Abstract
In the fashion and textile industries, materials are a prerequisite for the making of products. Extraction and processing of these materials have a huge negative impact on the environment and in addition they spark ethical and social considerations. This paper presents a project where cultural heritage and material knowledge is employed to explore if history and tradition can contribute to intelligently develop novel and flexible casein materials for the future with less damaging impact on the environment. Constituted by speculative design and a material-first perspective, the paper introduces a case of material exploration with casein, which is a milk protein. First and foremost, the research investigates if formaldehyde can be replaced with glycerine and thus offer a more sustainable material for textiles compared to the traditional production of casein-based materials. In an interdisciplinary setting between materials technology, design and biometric science within a clothing context, casein is used as an ingredient to develop and prototype from a material perspective, from a design perspective, and from a user perspective to explore to what extend it is possible to include casein as a constituent in a novel flexible material that can be used for contemporary clothing. The research points to promising material pathways that seem relevant to pursue and explore further for design and use, especially the use of casein for flexible textile-like materials and the combination with post-consumer textile waste. In that respect it opens for a discussion on ethical and social aspects of ownership and use of novel materials technology.
Keywords
Cultural heritage; Material exploration; Speculative design; Interdisciplinarity
Citation
Harsaae, M., Johannesen, R.A., Bang, A.L., Hort, T., Mølbak, H.T.,and Maagaard, K.M.(2026) Explore It - A speculative approach investigating the material intelligence of casein for future textile materials, in Jane Scott, Sophie Skach, and Rebecca Stewart (eds.), Textile Intersections 2026, 17–18 September 2026, London, United Kingdom. https://doi.org/10.21606/TI-2026.134
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Explore It - A speculative approach investigating the material intelligence of casein for future textile materials
In the fashion and textile industries, materials are a prerequisite for the making of products. Extraction and processing of these materials have a huge negative impact on the environment and in addition they spark ethical and social considerations. This paper presents a project where cultural heritage and material knowledge is employed to explore if history and tradition can contribute to intelligently develop novel and flexible casein materials for the future with less damaging impact on the environment. Constituted by speculative design and a material-first perspective, the paper introduces a case of material exploration with casein, which is a milk protein. First and foremost, the research investigates if formaldehyde can be replaced with glycerine and thus offer a more sustainable material for textiles compared to the traditional production of casein-based materials. In an interdisciplinary setting between materials technology, design and biometric science within a clothing context, casein is used as an ingredient to develop and prototype from a material perspective, from a design perspective, and from a user perspective to explore to what extend it is possible to include casein as a constituent in a novel flexible material that can be used for contemporary clothing. The research points to promising material pathways that seem relevant to pursue and explore further for design and use, especially the use of casein for flexible textile-like materials and the combination with post-consumer textile waste. In that respect it opens for a discussion on ethical and social aspects of ownership and use of novel materials technology.