Turning old clothing into pigment

November 8, 2023 9:01 PM

Scientists at Deakin University discover how to mulch down old clothing into a pigment as part of an going project looking at textile waste solutions.
posted by chariot pulled by cassowaries (4 comments total)

This is so interesting. I wonder what the pigments are actually made of, ultimately, since multiple dyes are used to make various clothing colors. I like the idea of this, but it would be good to get a sense of what materials you're actually working with—as an artist, I wouldn't want to drag my fingers through a pigment made of an unknown set of materials, as it looks like this artist did. But that's just a general art safety thing.
posted by limeonaire at 6:32 AM on November 9, 2023

Interesting recycling concept but they play pretty loose with the concepts of dyes and dyeing. Pigments and dyes are different things. Paints and inks for screen printing sure, but I doubt that dyeing with this would hold up well long term. Disclaimer: I'm not super familiar with mordants, so could be wrong.
posted by achrise at 7:13 AM on November 9, 2023

Pigments are -mechanically attached- colorants. Generally by being in a matrix of something (eg latex or an oil or acrylic medium).
Dyes have chemical adsorptions and/or reactions (although insome cases, like indigo, the reaction is with itself and its connection to the substrate is mechanical. Or steric if you want to be a pedant.

Since I invited pedantry: a pigment is still a pigment if it hasn’t met its medium yet.
posted by janell at 12:52 PM on November 9, 2023

Currently, only single-colour clothing can be crushed down, so textiles need to be manually cut and separated…

Separating different fibres and materials was also an issue — for the most part, the scientists could only break down textiles made from up to two materials, with polyester being one of the trickiest.

This is like “now draw the rest of the owl”. For artists, yes, you’d want distinct colors but there’s got to be a market for the color “sludge”, exterior paint that blends in with the landscape. Polyester now, that’s always the dealbreaker. Where are those nano bots we were promised?
posted by TWinbrook8 at 9:18 AM on November 10, 2023