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The IRIS — “A Prism for Safe and Sustainable Coloration of Cellulosics” project officially began on September 1 following a kick-off meeting held September 1–2 at RISE Research Institutes of Sweden in Gothenburg. Funded by the Circular Bio-Based Europe Joint Undertaking (CBE JU) under grant agreement 101292536, the four-year initiative will run through August 2030.

The project comes as the global textile industry faces growing pressure to reduce its dependence on fossil-based chemicals and address the environmental and health impacts associated with conventional dyeing and printing. Although interest in bio-based colourants is increasing, they currently account for only a small share of the market. Cost, scalability, quality and compatibility with established industrial processes remain significant barriers to wider adoption.

IRIS aims to tackle those obstacles by developing a portfolio of bio-based coloration technologies that can be integrated into existing textile production lines with minimal modification.

Among the project's demonstrators will be bio-indigo produced through fermentation, microbial dyes derived using carbon dioxide, and encapsulation technologies designed to protect bio-pigments that are sensitive to heat and light. Researchers will also develop reductant-free enzymatic dyeing processes for denim, as well as dope-dyeing technologies that could reduce the need for chemically intensive wet processing.

Another area of development is PVC-free, bio-based screen printing, including technology that would allow printed designs to be removed on demand. Such approaches are intended not only to reduce hazardous chemical inputs but also to make textile products easier to recycle and reuse.

The technologies are being designed as “drop-in” solutions or light retrofits, allowing manufacturers to adopt them without completely replacing existing production infrastructure. The project partners plan to validate the technologies against relevant industry standards and OEKO-TEX® requirements.

A central principle of IRIS is the Safe and Sustainable by Design (SSbD) approach. The project seeks to replace substances of concern used in conventional textile coloration, including aniline-based indigo precursors, strong reducing agents, certain reactive azo dyes and PVC plastisols.

If successfully scaled, the technologies could reduce water and energy consumption as well as the global warming potential associated with colouring each kilogram of fabric. The project also aims to produce cleaner wastewater streams and achieve up to 80% recyclability in selected material flows.

The initiative brings together 18 partners spanning the textile value chain, including universities and research organisations, small and medium-sized enterprises, a chemical producer, textile manufacturers, retailers and brands. Aalto University is one of the university partners in the IRIS consortium, contributing academic expertise to the project's research and innovation activities and to the development of safer and more sustainable approaches to textile colouration.

The consortium is coordinated by Anna-Karin Hellström of RISE Research Institutes of Sweden.

“A unique strength of IRIS is its multidisciplinary consortium of 18 partners and the Advisory Board,” Hellström said. “Together, the partners cover the whole textile value chain, ensuring that the developed solutions are technically feasible and ready for industrial uptake.”

The project is also positioned within the European Union's wider efforts to make the chemicals and textile sectors safer and more circular. Its objectives support the EU Chemicals Strategy for Sustainability, the Zero Pollution Action Plan and the EU Strategy for Sustainable and Circular Textiles.

For an industry still heavily dependent on fossil-derived dyes and chemical-intensive wet processing, IRIS represents an attempt to move bio-based textile coloration beyond the laboratory and into commercially viable production — potentially linking cleaner chemistry with the broader transition towards a circular, low-carbon European textile economy.