Algal inks for textile dyeing

The startup Mounid with Ida Näslund at the helm is developing the algae ink as a sustainable alternative to conventional paint for the textile and fashion industry.

Today, the textile industry is responsible for emissions equivalent to 3.2 billion tons of carbon dioxide equivalents annually, which corresponds to around 8% of the world's total climate impact. Of this volume, almost 80 percent of the climate impact arises in production, of which conventional textile dyeing is by far the most burdensome part with 23.5 percent. Textile dyeing thus accounts for almost two percent of global carbon dioxide emissions. It is also extremely water- and chemical-intensive.

Based on two pioneering Swedish innovations, Imogo's digital spray technology and Mounid's algae ink based on extracted and refined color pigment from microalgae, the overall goal and purpose of the project is to introduce a radically more resource-efficient and resilient value chain for textile dyeing. The project's model means that water and energy consumption can be reduced by up to 90% and carbon emissions reduced by the same order of magnitude compared to conventional dyeing.

Algae ink as an input also helps to phase out the environmentally harmful pigments and microplastic particles currently used in the industry. Moreover, algae are many times better than land-based plant dyes at generating biomass and storing carbon dioxide, thus counteracting the greenhouse effect.

At the end of the project, at least four prototypes from participating brands should be market-ready.

Founder Mounid: Ida Näslund

Read more about the project:

Website: Mounid
Habit: Algae-colored clothes on the market next year: "Enabling a fully circular product"
Mounid finalist in the Innovation Power competition