What’s Seaweed Fabric?

Seaweed fabric is made of brown algae, found in large quantities in the oceans. Refined and purified alginate polysaccharides are prepared by wet spinning deep processing technology to obtain natural biomass regeneration fiber, which is environmentally friendly, non-toxic, flame retardant, degradable, biocompatible, etc. In recent years, seaweed fabric has been preferred by more and more scientific researchers and consumers and is rapidly becoming a new green fiber.

Seaweed fabric is a milestone in human fiber production from land to sea, opening up a third source of textile fibers and new research and product fields for fiber production worldwide.

The Production of Seaweed Fabric

In general, the production of seaweed fabrics can be divided into two processes. One is the refining of algal polysaccharides and the other is the production of seaweed fabric from polysaccharides.

The process of refining seaweed polysaccharides includes digestion, separation, filtration, calcification, decalcification, etc. The process of manufacturing seaweed fabrics mainly includes dissolving, filtering, defoaming, dosing and spraying, solidifying, washing, drawing, shaping, oiling, drying, and cutting.

The Properties of Seaweed Fabric

1. High Resilience (HR) and great comfort: The High Resilience (HR) of seaweed fabric is between 15% and 18%; the HR of cotton is 8.5%; the HR of cashmere is between 15% and 20%. The comfort level is very close to cashmere and quite comparable with premium long-fiber cotton, making seaweed fabric great to the touch and super comfortable to wear.
2. Great at inhibiting bacteria: Seaweed fabric is highly effective at inhibiting bacteria, with an inhibition rate of over 95% for Escherichia coli and Staphylococcus aureus.
3. Natural flame retardant: Seaweed fabric is naturally flame retardant and the oxygen limiting index (OLI) is over 45%. This means there’s no need to add flame retardants. At high temperatures or in open fires, seaweed does not produce toxic air and seaweed fabric turns directly to carbon when exposed to fire.
4. Great for wounds: Seaweed fabric is also beneficial for hemostatic, moisturizing, and wound healing, which can improve blood coagulation and the speed of crusting. Seaweed fabric can absorb the exudate from the wound and transform it into a soft glue that protects the newborn’s delicate tissue and prevents a second wound when the seaweed fabric gauze is removed.
5. Excellent mildew resistance: Seaweed fabric has excellent resistance to mold and mildew and can reach a 0 mold and mildew resistance level, making seaweed fabric products ideal for use or storage in humid environments.
6. Renewable and degradable features: The raw materials used to make seaweed fabric are renewable and degradable, which is environmentally friendly, sustainable, and meets the requirement of environmental protection.

Is that Seaweed Fabric Sustainable?

The answer is yes. Seaweed fabric is renewable and biodegrades, which makes it a new and green sustainable fabric. Algae-based fabric ticks all the sustainability boxes – it is biodegradable, renewable, and carbon neutral, requires minimal water, and relies on highly renewable natural resources.

In terms of sustainable raw materials, eucalyptus grows over a meter a year, while some species of seaweed can grow almost a meter a day. This rapid growth means that, when harvested responsibly, the production of fabrics such as Sea cells has little impact on the plants. They can quickly regenerate what’s taken from them, making the process both efficient and environmentally friendly.

The Applications of Seaweed Fabric

1. Textile and apparel: When used in the textile and apparel sector, seaweed fabric can be used to make bodysuits, jumpsuits, shorts, sportswear, training outfits, dance outfits, tuxedos, casual wear, sweatshirts, sweaters, scarves, hats, socks, gloves, mittens, necklines, cuffs, hems, curtains, furniture covers, hotel/household flame textiles such as bedding, laces, webbing, other ornaments, etc.
2. Medical products: Because of their special properties, seaweed fabric can also be used to make medical dressings, hemostatic first aid products, bandages, wound filling strips, post-operative care materials, protective nursing gowns, post-operative bacteriostatic garments, etc.
3. Care products: Also, seaweed fabric can be used to make face masks, wet wipes, nappies, sanitary products, adult diapers, senior pads, etc.
4. Flame-retardant engineering products: Also, can be used to make ornaments for cars, car interiors flame-retardant filling staff, building flame-retardant filling staff, etc.