Texas Tech receives textile manufacturing innovation fund grants

Texas Tech is one of six universities that has won one of the U.S. Manufacturing Innovation Fund grants and will receive nearly $275,000 part of the nearly $3 million in grants to support research proposals focusing on innovation in the process of textile manufacturing.

The prize was announced Monday by the Walmart Foundation and the U.S. Conference of Mayors, according to a Walmart news release. The Walmart Foundation’s support of this project shows an awareness of need and a desire to help U.S.-based manufacturers reach new levels of efficiency and sustainability.

The foundation awarded Tech for its proposal to create a process to sustainably reduce cotton dyeing with indigo, a unique colorant for blue jeans, according to the release. The non-toxic organic has been copied synthetically for more than 100 years.

The research projects of Dr. Ethridge and his team addresses the need for cost-reducing, sustainable dyeing with indigo, which comprises one of the largest single types of dyes used throughout the world today and is of paramount importance for textiles made from cotton, Steven Fraze, interim chair of the College of Agricultural Sciences & Natural Resources, said.

Kathleen McLaughlin, president of the Walmart Foundation and chief sustainability officer for Walmart, said that they hope the research not only enable cost-effective solution for manufacturers, but also improves the sustainability of the U.S. textile industry.

Advancing the production or assembly of consumer products in the U.S. is the number one goal of the Innovation fund.