Malu Lücking

CLADOPHORA

Can the increasing growth of algae be used for material development?

One of the main factors contributing to the ecological imbalance of fresh water and of saltwater systems is the textile industry because of its wasteful and careless use of water resources. But now resulting out of this water crisis a solution appears: Cladophora is a filamentous algae growing in abundance because of human activity.

This project harvests the fibrous algae from Berlin lakes and uses their different qualities to produce textiles. Its wool-like haptic coupled with a lighter wearing comfort allows Cladophora to be processed into translucent non-woven fabric or to be woven as yarn into a surface. When it is of inferior quality, it can be processed into a biodegradable bioplastic which could, in the future, replace PVC for raincoats or bags.

malu@malumis.de