Orange Fibers: Textiles made from citrus waste

( Fiber Everywhere Series)

Orange is made of cellulose, and we extracted juice from it. We know that natural fibers are extruded from cellulose-based materials such as jute, flax, and hemp. After extracting juice from oranges, there is also remaining cellulose in orange waste. In Europe, orange juice companies produce a lot of orange waste and send it to the landfill. Sometimes, orange waste causes environmental pollution.

Adriana Santanocito, a designer in 2011, came up with the idea of making fiber from the waste of citrus fruits, which are wasted for a long time.

She thought “ How could I get fiber from orange film? turn it into yarn, and it could also be dyed and blended.? “

She founded Orange Fiber with her colleague Enrica Arena in 2014 and patented her discovery. The fabric that was invented is eco-friendly, bio-degradable, silk-like, and vitamin-enriched. She collaborated with Salvatore Ferragamo in 2017, a famous fashion brand, to show a collection of dresses made from orange fiber.

The production process of Oranges Fibers :

Orange fiber is made of citrus juice by-products, which are not totally useable. This by-product, called pastazzo, is processed to extract the citrus cellulose, which is then converted to yarn and used to make a fabric like silk. Orange fiber is comfortable for luxury and premium fashion brands.

The steps are below;

The pastazzo, which remains part of the orange after extracting the juice, is collected from the orange processing plant.
To extract the cellulose from the peels, the pastazzo is treated with a patented chemical process.
The extracted cellulose is sent to spinning in a special machine.
Then, orange fiber is used for fabric production.
The fabric is dyed, printed, and finished depending on the fabric brand.

Orange Contains :

Orange contains Water, Carbohydrates, Sugars, fiber, protein, fat, and various vitamins and minerals .

Oranges also contain diverse phytochemicals, such as carotenoids (beta-carotene, lutein, and beta-cryptoxanthin), flavonoids (naringenin), and volatile organic compounds that produce the orange aroma.It contain many compounds of organic acids, such as citric acid, malic acid, and ascorbic acid (vitamin C), and sugars, such as sucrose, glucose, and fructose.

We use different types of fabrics in our daily life. Orange fiber has more advantages than that. Because it decomposes easily and does not require any harmful substances for decomposition. We all use comfortable fibers more. We call silk a comfortable fiber. The fiber is soft . but orange fiber has a soft and smooth texture that feels like instant silk. Orange fiber can easily be added to other fibers, providing benefits such as UV ( ultraviolet) protection.

We mean orange fiber as a low strength fiber because it can be easily mixed with other fibers. For example, orange fiber can be mixed with other fibers such as cotton, silk, polyester, thereby increasing its strength, durability and elasticity. We can mix orange fiber and silk to make a fabric that is soft, smooth and shiny.

We are home to easily increase the strength of orange fiber. An easy way to increase the strength is to improve it with natural oils. When we dissolve fiber into oil the fiber absorbs the oil and increases strength. Oils help protect the fabric from sunlight, washing, or wear and tear. And it can make it comfortable and pleasant.

In 2019 H&M company created an exclusive collection using orange fiber. Salvatore Ferragamo, which is an Italian fashion house. Showed the first fashion collection from Orange Fiber in 2017. E.Marinella, a Neapolitan tailoring brand, 2019 made sustainable ties, pocket squares, and lady sill scarves for the first time from orange fiber

End Use of Orange Fiber :
1. Orange fibers are being developed to create an exclusive collection of garments. Which makes it elegant and eco-friendly.