Ultrafabrics Inc. Scholarship Award

I would describe my interest in sustainable textile fibers as an "if you give a mouse a cookie" situation. My sister gave me a crochet kit as a gift before my junior year of high school. Then I decided I needed more yarn to practice. Then I decided I needed a yarn collection. After that, I realized that most yarns I could afford were unsustainable, so I wanted to learn how to make yarn. Which eventually led to me working towards a career in making sustainable textiles. The issues I found with my yarn are universal in nearly all parts of the textile and fashion industry. The most common synthetic fibers like polyester and acrylic are made from petroleum-based plastics and are damaging to the environment during production and as non-biodegradable waste. Cotton despite being natural is still not a great sustainable alternative (cotton production uses 25% of all insecticides and 11% of all pesticides used globally while requiring 29 tons of water per kilogram of cotton.) Many other natural fibers have similar issues or are simply more expensive. Not to mention the carbon emissions from transport during processing, manufacturing, and to the store are an issue for any fiber that isn’t sourced locally. Many textiles and clothing items go through multiple countries just to make it to the consumer. With those issues in mind, the journey to make yarn began. My main goal was to find a cost-effective natural textile fiber that could be produced close to the consumer (which was just me at the time) using fewer resources. Currently, my focus is on bacterial cellulose as a possible solution. Cellulose is a core component in most natural plant fibers and bacterial cellulose aligns with my goals. Companies such as Nullabor and Modern Synthesis already create textile products from bacterial cellulose. However, bacterial cellulose is still a relatively new material, and processing bacterial cellulose into yarn without expensive machinery or possibly harmful chemicals wasn’t on the table. Which led me to focus on sustainable textile fibers as a career path. There is a lot of room for improvement for sustainable and versatile solutions involving bacterial cellulose. Eventually, I would also like to branch out into designing other textile materials and maybe even single-use plastics through scientific research. From crochet to a career, I aspire to make the planet a better place long term. I hope to dedicate myself to the creation of thoughtfully designed materials that are sustainable in every way.