Can Tea Make Clothes, Too? British Fabrics Such As Leather

British fashion designers collaborate with fiber scientists to develop a lightweight garment that is both leather and fabric. The fabric used for this garment has been used to make shirts, jackets, women's wear and even shoes. The British call it " Tea shirt " The reason is that it is made from the British favorite beverage and tea.

Scientists have been committed to fashion development and design. They have worked with the central Saint Martin Institute of art and design to develop this new type of fabric and tea shirt, which is believed to be highly practical. It can also process, dye, melt and create new clothes. This is the charm of tea shirts. They believe that this innovative and sustainable fabric will become more and more important for the development of the textile industry. Raw materials such as traditional cotton, wool and leather will be more and more restricted.

The tea shirts they developed are useless. Green tea water Sugar and other nutrients are developed by special mixing. Green tea mixture stimulates the growth of Acetobacter spp. to produce cellulose filaments. After wearing it for two weeks, the clothes become more and more firm due to the effect of cellulose. During this period, they added a large amount of bacteria into the cellulose tea juice, so that they could be attached to the surface of the clothes. After drying, the tea shirt clothing is transparent, similar to transparent papyrus.

The project was developed by Su Zhanli, a professor of textiles at the Royal College of London, who worked closely with designers of the central Saint Martin Institute of art and design. Professor Paul Freeman, a molecular biologist at Royal College London, said: "bacteria naturally grow cellulose fibers, which are linked into pieces and become fabrics." Of course, the bacteria often cause uneven surface. So scientists can think of ways to make them durable and smooth. This kind of clothing is as strong as leather after drying, and even it can't be damaged by hand tearing.

Su Zhanli met a biologist a few years ago, and they had no intention of producing such an idea in conversation. She believes that microbes can recycle cellulose and produce the same materials as textiles. From this, she thought of fashion clothes being thrown away after they were crossed, and how to deal with waste today when sustainable development is becoming more and more important.

Since then, she has found Professor Freeman and Professor Alexander, a specialist in materials science at the Royal College. It happens that they are also studying biosynthesis technology. Cellulose is made into bacteria and made into a fabric. When Su Zhanli put forward his own ideas, he immediately attracted the attention of two scientists. Freeman said that Su Zhanli brought them room for imagination, and the two scientists set wings for her to take off. The materials used by Su Zhanli are also incredible. They are completely different from their original bacteria. Cellulosic materials. To this end, they jointly established the project and sought to enhance their new characteristics.

As of today, people have to face some challenges if they want to wear such clothes to the streets, for example, the smell of this kind of clothes is too strong because of the continuous breeding of bacteria. To overcome this problem, we need to study it. Of course, we need to set standards for large-scale production.