CETI – Centre Européen des Textiles Innovants
A textile innovation and applied research centre for the future trends and needs, adapted for the environment. CETI is a place to design, prototype, experiment new products and materials for the textile fashion, luxury and retail sector. One of its major strategic axes is sustainable development.
The importance of this implication, for a more virtuous fashion, makes it possible to palliate the lack of natural resources and the use of toxic products.
Eco-design is also an important focus of CETI services. By accompanying the customers from the upstream to the downstream, CETI enable them to find technical solutions for more responsible textile collections. Since 2014, the CETI is demonstrated by developping new materials of bio-sourced fibers : PLA, (Polylactic acid) polyester from corn or beetroot, polyamid 11 (often associated to nylon) from castor oil (non petroleum-based material) and also a product development to lightening up structures in a less energy consumption while keeping the same mechanical properties.
By reinventing the end-of-life of a product, CETI feeds the textile industry with a secondary raw material. In this preoccupation of preserving the resources, this would enable the CETI to lead the way to improve industrial processes to stay at the forefront of technology.
CETI has been contacted by DECATHLON regarding the cotton sourcing and the rise of the price, up to 17% by 2018. The cotton grown and processes has a bad environmental footprint (pesticides, use of water, high price) but an unequalled quality of softness, its recyclability give a true added value.
However, if the sourcing of clothing comes mainly from Asia, the consumer is far more european, where the interests of renew this « post-consumer fibre ». This is why CETI is part of a new projet called « REWIND » launched in the beginning of septembre, 2017. The objective of this project is to reinvent the cotton textiles articles end-of-life to design new line of cotton fabrics more responsible. A project realised with the assistance of Investissements d’avenir de l’Etat assigned to ADEME and co-financed by la Métropole Européenne de Lille. This project is comprised of a consortium which brings together main actors for the creation of a new Textile industry « recycled » in France. We can find industrials, TDV INDUSTRIES, DECATHLON and manufacturer of textiles machines LAROCHE, and two actors of research and innovation, le CETI- Centre Européen des Textiles Innovants and Engineer School ICAM.
CETI will host the industrial pilot line of recycling of short fibers on its site located in Tourcoing and will experiment and protoptype a new line of 100% cotton recycled fabrics. In complementarity of this project, CETI will push the development of new fabrics on fibers blending polyester/recycled cotton. This investment made on this platform « upcycling », a one of a kind in Europe, will provide proof of the relevance of a circular economy approach.
