Pangaia will soon have a brand-new digital finishing platform after MTIX International finishes installing its patented Multiplexed Laser Surface Enhancement (MLSE) technology in Manhente, Portugal for the materials science company later this quarter.
The initial application of MTIX’s technical textile treatment for the Nordstrom popup partner will contain neither perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA) nor perfluorooctane sulfonic acid (PFOS) for the company’s panoply of apparel. PFOA and PFOS are chemicals commonly used in the textile industry for finishing fabrics to make them water resistant, but have been linked do detrimental health effects.
“We are very excited to work with Pangaia, not just as a licensee, but as a partner in the materials science space,” Phil Mansour, CEO of MTIX, said. “Pangaia, like MTIX, Ltd. is committed to providing the world with environmentally friendly solutions in fashion. Our collaborative efforts…have already begun to bear fruit, beginning with a winning entry in the Conservation X Lab’s Microfiber Innovation Challenge. Transforming the finishing process from analog to digital allows our scientists to create, adjust and deploy process algorithms to a planned global network of MLSE Systems. Solutions like microfiber mitigation can be added to other finishing characteristics in moments with no hardware or line changeovers, at the licensee’s request.”
The Microfiber Innovation Challenge, which was calling on solutions to the world’s microplastics problem in the textile industry, recognized five companies as winners and awarded them cash prizes to support the commercialization of their solutions. The MTIX/Pangaia entry was selected by a panel of judges representing the apparel industry, materials scientists, conservationists and investors based on criteria including feasibility, potential for growth, environmental impact and the novelty of their approach.
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“MTIX’s MLSE technology is a truly revolutionary and disruptive technology with many exciting areas of application,” Dr. Amanda Parkes, chief innovation officer of Pangaia, said. “Through our partnership, we will create next-generation, sustainable solutions for the fashion space.”
This licensed digital finishing system will undergo final testing, configuration and training prior to fully operational commissioning.
MLSE is a hybrid of multiple high-energy sources combined with a mixture of gases, solids and/or liquids designed to directly synthesize materials on and in a specified material substrate, with each combination of energies, constituents and substrates encoded into a proprietary process algorithm.
The platform can be used to deliver and enhance precursor chemistry used for finishing, while drastically reducing the consumption of energy, water and chemicals when compared to historical and current standards of textile processing. As a patented technology for textile finishing applications, MLSE supports Industry 4.0 aims and enhances fabrics functionality, including water, oil and fuel repellency, fire retardancy, antimicrobial resilience, chemical biowarfare protection and enhanced surface preparation for traditional and digital dyeing and printing. MTIX Ltd. is located in Huddersfield, West Yorkshire, U.K.
Pangaia is a global collective of scientists, technologists and designers creating essential products from innovative tech and bio-engineered materials.