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Fibres/​Yarns/​Fabrics

A winning ingredient from fish waste

Supramolecular technology integrates ocean peptide amino acid with textile materials to create bionic functional fibres.

29th April 2022

Innovation in Textiles
 |  Taipei, Taiwan

Clothing/​Footwear, Sustainable

Camangi Corporation’s award-winning UMORFIL Bionic fibres have unique benefits both for the skin and the environment. The special soft hand feeling, and skin health properties imparted in fabrics created from them, are provided by collagen which has been upcycled from food waste and integrated via supramolecular technology. Founder, Dr James Hou, developed the UMORFIL technology seeking a solution to his son’s sensitivity to regular fabrics.

The beneficial collagen peptide amino acid is obtained from fish scales which are the only waste product that cannot otherwise be directly reused by Southeast Asia’s vast aquaculture industry. This waste comprises between 1-5% of the fish and is either burned – contributing to the region’s air pollution – or buried, leading to soil acidification.

Fish collagen has been shown to have beneficial effects on the skin, with various studies showing decreased wrinkles and improved skin hydration and firmness. It also protects against oxidative skin damage caused by ultraviolet (UV) light. UMORFIL technology bonds the textile materials and collagen peptide amino acid together to make the bionic fibre series just like natural protein fibre.

© UMORFIL

UMORFIL Beauty Fiber

The bionic viscose which is created by blending peptide amino acid with regular viscose via supramolecular technology. Its bionic features are permanent and it can be blended with staple fibres of cotton, linen, lyocell, silk and wool, as well as with synthetic fibres and filaments. UMORFIL Beauty Fiber is 100% biodegradable and carries DIN CERTCO certification. The amino acid inside the fibre captures water from the air, imparting good anti-static properties. Also, the moisture regain is up to 1.5 times greater than regular viscose, which can give a softer hand feel.

New type of nylon

UMORFIL N6U is meanwhile a new type of nylon which combines skin friendly properties with advanced protection in textiles. It has more amino groups on the surface and is a deep dyeable nylon, which absorbs dyestuffs more efficiently and reduces effluent. UMORFIL N6U also has a natural cooling effect and UV protection. It has a higher moisture regain than regular nylon.

Bionic polyester

UMORFIL T can be used for the creation of fabrics exploiting the natural champagne gold colour of the fibre and completely avoiding the dyeing process, to eliminate the use of dyestuffs and the creation of associated waste. It is said to have a moisture regain three times that of regular polyester and is the result of the polymerisation of collagen peptide and polyester which has been discuss in research article. Also, its bionic features are permanent.

Medical testing

The UMORFIL Bionic fibre series has passed medical level skin sensitization/ irritation testing, including ISO10993, and the fibres are already being employed in inner wear, denim, active wear, and fashion items, as well as in home textiles, mattress tickings and waddings.

Rising demand

“We are now achieving many repeat orders thanks to good feedback from the markets,” said Dr James Hou, the founder of Camangi Corporation, based in Taipei City, Taiwan.

“We are receiving increasing orders and would like to thank all our supply chain partners for investing their time and effort in moving UMORFIL from the testing phase to the market.”

© UMORFIL

UMORFIL N6U received a gold medal at the French Concours Lépine exhibition of inventions in 2021.

In the activewear field UMORFIL’s partners include Jack Wolfskin, Easyyoga and The North Face, whilst home textiles partners include Schiesser and Mode Marie. Lingerie brands in its portfolio include Wacoal and Etam Paris, and fashion partners include 7 for all mankind, Edwin, Guess. Migros as well as OYSHO have already announced socks collection. It’s also adopted by baby brands. For mattress ticking fabric, it cooperates with one of the biggest companies in the world – BOYTEKS and is selected by many bedding brands.

Camangi Corporation was founded in 2002 as a technology company with a wide range of products and services. More recently the Taipei headquartered company has developed strategically and diversified into three clearly defines areas of business – IT services, advanced textile fibres and IT consultancy. For the IT services, now it is building a sustainable textile meta-E-Commerce platform iTexlink, which offers clouding showroom, online matching service, analysing E-commerce retail data that can support the development ideas for textile supply chains and brands. This platform is expecting to speed up go-to-market requirements of the textile industry.

© UMORFIL

Further information

For further information please contact:

Tracey Hsu

UMORFIL Bionic Fiber

[email protected]   

www.umorfil.com

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