, a surface treatment process that typically uses petroleum-based pigments.

Plant-based purple pigments used for Local Colours, a project for anodising aluminium by Loop Loop
Loop Loop has developed four plant-based pigments for anodising aluminium

Visser told Dezeen it was “the most complex issue” that Loop Loop had ever tackled.

“Natural pigments are being used more and more, but most of them are absolutely ineffective in the context of anodising,” he explained.

“We had to take a deep dive into chemistry, using resources from research papers to AI chatbots in order to understand the underlying principles that decide if a pigment is going to work or not.”

Local Colours by Loop Loop with Magic Colour Machine
The colours include a warm purple derived from dyer’s alkanet flowers

Visser and Gateau are on a mission to make the process of aluminium anodising more accessible to designers, makers and small-scale manufacturers. Currently, it is largely only used in mass production.

The long-term aim is to make their designs and recipes open source, so anyone could set up a production facility.

Their journey began with the Magic Colour Machine, unveiled during Milan design week in 2022. This mobile, custom-built machine was designed to allow anyone to apply colour gradients to aluminium components, wherever they are.

Local Colours, a project for anodising aluminium by Loop Loop
Different effects can be achieved by applying the pigment in different ways

This new project, titled Local Colours, explores how the process could be made more sustainable.

“To find a way to produce the pigments for our Magic Colour Machine ourselves in a plant-based way helps us to further close the loop,” said Visser.

The four dyes developed so far include a warm purple derived from dyer’s alkanet flowers, a mustard yellow created with dyer’s rocket flowers, a deep pink made using madder root and a bright gold produced with red onion.

Loop Loop has explored different techniques for applying these colours to metal with different effects.

As well as smooth gradients, the pigments can be used to create textural finishes.

“The finish depends on how the pigments are applied,” explained Gateau, a Design Academy Eindhoven tutor with a background in material science.

“We can follow the standard practice of anodising and dip our pieces in a dye to obtain a uniform colour finish. In that sense, it is impossible to distinguish it from the industrial pigments,” he told Dezeen.

“It is also possible to press plant parts directly onto the surface we wish to dye; all sorts of patterns can emerge.”

Plant-based purple pigments used for Local Colours, a project for anodising aluminium by Loop Loop
A press effect results in varied textural patterns

The anodising process involves using an electric current to apply a thin aluminium oxide layer on the outer surface of the metal.

Loop Loop’s tests suggest that plant-based anodising finishes behave much the same as petroleum-based finishes, meaning they can be just as easily removed as added.

The main difference is that the colours react when exposed to direct sunlight.

“This is due to the molecular structure of the dyes, which is way more complex and diverse in the case of natural-based substances,” said Gateau. “The colours have a life of their own.”

Magic Colour Machine by Loop Loop
Smooth gradients can be achieved using the Magic Colour Machine

Visser and Gateau have been growing their own plants for the dyes, supporting their commitment to localised production.

Once the recipes are made open source, they hope to encourage others to do the same. The ambition is to launch a platform that makes this possible in 2024.

“It’s still at an early stage, but we envision an ecosystem of designers, researchers and makers sharing the outcomes of work in the field of circular products and service systems,” added Visser.

Other designers exploring the possibilities of plant-based pigments include Nienke Hoogvliet, who has launched a brand working with seaweed-based textile dyes, and Studio Agne, which has created textile dye from biowaste.

Reference