Scientists develop fabrics made from tea vats

25 Aug '10

2 min read

A fabric cultivated in tea vats is now being used to manufacture a new kind of fabric for the fashion industry. Fashion designers and scientists have innovated a new fabric which is grown in tea vats. The fabric with a leather like feel but which is pretty lightweight, has already been used to prepare merchandise like shirts, jackets, dresses and even shoes.

Scientists from London's Imperial College along with fashion designers from Central Saint Martins College of Art and Design, London laboured to develop this fabric which can be used by the fashion industry.

According to them, such novel and sustainable fabrics gradually would become vital for the clothing industry, as pressure on resources needed to produce conventional textiles like cotton, wool and leather is rising with mounting demand for fabrics.

Over a period of many days, this innovative fabric is grown in a mixture of green tea, sugar and other nutrients. Bacteria's are inserted in the soup, after which long filaments of cellulose emerge and amass to create thin mats of fabric that hover on the surface of the solution.

These mats after drying, emerge as transparent fabrics and looks just like a papyrus in appearance. However, it can be further processed, dyed and moulded to give it a different feel and appearances.

Fibre2fashion News Desk - India

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