Sustainable & Functional Textiles
Textiles are in the fibre of our lives, so to speak. From clothing and home furnishings to advanced medical applications such as artificial heart valves.
Society is facing many complex issues. Sustainable and functional materials can help address these problems. The Sustainable & Functional Textiles (SFT) Research Group develops innovative concepts and products by way of applied research in collaboration with businesses, researchers and students.
Our areas of expertise
Collaborative, open-minded and innovative textile research, driven by impact and integrity
Our focus includes recycling textile materials, processing sustainable fibres and textile analysis to improve quality and sustainability. We develop knitting technologies and integrate sensors and actuators into textiles for smart applications. With a user-centred design approach, we ensure that innovations meet real-world needs. We also drive improvements in textile processing to optimise efficiency and sustainability. Through these efforts, we are shaping a smarter, more sustainable future for textiles
Test & Prototyping labs
Textiles today are much more than just the production of fabrics. You can discover this for yourself in our unique test & development laboratories where textiles can be recycled, analysed, weaved, knitted and made into garments.
Do you have questions or want to collaborate?
Get in touch!
Jens Oelerich
Our focus
The key research areas of the Sustainable & Functional Textiles Research Group include:
Sustainable Textiles
This line of research focuses on studying the opportunities and challenges for a circular and more sustainable textile industry. Our Circular Textile Lab enables rapid prototyping of circular textiles, using both recycled and virgin materials. We carry out a wide range of projects relating to the circular textile value chain in close collaboration with industry partners. For instance, the use of spectroscopic analytical tools for sorting textiles, optimising chemical and mechanical recycling processes and investigating different applications of recycled fibres in yarns and fabrics.
Functional Textiles
Functional textiles are having a major impact in a wide range of sectors: from fashion to technical applications. In healthcare, they are paving the way for smart clothing that can monitor vital signs, accelerate wound healing and provide therapeutic benefits. The integration of smart materials in textiles is bringing a new level of interaction between textiles and the environment, leading to improved user experiences and new applications.
Collaboration
Society is facing many complex issues. Smart and functional materials can help address these issues. The digitalisation of production networks enables innovations to reach markets more quickly. Our research group develops innovative concepts and products through applied research in collaboration with businesses, researchers and students.
Research can be performed on an invoice basis. A tightly framed research plan is set up with the professor and/or project leader along with a budgeted number of hours for conducting research and use of equipment and materials. These are paid for by the client.
Clients can issue assignments to bachelor’s students at Fashion & Textile Technologies or master’s students at Innovative Textile Development. The student concerned then works in-house with the client while being supervised by their programme. The research group can provide advice when asked, or help by lending equipment.
In the Smart Solutions Semester, a group of students from different (mainly technical) study programmes works together on an assignment from a business. The client supervises the students in terms of content while a supervisor from Saxion supervises the students in terms of process.
Read more about our collaborations
CollaborateEducation
The research group is involved in the following study programmes:
Our partners
Our researchers
