I’ve often worn my morning coffee, but not by choice and usually after hitting a speed bump or dribbling a few drops from my travel mug. But clothing made of coffee grounds? If nothing else, it sounds like it would be even more scratchy than the burlap sack it came in — but this is for real.
After four years in development, Taiwanese high-tech textile company Singtex Industrial Co. Ltd. has patented a process for turning used coffee grounds into textile-grade yarn. According to the Fast Company article above, the process is so efficient it can make two T-shirts from the grounds used to make one cup of coffee. But if you’re reading this, you’re probably just curious about the technology behind the fabric.
Unfortunately, there is very little information on how this is done — or even what percentage of the finished fabric is actually derived from coffee grounds — but any technology that takes waste materials out of landfills is worth writing about. Singtex offers the following brief writeup on the English version of its website:
We use a patented process that transforms the coffee grounds into our S.Cafe tm yarn, which we then produce into many styles of knitted and woven fabrics, as well as softshell fabrics.
Doesn’t quite lift the veil, does it? Fast Company didn’t get the scoop on how it’s made either, but Singtex general manager Chen Kuo-chin told FC reporter Kit Eaton that the perkiliscious fabric is quick-drying, odor-resistant and UV-protective. Also, the manufacturing process reportedly does not use any chemicals and does not require high-temperature carbonization, as other advanced textiles often do.
An article in today’s Taipei Times provides a little more information. Chen told reporters that he got the idea while sipping coffee at Starbuck’s.
“Three scientists and myself then spent the next four years in research and development to extract and transform waste coffee grounds into nano-sized structures to be put into S.Cafe yarn.”
Each month, the company collects 300 to 400 kg (about 660 to 880 pounds) of coffee grounds free of charge from Starbucks. The well-caffeinated team over at Singtex is busy working on socks, luggage, shoe soles and even soap made of coffee grounds.
But don’t look for the Singtex brand, as the company will be selling its fabric through other, more well-known active apparel companies. Who will be the first to market the “java jacket?”