{"id":25687,"date":"2022-03-18T16:20:43","date_gmt":"2022-03-18T20:20:43","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/textiles.ncsu.edu\/news\/?p=25687"},"modified":"2022-08-18T13:53:03","modified_gmt":"2022-08-18T17:53:03","slug":"finding-new-uses-for-sustainable-material","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/textiles.ncsu.edu\/news\/2022\/03\/finding-new-uses-for-sustainable-material\/","title":{"rendered":"Finding New Uses for Sustainable Material"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
By Sarah Stone<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Brian Edwards has always loved working in a lab and conducting research. As a senior scientist for Eastman\u2019s textile application development team, it\u2019s something the Wilson College of Textiles<\/a> alumnus gets to do nearly every day. <\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cI personally get a whole lot of fulfillment out of being a hands-on scientist. I like to have access to a lab, and I like to be able to perform experiments,\u201d Edwards says. <\/p>\n\n\n\n His main role at Eastman is to plan and execute experiments to understand the fundamental properties of the company\u2019s Naia and Naia\u2122 Renew yarns and staple fibers. He then uses the results of his experiments to determine new uses and applications for Naia. Right now, this yarn is principally used in womenswear and home textiles. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Edwards says his work in the lab is made even more rewarding by the positive impact it has on the environment. 60% of Naia Renew fiber is made up of cellulose derived from sustainably-sourced wood pulp. The other 40% of Naia\u2122 Renew fiber is derived from hard-to-recycle waste materials. Those waste materials are broken down into simple molecular building blocks that are reassembled into valuable molecules and used to create new products like Naia\u2122 Renew. Naia\u2122 has also received third-party certifications for compostability and biodegradability in a variety of settings. <\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cSeeing how we can tackle the big waste challenges that the textile industry is facing has been really exciting,\u201d Edwards says. <\/p>\n\n\n\n The passion for sustainability that guides Edward\u2019s career has its roots in his Wilson College education. He\u2019s a triple graduate of the college, earning a Bachelor of Science in Polymer and Color Chemistry<\/a> (PCC) in 2008 and a Master of Science in Textile Chemistry<\/a> in 2010 before getting his Ph.D. in fiber and polymer science<\/a> (FPS) in 2014.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cThe way things have historically been done in the textile industry and the way things are moving, trying to reduce water or find safer chemistries, that\u2019s a theme that you hear throughout your undergraduate coursework,\u201d he says. \u201cThen, I had a senior research project that was related to understanding how certain textile dyes can be broken down in the human body into molecules that can affect your DNA. Working on that project really sparked something for me.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n