Project Scarabat: when textile microwaste becomes new materials

  • In the less visible corners of the textile industry lie microwaste: tiny particles that come off fabrics during washing and end up in wastewater systems. Detecting, measuring and revalorising them is the challenge that Arpe and Girbau Lab have taken on with enthusiasm and commitment through the Scarabat project.

    An innovation project supported by ACCIÓ, Inèdit and the Tèxtils.cat cluster, born with a regenerative outlook inspired by the sacred Egyptian scarab beetle, capable of transforming matter into new life. Like this insect, the project aims to give a second life to the textile microwaste released during the washing and drying of textile products.

What can we do with this waste?

This has been the big question guiding the project from the start. Now, at a key point in its journey, we're beginning to have more concrete answers.

The Scarabat project currently stands at phases 3 and 4, right in the
middle of the research and development process. This is the moment when
data, trials and initial tests start to become real materials and applications.

  • From microwaste to material: developing a 3D filament

    One of the project's main breakthroughs has been the development of a 3D printing filament made from textile microwaste recovered during washing and drying processes.


    This step is key because it shows that what was until now considered worthless waste can become raw material for new uses. The microwaste stops being waste and starts forming part of product design and development.


    The 3D filament makes it possible to work with the material from a new perspective: experimenting, prototyping and testing objects in an agile way, opening the door to applications that go beyond the textile field.

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3D-printed prototypes: new applications in development

At this stage of the project, we're developing prototypes of objects designed to be 3D-printed using this new filament.

These prototypes aim not only to validate the material's technical feasibility, but also to explore:

· Its aesthetic possibilities

· Its behaviour in different shapes

· Its fit within everyday products

The goal is to show that textile microwaste can be integrated into a genuine circular economy, where materials remain in use and generate new opportunities.

Circular economy applied to textile innovation

Scarabat is, above all, an applied research project. It's not just about understanding the microwaste problem, but about proposing solutions that make sense on an industrial, environmental and design level.

Transforming microwaste into new materials is a way of rethinking how we design, produce and use resources. It's also a way of moving towards more circular models, where waste becomes part of the system rather than its end point.

A project underway, with a long road ahead

This update marks an important milestone for the Scarabat project, but there's still a way to go. The following phases will allow us to keep validating materials, applications and possible uses, always with an open, collaborative outlook.

We'll keep sharing progress, learnings and questions, because we believe innovation also means explaining our processes and opening up conversations.

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