Johanna Nissén Karlsson is an old track and field runner turned entrepreneur. She brought the competitive mindset of an athlete and the desire to contribute to change when she started Vividye with her friend Gustav Larsson-Utas and researcher Romain Bordes in early 2020. The same year, the startup won the Conscious Award at the Swedish Elle gala.
— Gustav and I studied at the School of Entrepreneurship at Chalmers, she tells, where we were pushed outside of our comfort zone and were tasked to place a technology on the market. Our innovation is a textile print that can be removed without damaging the quality of the fiber. The textile industry strives towards eternal prints, hindering the reuse and recycling of printed and coloured textiles. We want to enable further reuse of textiles, by offering rebranding and redesigning of garments.
Though she cannot go into detail about the technology, disclosing the secret, she describes how the startup is at the cross-section between chemistry and textile innovation.
— The print we offer must be removed with our removal formulation that is adapted to the specific chemistry we have included in the print. Our innovation can be integrated into existing industrial infrastructure, which we believe is one of our main advantages when introducing our technology to new environments.
Vividye’s technique is still small-scale and under development. The vision for the near future is to scale up and become the market leader in circular textile printing. One important step is the first capsule available for end-consumers, a limited edition of T-shirts made from organic cotton and printed using Vividye’s new method, that was just released together with fast-fashion retailer Gina Tricot.
— We’re very excited about this opportunity to launch a collection based on this new, circular production technology. Teaming up with innovators and researchers on the cutting edge of sustainability efforts is fundamental for us. Together, we’re finding the path to the fashion industry of tomorrow, says Emma Garrote, Global Production & Sustainability Manager for Gina Tricot.
Johanna Nissén Karlsson, how do you feel about collaborating with a fast-fashion company?
— We believe the fashion industry has still a long way to go, in order to become more sustainable. By collaborating with a fast-fashion company, we are placing one small puzzle piece with the aim of reaching a greener supply chain. None of this can be done by us alone, that is why we are actively looking for partnerships and working closely with existing partners that can help us make the greatest impact possible, she concludes.
Related Stories
