TEDxRosario - Julieta Gayoso - Textile innovations for the future

Right, so, I'm going to take you through some important developments. Not only those relating to the textile industry but also those generally relating to other industries and began at the end of the past century with the development of information sciences, nanotechnology and molecular biology. And the great synergies that these three sciences can produce to create materials with unlimited possibilities. Here we compare nanofibres with a human hair, so you can see the scale with which nanotechnology works. We're talking about very small dimensions, that may, among other things, transform the surface of fibres, allowing for new functions, new features. And we also obtain other benefits -- in nanoscales. For example, we know that silver has great antimicrobial properties. That's why cutlery used to be plated with silver. And, by adding silver nanoparticles to clothes, we gain healing properties which are very potent, very important for health services, for example. Phase-changing materials. Here we are talking about substances -- generally salts or organic compounds -- which are in general environmentally friendly, which are contained within polymers, within membranes, also at the nanoscale, and are incorporated in fabrics. The function of these phase-changing materials is to absorb heat and change state so that the heat is not transmitted to the body. In a very hot environment, for example, on the outside these materials absorb heat and create a very agreeable microenvironment, between the garment and the skin. Conversely, when the external environment is very cold these materials release heat leaving the skin warm. This comes from research into materials for space suits, astronauts being subject to very extreme differences of temperature. It can also provide for the heating of environments, it is used for the air-conditioning of buildings, automobiles and so on. These are materials of great benefit for extreme climates. In shape-shifting materials, the material may, for example, have a flexible form, but maintain a memory of a rigid form. This shape change can be activated by temperature, by magnetic field, by electricity, by light. For example, the company Dow Corning developed a motorcycle suit that is flexible and very comfortable but with a sudden movement the fabric remembers its rigid form and, in the case of an accident, absorbs the shock throughout the whole body, transforming it into a very strong protective armour for the person riding a motorcycle. And, speaking of shapes, we can create garments instantly, on the skin, by using the shape of the body. Here we have Fabrican, an aerosol with cotton dust that can create cloth over the body whenever desired. Also optical fibres can be applied to the construction and structure of clothes. It can be used ornamentally, just to illuminate. It is also possible to project images in the optical fibre and to use the garment as a graphical interface. If a small monitor is inserted in the back or the side, which could be hidden, then we can visualize any type of image from the Internet or videos, on a PC, cell phone, etc. This is used greatly in camouflage suits that are being developed where a camera is put in the back of the garment to film images from behind which are then projected on the front and in this way achieves a kind of invisibility suit. This comes from a need for camouflage and guess who asked for it. It wasn't Harry Potter, although that might be fun. However, technology is not just working with very innovative materials but also with the recovery of natural sources of fibres. In the textile industry there are two main divisions. One is synthetic fibres: Polyesters, polyamides, nylon, Lycra. They are all by-products of the oil industry. On the other hand we have natural fibres, animal or plant derived. Sometimes they are treated with agrochemicals and various chemical processes harmful to the environment. Now we work a lot with biomaterials. They are sources of natural resources, which are sustainable, biodegradable, biocompatible, compostable -- of course -- that have particular properties that are transferred to the garment after certain processes. For example, bamboo fibre. Bamboo grows very quickly, uses very little water and doesn't need pesticides because it has a biosubstance that is naturally antimicrobial, antibacterial. This property is transferred to the garment; from the fibre to the yarn, to the fabric and to the garment. Naturally, without the addition of another product. An antimicrobial property in a garment brings a reduction in odour, bacterial growth, and a sense of freshness. It is, of course, antiallergic. We also have bioplastics that instead of being the result of many chemical reactions in the oil industry, are extracted from dextrose, from corn sugar, that is processed with enzymes. These create a lot materials which are used to make containers, as well as textiles. They have properties like being oil-repellent or stain-resistant. We also have Tencel, a fibre that is extracted from eucalyptus wood pulp. It has antistatic properties and therefore does not pick up any type of fluff, any type of pollution and further we avoid any nasty static discharges. Another fibre, Sasawashi, a mixture of grasses and waste paper, has antimicrobial properties. Another fibre, Omikenshi, comes from crustacean shells, which are obtained directly from the waste of factories processing seafood. They are super-healing materials. They are used as suture, in hospital clothing and in cases of scar care, permanently in the body and the skin. In addition to the rediscovery of natural fibres, we work on recycling fibres to reuse textile material, to give it another form and texture. Progress is being made with recycled polyester from bottles, products that have no compostable form and in this way we are making t-shirts from two recycled bottles. We also have treatments for fabrics to give them different properties. In the case of plasma treatment, a fabric is subjected to inert gases in an atmospheric vacuum, which produces nanochanges on the surface of the fabric, such as a very high impermeability in the given material, better surface smoothness, antibacterial properties. By working with enzymes we save using chemicals for the application of colour to fabric. There are also microencapsulations with diameters of 5 to 20 nanometres, they are containers of membranes that inside have all kinds of substances. We can put, for example, antibacterials, insect repellents, perfumes, essences, aloe vera, vitamins. The release of these products contained in the microcapsules may occur by friction or by heat and is gradual. It will not wash out nor alter the softness or the feel of the fabric, adding a lot different possibilities. An interesting branch of research is biomimicry, that comes from bios -- life, and mimesis which is to imitate. It is a biologically inspired discipline that seeks sustainable solutions to different problems based on nature and on what nature teaches us from 3800 million years of evolution. In these times of crisis in which society and industry holds we need to rethink forms of work, biomimicry offers sustainable solutions and a way to respect nature and to imitate it. Far from those ways which try to exploit and to dominate nature, this offers a different way of gaining inspiration for us while at the same time being mindful to maintain the biodiversity of the world, ours but not only ours. Within this branch we have Velcro, a contact closure by means of bristles. Velcro was discovered when Mr. Mestral, its discoverer, had walked his dog in the mountains and found his dog covered in these spines when he returned home. And the bottom of his trousers too. When he looked at these little things under the microscope, he saw little hooks that could catch on whatever other looped material or fluff they came into contact with. So, he create Velcro and solved a lot of fastening problems closing without using a zip fastener. What can the lotus flower teach us? It was thought that the smoother a surface was, the less the chance of contact. The lotus flower breaks with the hygienic paradigm because it has microridges that prevent dirt or any other particles from entering it. And when it rains, the drops do not adhere, but engulf the particles held on the surface and clean the leaf and lotus flower. From this, in imitation of the lotus flower, we make nanoridged surfaces that are self-cleaning without the use of detergents or chemicals, simply imitating those textures that prevent dirt from sticking. The droplets remain suspended because there is nowhere for them to adhere and in the case of clothing besides being self-cleaning, is completely waterproof. Sharks are one of the largest predators and I would not like to meet one of them on the beach. They are great teachers, predating dinosaurs. They have lived for 400 million years on this planet. They need to swim constantly because they have no swim bladder and to do this they have to minimize energy expenditure. When you examine the skin of a shark on the nanoscale you see that it has jagged particles, flakes, that channel the water flow over it as it swims creating a superior aerodynamic. And, to add to that, having a surface that is not smooth, no ectoparasites can stick to it. Not only as a result of these nanoridges but also because in channeling the water, the velocity of the water is such that there is less time for them to stick. Imitating shark skin, paint coatings were created, for exterior use and above all for boats which means that at 4 or 5 knots the hull is completely self-cleaning and also the adherence of microorganisms is prevented without using biocides, without encouraging resistance to bacteria and microorganisms and preventing the transfer from one geographical area to another of these bacteria and ectoparasites that are in the water. In the case of textiles, the company Speedo makes swimsuits with shark skin that has improved swimming speed by 3%. The butterfly displays some pretty colours and under the microscope you find that they are the result of visual effects of light diffracted on the scales that compose the butterfly wing. This leads to the development of colour coatings that do not use pigments. Pigments contain solvents and other aggressive substances but in this way different colours can be produced without having to use harmful products. We've all seen a spider web at some time in our lives and, especially when we were kids, it seemed wonderful. There is a spider which is the champion weaver, the golden orb weaver, that weaves a web invisible to our eyes and is able to catch a bird in flight. Its thread is 5 times stronger than steel, is 3 times more impact resistant than Kevlar -- a fabric that is used for bulletproof vests and safety-belts, and can stretch in length by 40% and return to its original shape. It is a fibre, a thread, that, with all the technology available, cannot be imitated. Super strong, but super flexible. How to produce it? Spiders cannot be raised in farms because of its habit of eliminating all its neighbours. So scientists in conjunction with the U.S. Navy decided to take the spider gene and put it into a sheep. This sheep secreted milk with these particles of spider silk that through certain processes is transformed into this fibre, so strong and flexible that today it is used in parachutes, structural cables in the construction of bridges and in a lot of other industries where these materials are required. And returning to information science, technology itself, there is a generation of new textiles in the field of microelectronics. The electronics can always be implemented at the small-scale level, it is flexible. It an even be washed many times; it is resistant to contact with water. So, it provides for a whole new raft of clothing products with different benefits. Like garments with sensors for use in medicine, rhythm control, performance control, electronic device control, in signage, to increase thermal capacity. This jacket has a thermal fabric that produces heat. In the application of solar panels to clothes, to be able to generate portable energy, clean energy. In this case solar panels were applied to nomadic tribes. Technology offers us a host of new possibilities; new developments, that are applicable not only to the textile industry, but that can find application in other industries, and may change the patterns of the sector. It means multidisciplinary work, in partnership with other disciplines, because all the time it is becoming more complex. However, the complexity also produces a final product that is much more interesting, more functional, allows textiles -- our partners 24 hours a day -- to make a greater contribution, much more than simply being a matter of aesthetics or a fashion item. We can provide you with something of benefit, something with function. And most important to me is that all these paradigm shifts in science and technology sooner or later bring about shifts in cultural paradigms in society. And these big turning points are opportunities to rethink our working methods, the way in which we address our businesses and especially to develop new methods that lead to new ways of conquering our work. Thank you very much. (Applause)