Wellington
Up till now dyeing a pattern on wool fabric has been a relative no-goer because bleeding of thedyes into each other ruined whatever picture you were trying to create.
So, keep an eye out for some new dyed wool products coming to a store near you soon - a result ofsome pretty cool science and research that no one else around the world has managed to crack.
Wellington and Christchurch based
The process, developed at
BGI Developments (Bloody Good Ideas……no really) Wellington director Robyn George-Neich hasalready had extensive overseas clothing sales success with her baby and children's clothing label
She's teamed up with Christchurch's Brent Gregory who has been in the apparel industry most ofhis life, and are taking the process to clothing and fabric manufacturers around the globe.
George-Neich says the dyed fabric looks and feels better than standard printed fabric as itdoesn't have a plastic graphic on it. The print also doesn't deteriorate over time and feels nicerand looks better for longer.
One beauty of the process is that manufacturers and fashion designers can choose colours anddesigns just before entering the market. Naturally such flexibility of production reduces the riskfor manufacturers and retailer alike.
AgResearch has done the right thing in handing over to someone else the challenge and risks oftaking the technology to the world. It can expect significant royalties, which can be ploughed backinto more research.
BGI has an opportunity to make a significant play, effectively creating a market position wherenone has existed before.
New Zealand Inc is in the hot seat of adding significant value to wool fabrics - againre-inventing the fibre and lifting its perceived worth.
All in all, this is a neat development of cool science that the general public can immediatelysee - literally. Of course, the buyers of the product may not recognise it as being science, butthat's exactly what it is.
Imagine what some of those well-known NZ merino clothing brands are now thinking they might beable to do with the process.
As long as it is not a variation of black on black, the outcomes should be colourful.