The Challenge

Burgessy Rise is a clothing and material supplier across global markets and industries. The current nature of the industry demands that each piece of clothing is supplied in numerous sizes. These leads to a great deal of waste and garments ending up in landfill.

Burgessy identified that if a robust adhesive was available it would reduce and arguably eliminate the need for so many garment sizes as the adhesive would allow garments to be more easily resized. This idea would reduce waste and also extend the life cycle of the garment.

The Solution

The University of Manchester and the Royce Institute in partnership with Burgessy Rise, lead on a project to develop environmentally friendly, water-based adhesives for the garment industry, addressing the harmful impacts of traditional solvent-based adhesives, such as perchloroethylene, which pose significant environmental and health risks. The project focused on creating a physically switchable adhesive coating that can be activated by acids or specific salts, offering strong yet reversible adhesion with minimal residue on fabrics. This innovation facilitated the temporary fixing of garments for modification by wearers, improving garment reusability and recyclability. The work plan included a desk-based review to identify adhesive formulations, followed by the synthesis and characterisation of functionalised emulsions to verify their switchable adhesion properties. Mechanical testing on fabric samples were conducted to optimise coating methods, assess adhesive strength, and ensure stability.

The Impact

The project report the findings and recommend further steps for commercialisation, contributing to a more sustainable garment industry.