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Home / Fashion Fabrics Spotlight / Textile Spotlight: Orange Fiber 

Textile Spotlight: Orange Fiber

Posted by: Jessica Bucci in Fashion Fabrics Spotlight Noember !"# $%!& % 

'ittle (no)n *act about +taly: there is a large amount o* citrus )astage there, +n one o* the most*ashionable countries in the )orld# it )ould only ma(e sense that designers )ould ta(e an

enironmental issue li(e this and use it to better the industry, +n response to the )aste# threestudents at the Polytechnic +nstitute o* -ilan hae deeloped a textile called .orange *iber,

The *abric is created *rom cellulose extracted *rom the recycled *ruit, 0hile a textile made *rom

*ood is a little unusual at *irst glance# the idea has enironmental and social bene*its# as )ell as

 being a positie addition to the *ashion and textile industries,

For starters# it is created *rom a rene)able resource# citrus )aste,

By sourcing something that would have been otherwise thrown away as amaterial, the fabric’s carbon footprint is pretty small, and in fact improves the

environment rather than hurting it !as some textile processes can"

+n addition to being good *or the enironment# the textile is good *or the body as )ell# containing

ayuredic health properties, 1s it is made *rom citrus# the natural oils )ithin the *abric contain

itamins 1# 2 and 3, 4pon contact# these itamins are released and absorbed through the s(in,

http://startupfashion.com/http://startupfashion.com/category/fashion-fabrics-spotlighthttp://startupfashion.com/author/jessica-buccihttp://startupfashion.com/category/fashion-fabrics-spotlighthttp://startupfashion.com/orange-fiber#respondhttp://startupfashion.com/category/fashion-fabrics-spotlighthttp://startupfashion.com/author/jessica-buccihttp://startupfashion.com/category/fashion-fabrics-spotlighthttp://startupfashion.com/orange-fiber#respondhttp://startupfashion.com/

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1dditionally# it is the hope o* the designers that orange *iber can gie the local *ashion industry a

 positie boost,

Our dream is to build a supply chain# entirely made in +taly# that )ill trans*orm citrus )aste5and)ill gie ne) li*e to the +talian textile industry# one o* the designers# 1driana Santanocito# says

o* the pro6ect,

1nd )ith such a site7speci*ic product# it is entirely possible that the textile could bring in local

 business,

0hile citrus *iber is not yet )idely aailable 8the current production process is prohibitielyexpensie *or )idespread use9 it has appeared a *e) times on the run)ay# notably in

Santanocitos o)n Fall/0inter $%!$ collection,

#SCIENCE 

From #atania# )hich has al)ays been one o* the most ibrant and hype cities in Sicily# to

$ilan# the undisputed capital o* +talian *ashion and to %overeto# cultural and industrial centre in

the heart o* the Trentino region: the story o* t)o Sicilian girls )ith a brilliant idea and their land

in their hearts# progresses in these three cities# ;uite symbolic# although ;uite di**erent,

&driana Santonocito# &< and 'nrica &rena# $=# three years ago )ere only t)o students

studying a)ay *rom home in -ilan )ho# during a chat in the (itchen# literally inented Orange

Fiber# their innoatie sustainable fabric made with oranges# and no) they are going to ma(e

their dream come true,

“Adriana had the idea nearly three years ago - 3nrica tells the ne)spaper  (a %epubblica  > Her 

 passion for textiles and attachment to Sicily, our home region, led her to wonder if she could

 produce a fabric with the waste coming from citrus. She asked me if I was interested in the proect and we decided to try to do it together. “

http://www.swide.com/art-culture/sciencehttp://www.swide.com/food-travel/sicily-italy-holidays-2014-guide-catania-best-hotels-and-restaurants/2014/04/20http://www.swide.com/tag/milan-italyhttp://www.orangefiber.it/http://www.orangefiber.it/http://www.repubblica.it/scienze/2014/10/04/news/orange_fiber_vestirsi_con_gli_scarti_delle_arance_in_italia_si_pu_quando_c_stoffa-97155159/http://www.repubblica.it/scienze/2014/10/04/news/orange_fiber_vestirsi_con_gli_scarti_delle_arance_in_italia_si_pu_quando_c_stoffa-97155159/http://www.repubblica.it/scienze/2014/10/04/news/orange_fiber_vestirsi_con_gli_scarti_delle_arance_in_italia_si_pu_quando_c_stoffa-97155159/http://www.swide.com/art-culture/sciencehttp://www.swide.com/food-travel/sicily-italy-holidays-2014-guide-catania-best-hotels-and-restaurants/2014/04/20http://www.swide.com/tag/milan-italyhttp://www.orangefiber.it/http://www.orangefiber.it/http://www.repubblica.it/scienze/2014/10/04/news/orange_fiber_vestirsi_con_gli_scarti_delle_arance_in_italia_si_pu_quando_c_stoffa-97155159/

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+n Sicily# the citrus industry )aste amounts to about "%% million tonnes and it occurred to

1driana# a *ashion student at the 1*ol +nstitute o* -ilan# that it )ould be possible to reuse these

)astes# improing them *ollo)ing the innoatie and engaging trends o* *unctional *abrics or

cosmetic *abrics 8those used *or slimming girdles# *or instance9,

Thus Orange Fiber )as created: cellulose# )hich is then spun# is extracted *rom all the *ibres

that are discarded *rom the pressing and processing o* oranges, Than(s to nanotechnology and

citrus *ruit essential oil# it is encapsulated and *ixed to the *abric: the material obtained is#

there*ore# also able to leae the s(in so*t# not greasy# in *act# 6ust as i* a body lotion has been

used,

“!he clothes are not greasy and the skin is nourished  > says 3nrica > !his feature is guaranteed

 for at least twenty washes, but we are also studying recharging methods with specific fabric

 softeners".

Their idea has )on seeral a)ards resulting in 1driana and 3nrica attracting the interest o*

 priate inestors# and here )e get to the Trentino region: Trentino Siluppo 8Trentino

?eelopment9 decide to *inance their pro6ect# )elcoming them to the +point incubator in

@oereto,

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0ith this ne) *unding# 1driana and 3nrica )ere able to build the *irst prototype, The *abric )as

 presented on !< September at the 'xpo )ate in -ilan# on the day o* the *ogue Fashion +ight

Out +t )as “created by combining the uni#ue acetate yarn obtained from citrus with silk, in two

$ariants% plain colour satin &natural colour silk' and lace &natural colour and black', together

with three different colour yarns% yellow, lime green and orange".

To raise money to improe the process# they are also going to launch a crowdfunding campaign

on the Tim A021P plat*orm supported by Starteed,

0hat are the girls ambitions “(e are aiming to haute couture )  they tell the #orriere della

Sera ne)spaper > we ha$e already been contacted by se$eral Italian companies and also by a

large foreign group. !hey like the fact that *range +iber is made in Italy, but abo$e all,

 sustainable. “0e tooC A0earOrange

http://www.swide.com/food-travel/expo-gate-the-first-event-of-expo-milan-2015/2014/05/09http://www.swide.com/food-travel/expo-gate-the-first-event-of-expo-milan-2015/2014/05/09http://crowdfunding.wcap.tim.it/projects/300/tessuti-vitaminici-e-sostenibilihttp://www.corriere.it/moda/news/14_novembre_13/ragazze-arance-il-nostro-tessuto-fatto-gli-scarti-c272aa70-6b6d-11e4-8c60-d3608edf065a.shtmlhttp://www.corriere.it/moda/news/14_novembre_13/ragazze-arance-il-nostro-tessuto-fatto-gli-scarti-c272aa70-6b6d-11e4-8c60-d3608edf065a.shtmlhttp://www.swide.com/food-travel/expo-gate-the-first-event-of-expo-milan-2015/2014/05/09http://crowdfunding.wcap.tim.it/projects/300/tessuti-vitaminici-e-sostenibilihttp://www.corriere.it/moda/news/14_novembre_13/ragazze-arance-il-nostro-tessuto-fatto-gli-scarti-c272aa70-6b6d-11e4-8c60-d3608edf065a.shtmlhttp://www.corriere.it/moda/news/14_novembre_13/ragazze-arance-il-nostro-tessuto-fatto-gli-scarti-c272aa70-6b6d-11e4-8c60-d3608edf065a.shtml