North Carolina Varsity Research Team Finds Greener Way To Make Cotton Wrinkle-Free

Every year, the U.S. produces around 7.5 million bales of cotton and more than half of it ends up in clothing. But the very processes that make cotton fabrics smooth, wrinkle-resistant and water-repellent often rely on harsh chemicals, some of which are harmful to both environment and human health. Now, a team of researchers at North Carolina State University (NC State) is developing a safer, plant-based alternative that could transform the way cotton clothing is finished.

The work, led by graduate student Taylor Kanipe and Professor Richard Venditti, will be presented at the American Chemical Society’s Fall 2025 meeting, where over 9,000 scientific presentations will be showcased. Their research proposes replacing formaldehyde-based resins and PFAS coatings, two of the textile industry’s most problematic finishing chemicals, with a greener solution derived from cottonseed oil, a by-product of cotton harvesting.

Traditional finishing processes give cotton desirable qualities but come at a cost. Formaldehyde resins, used to prevent wrinkles are cheap and highly reactive, but formaldehyde is also classified as a Class 1 carcinogen and can cause skin and respiratory irritation. Similarly, water-repellent coatings often contain PFAS, nicknamed “forever chemicals” for their persistence in the environment and links to health risks. Regulators worldwide are now moving to phase them out.

“These substances work well, but their impact on human health and the environment has become impossible to ignore,” says Kanipe.

Instead of relying on synthetic chemicals, the NC State team looked to the cotton plant itself. Cotton harvesting yields not only cellulose fibres (used to make fabric) but also cottonseed oil, an underutilized by-product. By chemically modifying this oil through a process called epoxidation, the researchers created epoxidized cottonseed oil (ECSO), which can bond directly to cotton fibres.

The result: a fabric finish that makes cotton both water-resistant and wrinkle-resistant — without toxic formaldehyde or PFAS.

“Epoxidized vegetable oils have a range of applications,” Kanipe explains. “This simple epoxidation process produces a safer, more user-friendly alternative for applications like durable press finishes.”

To test the new finish, researchers coated cotton fabric with ECSO and analyzed it using infrared spectroscopy to confirm strong chemical bonding. They then evaluated water resistance with a high-speed camera measuring droplet contact angles. While untreated cotton soaked up water instantly, ECSO-treated cotton achieved a contact angle of 125 degrees, a clear sign of water repellency.

In other words, a cotton T-shirt finished with ECSO wouldn’t just wrinkle less, it could also repel a spilled drink far more effectively than untreated cotton.

The NC State team is now working on fine-tuning the process to ensure tear strength, durability and wrinkle resistance meet industry standards. Their long-term goal is to create a water-based treatment system that makes the process not just safer for consumers but also greener for manufacturers.

“If we can achieve our goal of making cotton anti-wrinkle, anti-staining and water-resistant through a water-based process, we’ll have a bio-based alternative that eliminates the need for formaldehyde and PFAS,” says Venditti.

The project is backed by Cotton Incorporated and the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s National Institute of Food and Agriculture, highlighting its potential importance to the textile industry.

Beyond its environmental and health benefits, this innovation could also provide new value for cotton farmers by tapping into cottonseed oil, which often sells for far less than cotton fibre. Turning a by-product into a high-value textile finishing agent could create a more circular and sustainable cotton economy.

With the global textile industry under increasing pressure to adopt safer, greener practices, NC State’s cottonseed oil breakthrough may offer a timely and scalable solution, one that lets cotton live up to its reputation as the world’s most natural fibre.