Finding ways to lower carbon dioxide levels in the atmosphere is an urgent planet-wide priority. It is crucial to initiate and accelerate change, and all research in this area is of the highest interest and deserves our full attention. With the Planet First program, the H&M Foundation and HKRITA aim to push the entire fashion industry toward becoming planet positive instead of depleting its resources.
“We want to find new solutions that can enable the fashion industry to become planet positive,” said Christiane Dolva, Strategy Lead at H&M Foundation. “And since change needs to happen now, we focus on impatient research to innovate at speed, with rapid iterations to identify disruptive and scalable solutions. Our Planet First program with HKRITA is a perfect example of how we inspire industry-wide change by openly sharing proof of concepts. We don’t have time for the traditional and the slow, therefore we are not aiming for perfect but to get the solutions out of the lab as quickly as possible to be tested and improved, and to inspire others and spur collaborations that can ultimately lead to scale and adoption.”
With the Carbon Looper project, cotton garments are treated with amine-containing solution that makes the surface of the fabric captures carbon dioxide from the surrounding air. The carbon dioxide can then be released from the fabric by being heated to 30-40°C, in a greenhouse for example, where it can naturally be taken up by the plants during photosynthesis. The amount of CO2 that is captured by a garment per day, is approximately equivalent to 1/3 of the amount that a tree absorbs per day. And after only three ‘loop-cycles’, the garment has effectively climate-neutralized itself – and instead starts to have a climate positive effect. Improving and scaling this technology up is being intensely researched in parallel.
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