IRIS: A safe and sustainable colouration palette for cellulosic materials

Programme: HORIZON-JU-CBE-2025-IA-02

Duration: 48 meses, Septiembre 2026 – Agosto 2030

Partners: RISE Research Institutes of Sweden AB, Biosphere SRL, Aalto Korkeakoulusaatio SR, Chalmers Tekniska Hogskola AB, Pili, Vividye AB, Bio Base Europe Pilot Plant VZW, Next Technology Tecnotessile Societa Nazionale di Ricerca RL, Neagu Alexamdru-Valentin, Centre Scientifique & Technique del ´Industrie Textile Belge ASBL,Nuevas Tecnlogias para el Desarrollo de Packaging y Productos Agroalimentarios con Componente Plastica SL, Universita ca´Foscari Venezia, Associazione Italiana per la Ricerca Industriale-AIRI, Elyaf Tekstil San. Ve Tic AS, Tally Weijl Trading AG, NordicBlue, Post Carbon Lab, Nouryon Surface Chemistry AB.

Objective:

IRIS is a European project aimed at advancing towards more sustainable textile dyeing, thereby reducing the environmental impact of two of the most polluting stages in textile manufacturing: conventional dyeing and printing. To this end, it brings together a consortium of 18 partners from across the sector — manufacturers, brands and technology centres — who collaborate, rather than compete, to accelerate the market uptake of solutions based on bio-based materials.

Specifically, IRIS will:

Replace hazardous synthetic dyes and auxiliaries with safer, cleaner alternatives.
Replace the most polluting colouration processes, such as dyeing with synthetic dyes or printing with PVC-based inks.
Develop dyeing and printing processes compatible with existing textile manufacturing, thus facilitating their adoption without requiring major changes.
Protect colour through encapsulation technology, resistant to light and wear, while also enabling the recycling of dyed fabric at the end of its useful life.

The consortium brings together experts across the entire value chain, from the production of bio-based dyes to factory-scale trials, and also includes specialists in chemical safety, environmental impact and textile standards. In addition, IRIS is backed by an Advisory Board made up of leading sector players, such as Archroma, H&M, Nudie Jeans and Metsä, who contribute their perspective from chemistry, brands and sustainable fibres. Moreover, from the outset the project measures the environmental impact of each solution, thereby ensuring genuine improvements throughout its development.

Tecnopackaging’s role in IRIS

Tecnopackaging’s role involves developing and scaling up the encapsulation process for bio-based dyes that are sensitive to heat and light, using nanoclays and bio-based, biodegradable polymer matrices. As a result, the technology can progress from laboratory validation to demonstration in a real-world environment.