The prototype dress was part of a project dubbed Establish Locally Grown Textiles in Sweden, which aims to both increase local textiles production but also highlight the use of materials that are less resource-intensive than cotton and synthetic fibers.
“There are already textiles made of paper, but the unique thing about this project is that we have looked at the possibilities for recycling and challenge existing production and recycling techniques to achieve a circular flow,” Lena-Marie Jensen, team leader of ‘Design for recycling’ and project coordinator tells Fibre2Fashion. “One of the greater challenges in the production of a paper fabric is to knit with the paper yarn instead of weaving with it, since paper is a relatively stiff material… I am also looking forward to see prototypes for interior purposes emerge in this project.”
The unbleached paper was spun into threads by SKS Textile and made into fabrics by knitting machines at SST-Borås.