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Environment

SESI – FUNCTIONAL SILK FIBER

Functional silk fiber based on a Circular Economy model for sustainable textile and fashion industry.

The EU textile manufacturers of clothing, household textiles, and other textile products are facing difficulties in terms of the transition to using renewable materials in their production processes. The cost of these materials hinders the goal to follow the new EU strategy for sustainable and circular textiles which requires transformation in the production model of textile goods towards sustainable, biodegradable, and recyclable products, that can be reused and repaired, and which when no longer needed should not be incinerated or landfilled.

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Bio Stopanstvo Lopyanko has developed a technology to produce an innovative natural silk fiber "SESI". The SESI project works towards minimizing environmental pollution and resource use by implementing a circular business model that allows wastewater containing valuable organic compounds to be used as a source for new natural raw materials or products with high added value. The two main waste streams from the production of linear silk fibers are wastewater stream and animal protein stream. The innovation consists of developing of innovative silk fiber with radically improved properties applying part of the separated material from the wastewater stream and returning the treated water back into the production cycle. The resulting new material is sustainable and functional silk fiber with improved properties at affordable price for the EU textile industry.

Silkworm rearing is a labor-intensive industry and Dessislava Dimitrova, the owner of the company, is developing a vertical automated farm for silkworms – SiFARM, to guarantee the sourcing of this material for the textile industry. The disruptive technology of SiFARM is based on vertical automated farming for silkworms, together with robotization and 90% automatization. The main benefits of the new system, applying circular economy approach and year-round production are increased by more than 80% production capacity of silkworm cocoons and decreased environmental footprint in comparison with the traditional seasonal rearing process.

Lopyanko SESI

The circular economy is an essential tool for transforming industries in the direction of sustainability and building a new type of system that protects the environment and lays the foundations for a better future for the generations to follow. The SESI project of Bio Stopanstvo  Lopyanko will contribute significantly towards a healthy way of life and care for people, applying technologies of a new generation, and transforming the entire textile industry. Through this innovation, the EU will ensure its independence from importing this raw material and will be much more competitive on international markets. - Tzvetan Simeonov, Chairman of the Chamber of Commerce and Industry of Bulgaria.

Bio Stopanstvo Lopyanko has joined the Pact for Skills, an EU initiative to support public and private organisations with upskilling and reskilling, so they can thrive through the green and digital transitions.