Fashion
US researchers replace harmful chemicals with eco-friendly cottonseed
The process for harvesting cotton and creating fabric for textiles includes collecting the wispy cellulose fibres of the cotton boll, removing the cotton seeds interspersed in the fibres, spinning the cotton into yarn, weaving the yarn into fabric and then finishing the fabric with a variety of chemicals that alter its physical properties — for example, making it softer or wrinkle resistant.
Researchers at North Carolina State University have developed a sustainable method using cottonseed oil to finish cotton fabrics—offering a safer alternative to harmful chemicals like formaldehyde and PFAS.
These methods aim to make fabrics smooth and durable without compromising environmental or human health.
Graduate student Taylor Kanipe presented the findings at the ACS Fall 2025 meeting.
Formaldehyde-based resins have traditionally been used as a fabric finishing agent. The sticky resin easily binds to cotton’s cellulose fibres, forming chemical bridges to make the long cellulose fibres resistant to wrinkling or stretching. While formaldehyde is cheap, easy to use and highly reactive, at high concentrations it is considered a Class 1 carcinogen. Formaldehyde can also cause skin and respiratory irritation.?Fluorine-
To eliminate the need for formaldehyde-based resins and PFAS in cotton fabric finishing, a group led by Richard Venditti, a professor of forest biomaterials, paper science and engineering at NC State, set out to create a green alternative by chemically altering seed oil from the cotton plant itself. Drawing on previous research at NC State, Kanipe, Venditti and colleagues took advantage of specific chemical properties in cottonseed oil to insert epoxy groups along the long carbon chains that make up the oil molecules. The epoxide group allows epoxidised cottonseed oil (ECSO) molecules to create strong chemical bonds with the cellulose fibres in cotton fabric and with each other, forming a polymer and making the fabric hydrophobic. The epoxy groups also create oil molecule bridges between the cellulose fibres, making the fabric resistant to wrinkling.
In addition to fabric finishing, ECSO could provide a use for the cottonseed oil harvested along with the cotton fibers, making it as inexpensive, easy to use and effective as formaldehyde resins.
“Epoxidised vegetable oils have a range of applications,” Kanipe explains. “While native cottonseed oil lacks the reactivity of formaldehyde-based resins, this simple epoxidation process produces a safer, more user-friendly alternative for applications like durable press finishes.”
The researchers weighed and chemically analyzed the ECSO-treated fabric using a type of infrared spectroscopy to ensure the ECSO molecules had successfully bonded to the fabric’s surface. To evaluate the finished fabric’s water repellent qualities, the researchers used a high-speed camera to measure the contact angle at which water droplets would interact with the cotton surface. The larger the angle between the water droplet and the surface of the fabric, the greater the water resistance. Untreated fabric showed no contact angle (in other words, the water was fully absorbed into the fabric), while ECSO-treated fabric showed a contact angle of 125 degrees, indicating a significant increase in water-repelling ability.
Future studies will measure additional performance factors in ECSO-treated cotton fabric, including tear strength, durability and wrinkle resistance. The team’s goal is to create a process of treating cotton with an ECSO water emulsion, a green process that does not require hazardous finishing substances.
“If we can achieve our goal of changing the properties of the cotton fabric — making it anti-wrinkle, anti-staining and water-resistant — using a water-based process, we’ll have a green process for putting a bio-based material onto cotton as a replacement for formaldehyde- and PFAS-based finishes,” says Venditti.
This research was funded by Cotton Incorporated and an Agriculture and Food Research Initiative from the US Department of Agriculture’s National Institute of Food and Agriculture.
Fibre2Fashion News Desk (RR)
NITMA president Sidharth Khanna warned that the current inverted duty structure—where polyester staple fibre (PSF) is taxed at 18 per cent and polyester spun yarn (PSY) at 12 per cent while fabric is at 5 per cent—is unworkable for spinners. He urged a cut in PSF and PSY rates to 5 per cent to align with fabric.
India’s textile sector is under strain as steep US tariffs take effect today.
The Northern India Textile Mills Association (NITMA) has urged the GST Council, meeting on September 3–4, 2025, to address the inverted duty structure in the man-made fibre value chain by reducing GST on polyester staple fibre (18 per cent) and polyester spun yarn (12 per cent) to 5 per cent, aligning with fabric.
According to Khanna, the present system burdens the industry with blocked working capital in GST refunds, unutilised input tax credits, administrative delays, loss of state SGST incentives, and unfair competition from imports.
“This is a critical moment for India’s textile sector. Decisive action to remove the inverted duty structure will not only counteract the impact of US tariffs but also unlock growth and investment across the MMF value chain, thereby making this event a blessing in disguise,” Khanna stressed.
Fibre2Fashion News Desk (KD)
Published
August 28, 2025
A Deutsche Bank report this week has sent the share prices of a number of UK retailers down on the back of falling consumer confidence, and it looks like retailer confidence is low too if the latest CBI retail report is a guide.
First, a quick look at that Deutsche Bank report. It showed UK consumer confidence at a post-pandemic low and raised fears that autumn will be tough for discretionary retailers. Big names such as Next, M&S and Primark owner ABF saw their share prices falling with ABF’s price down as much as 6% in recent days.
It coincided with the latest CBI retailer survey that showed retail sales volumes “fell at a strong pace in the year to August, extending the downturn to an 11th consecutive month”.
That said, the business body reported retailers expecting the pace of decline to ease in September. So perhaps those share price falls may be reversed soon?
Regardless, the CBI report wasn’t exactly upbeat. It said weak demand and gloomy sentiment continue to weigh on retailers’ investment and hiring plans. Price pressures remain elevated, with selling prices rising at their fastest rate since November 2023.
Year-on-year retail sales volumes fell at a strong pace in August with a weighted balance of -32% from -34% in July. Sales are expected to decline at a slower rate next month (-16%).
First though, an explanation. Those figures don’t mean that the volume of sales fell by 34%. Instead, the weighted balance showed 34% of retailers saying their sales fell to one degree or another.
Back with the report, retail sales for the time of year were judged to be “poor”, to a somewhat greater extent than in July (-19% from -10% in July). Next month’s sales are set to remain below seasonal norms to a similar degree (-20%).
Sentiment among retailers remained poor, with their business situation expected to deteriorate over the coming quarter, but to a lesser extent than last quarter (-10% from -29% in May).
Retailers also expect to reduce capital expenditure over the next 12 months (compared to the previous 12) to a slightly lesser degree than in May (-42% from -47% in May), but intentions remain poor by historical standards (long-run average of -3%).
Meanwhile retail employment continued to decline at a broadly unchanged rate in the year to August (-14% from -15% in May). Headcount is expected to fall at a slightly quicker pace next month (-19%).
And the survey showed retail selling prices rose in the year to August at the fastest rate since November 2023 (+65% from +35% in May). Retailers anticipate selling prices to increase at a relatively slower pace in September (+43%).
Online retail sales volumes were broadly flat in the year to August (+3% from +4% in July) but are expected to contract at a fast rate in September (-35%).
Martin Sartorius, CBI Principal Economist, said of this: “Retailers endured another tough month in August. Weak demand and higher labour costs continue to put pressure on margins, dampening sentiment across the retail and wider distribution sector. This downbeat outlook is reflected in firms’ plans to scale back investment and hiring.
“The government’s fiscal decisions are continuing to bite, and retailers’ struggles send a clear signal: business cannot be asked to balance the books again at the Autumn Budget. Building business confidence through delivery must be the priority — starting with a rethink of the Employment Rights Bill, which risks piling on unnecessary costs and holding back jobs and investment.”
Copyright © 2025 FashionNetwork.com All rights reserved.
Published
August 28, 2025
Central London’s department stores continue to attract brands for pop-ups and permanent spaces with Selfridges, Harrods and Liberty all adding key names recently.
Luxury lifestyle brand Smythson of Bond Street has opened a new concession in the latter. It’s in Liberty’s homewares department on the third floor. The brand’s signature diaries, notebooks, and stationery, along with a selection of leather accessories and a curated edit of the brand’s bestselling bags are all on offer with personalisation also available.
The brands have developed an exclusive limited-edition range of Smythson x Liberty products with the first collection having just launched. There’s a selection of signature notebooks and diaries in Liberty Purple, Smythson’s Nile Blue, and a seasonal Coral colourway, each lined with a Liberty silk in coordinating colours. The second edit, launching in November, will feature a range of bestselling accessories.
Meanwhile UK-based padel apparel brand Pulco has debuted at Harrods, becoming the store’s first-ever padel clothing label, underlining the sport’s surging popularity.
Products on offer include the key Aircon shirt made from an ultra-lightweight, Italian-engineered fabric “featuring a breakthrough weave that rapidly wicks moisture from the inside out, delivering unrivalled breathability and comfort in play”.
But as well as performance-wear, there’s a full lifestyle offering “blending elevated athletic apparel with understated, off-court elegance”. That means shirts, shorts, hoodies, jackets, T-shirts, sweatpants, caps, socks and more. Retail prices range from £10 up to £165.
And back in the West End, Samsøe Samsøe has moved to a new space within Selfridges that presents the Scandinavian brand’s contemporary womenswear “within the universe of its experiential design”. The pop-up revolves around the AW25 collection that also inspires the space, “which emulates the immersive ‘Radiant Connection’ exhibition” that Samsøe Samsøe introduced the collection with during Copenhagen Fashion Week.
Set against the backdrop of the exhibition’s set design and illustrated by the lookbook imagery of the season, the pop-up “becomes illuminated with the lime green shade that defines the visual identity” of the collection.
The brand said the pop-up is a “next step within Samsøe Samsøe’s ever-increasing focus on the UK market” and should help it reach new consumers.
Copyright © 2025 FashionNetwork.com All rights reserved.
NITMA urges GST council to fix inverted textile duty as US tariffs hit
Stock Market Updates: Sensex Slides 700 Points, Nifty Below 24,550; IT, Realty Stocks Under Pressure
As the Commanders set their roster, an undrafted rookie had a ‘surreal’ day
-
Business1 week agoRSS Feed Generator, Create RSS feeds from URL
-
Tech1 week agoKorea develops core radar components for stealth technology
-
Fashion1 week agoTariff pressure casts shadow on Gujarat’s textile landscape
-
jobs1 week agoData Analyst at Easy Agile – Australia
-
Fashion7 days agoRent the Runway to swap debt for equity in revival effort
-
Fashion1 week agoUS retailers split on holiday prospects amid consumer caution
-
Tech7 days agoQi2’s Magnetic Wireless Charging Finally Arrives on Android
-
Sports1 week ago
Dan Quinn says Terry McLaurin is healthy, ‘closer’ to Commanders return