Polylactic acids (PLA) in textile applications
PLA (polylactic acid) is generally considered to be an important biopolymer for textile production. Since a few years, the polymer is available on the market and its applicability has already been proved in a number of processes and final applications. Yet, its breakthrough is slower than expected.
The reasons are both economic (limited availability, selective marketing, supplementary costs) and technical (critical processability, limited mechanical properties, insufficient knowledge about subsequent processes...)
New initiatives within the polymer world with consequent new suppliers and increasing volumes lead us to believe that the direct economic impediments will be almost completely removed within the next five years. If the technical problems are solved as well, the intrinsically positive properties of the new polymer will be fully exploited to realise its growth potential in textile applications.
