From the Sector

The ReHubs initiative brings together key European and world players to solve the European textile waste problem by transforming “waste” into a resource, and to boost textile circular business model at large scale.

This collaboration is set to turn the societal textile waste issue into a business opportunity and to fulfil the EU ambitions of the Green Deal, of the mandatory texile waste collection by end 2024 and the transition into Circular Economy.

In 2020 EURATEX launched the ReHubs initiative to promote collaboration across the extended textile value chain and considering all perspectives on chemicals, fibers making, textiles making, garments production, retail and distribution, textiles waste collection, sorting and recycling.

In June 2022 ReHubs completes a Techno Economic master Study (TES) which researches critical information on the feedstock (textile waste) data, on technology, organizational and financial needs to recycle 2.5 million tons of textile waste by 2030 and to effectively launch the ReHubs.

EURATEX’s ReHubs initiative plans to pursue fiber-to-fiber recycling for 2.5 million tons of textile waste by 2030
According ReHubs Techno Economic Master Study (TES), the textile recycling industry could generate in Europe around 15,000 direct new jobs by 2030, and increase need for nearshoring and reshoring of textile manufacturing.

The textile recycling industry in Europe could reach economic, social and environmental benefits for €3.5 billion to €4.5 billion by 2030
“Transform Waste into Feedstock” announced as first project supported by the ReHubs, and aiming at building up a first 50,000 tons capacity facility by 2024.

Europe has a 7-7.5 million tons textile waste problem, of which only 30-35% is collected today.  

Based on the ambitious European Waste law, all EU Member States must separately collect the textile waste in 2 years and half. While some countries are designing schemes to face the waste collection challenge, currently no large-scale plan exist to process the waste.

The largest source of textile waste (85%) comes from private households and approximately 99% of the textile waste was made using virgin fibers.

Euratex  assesses that to reach a fiber-to-fiber recycling rate of around 18 to 26 percent by 2030, a capital expenditure investment in the range of 6 billion € to 7 billion € will be needed, particularly to scale up sufficient sorting and processing infrastructure. The economic, social, and environmental value which could be realized, potentially total an annual impact of €3.5-4.5 billion by 2030.

Once matured and scaled, the textile recycling industry could become a profitable industry with a total market size of 6-8 billion € and around 15,000 direct new jobs by 2030.

Next steps of the ReHubs initiative

• A European textile recycling roadmap proposing Objectives and Key Results to recycle fiber-to-fiber 2.5 million of textile waste by 2030
• A leading collaboration hub with large players and SMEs from across an extended European textile recycling value chain
• A first concrete portfolio of 4 launching projects:
  - Transform textile waste into feedstock
  - Increase the adoption of mechanically recycled fibers in the value chain
  - Expand capacity by solving technical challenges for thermo-mechanical textiles recycling
  - Create capsule collection with post-consumer recycled products

The 1^st project addresses current sorting technologies which have limits to identify materials with sufficient accuracy for the subsequent circular recycling processes. The “Transform Waste into Feedstock” project will focus on further developing and scaling such sorting technologies. The project group led by Texaid AG aims on building up a first 50,000 tons facility by the end 2024.

Due to the impact of the war in Ukraine on the automotive industry and vehicle production as well as of rising inflation, Autoneum is adjusting its corporate outlook for the 2022 financial year. The market recovery will be delayed by current developments.

Since the outbreak of war in Ukraine, new bottlenecks in global supply and logistics chains have been impacting vehicle manufacturer production volumes and thus slowing the revenue and earnings development of the automotive supply industry, especially in Europe. Current developments are accompanied by accelerated inflation and significant price increases on the commodities markets, which have been further exacerbated by the war. These are felt at Autoneum through rising material, energy and transport costs. With regard to the rising costs, automotive manufacturers and suppliers are now required to ensure a fair burden sharing as partners.

In addition, renewed coronavirus-related lockdowns in China are delaying growth in Asia. According to the revised market forecasts1), global automobile production is expected to reach 80.4 million units in 2022, which represents an increase of 4.1% compared to 2021. Growth will thus be significantly lower than was still expected in mid-February.

Autoneum will do its utmost to minimize the impact on the Group. Despite the present challenges, the strategy will continue to be consistently implemented with a focus on innovative and sustainable technologies for growing markets of the future.

Based on current developments and knowledge, Autoneum has updated the forecasts that it presented at the Media Conference, which had not yet included the impacts of the war as outlined above. Autoneum continues to expect revenue to develop in line with the market. For the first half of the year, the Company expects an EBIT margin at break-even level. On the basis of the ongoing collaborative discussions with customers to participate in the sharing of the sharply increased energy and material costs, Autoneum anticipates an improvement in the EBIT margin to 2.0 to 3.0% (previously: 4.0 to 5.0%) for the full year 2022. Free cash flow for 2022 is expected to be in the mid to high double-digit million range.

Autoneum is very well positioned for the transformation of the automotive industry towards e-mobility and sustainability. Our product portfolio is suitable for all drive types, whether internal combustion, hybrid or pure electric vehicles. The medium-term forecasts that Autoneum published in November 2021 remain unchanged positive. The timing of the market recovery will be delayed by current events and will also depend on further geopolitical developments.

With the purchase of the latest technology, iSAVER® by Itema, in weaving machines, ISKO pushes the envelope of technological performance and sustainability, making further progress in product and process efficiency.

This decision is an additional, important asset in ISKO’s journey towards a genuine Responsible Innovation™. It is part of other crucial investments made by the company, aimed at further reducing its environmental impact, among which stand out R-TWO™50+ – a new denim generation made with a minimum of 50% pre- and post-consumer recycled blend – and the Green Machine – a pioneering technology providing a 100% post-consumer recycling solution that fully separates and recycles cotton and polyester blends at scale.

After an intensive process, a selection was made where ISKO focuses on the development of technical solutions that enable greater resource savings and more sustainable production methods, always with the protection of workers at heart.

As a result, ISKO’s Headquarters extend the company's long-term relationship with Itema,
strengthening the company’s position as the mill with one of the world’s largest denim capacities. The new rapier machines are enhanced by the iSAVER® technology, a breakthrough mechatronic innovation that eliminates the waste selvedge on the left side of the fabric, allowing for saving in energy and raw materials, cutting in half the cotton waste that typically results from the weft yarn. All types of ISKO’s innovative fabrics, with a multitude of different constructions and fiber mixtures, can now be produced using these advanced weaving technologies, with a special focus given to the R-TWO™ technology in terms of its sustainable credentials.

The European Pultrusion Technology Association (EPTA) has published a report from its latest conference, which focuses on advances in sustainability and recycling.

More than 130 professionals from the global pultrusion community gathered at the 16th World Pultrusion Conference in Paris on 5-6 May 2022. Organised by EPTA in collaboration with the American Composites Manufacturers Association (ACMA), the event featured 25 international speakers sharing insight on market trends, developments in materials, processing and simulation technologies, and innovative pultruded applications in key markets such as building and infrastructure, transportation and wind energy.

‘Bio-pultrusion’:  
Composites based on natural fibres offer a number of benefits, including low density and high specific strength, vibration damping, and heat insulation. The German Institutes for Textile and Fiber Research Denkendorf (DITF) are developing pultrusion processes using bio-based resins and natural fibres. Projects include the BioMat Pavilion at the University of Stuttgart, a lightweight structure which combines ‘bamboo-like’ natural fibre-based pultruded profiles with a tensile membrane.

Applications for recycled carbon fibre (rCF):
The use of rCF in composite components has the potential to reduce their cost and carbon footprint. However, it is currently used to a limited extent since manufacturers are uncertain about the technical performance of available rCF products, how to process them, and the actual benefits achievable. Fraunhofer IGCV is partnering with the Institute for Textile Technology (ITA) in the MAI ÖkoCaP project to investigate the technical, ecological and economic benefits of using rCF in different industrial applications. The results will be made available in a web-based app.

Circularity and recycling:
The European Composites Industry Association (EuCIA) is drafting a circularity roadmap for the composites industry. It has collaborated with the European Cement Association (CEMBUREAU) on a position paper for the EU Commission’s Joint Research Centre (JRC) which outlines the benefits of co-processing end-of-life composites in cement manufacturing, a recycling solution that is compliant with the EU’s Waste Framework Directive and in commercial operation in Germany. Initial studies have indicated that co-processing with composites has the potential to reduce the global warming impact of cement manufacture by up to 16%. Technologies to allow recovery of fibre and/or resin from composites are in development but a better understanding of the life cycle assessment (LCA) impact of these processes is essential. EuCIA’s ‘circularity waterfall,’ a proposed priority system for composites circularity, highlights the continued need for co-processing.

Sustainability along the value chain:
Sustainability is essential for the long-term viability of businesses. Resin manufacturer AOC’s actions to improve sustainability include programmes to reduce energy, waste and greenhouse gas emissions from operations, the development of ‘greener’ and low VOC emission resins, ensuring compliance with chemicals legislation such as REACH, and involvement in EuCIA’s waste management initiatives. Its sustainable resins portfolio includes styrene-free and low-styrene formulations and products manufactured using bio-based raw materials and recycled PET.

Focus on eccentric screw pumps and pumps for shear-sensitive materials

Improved productivity and increased lifespan and tailored solutions also for the most demanding applications within the chemicals and plastics industries and in PUR applications – these are the convincing arguments with which Oerlikon Barmag is showcasing its precision metering pumps at this year’s ACHEMA between August 22 and 26, 2022 in Frankfurt. The focus is on the new pump for shear-sensitive conveying media and the new eccentric screw pump.

Eccentric screw pumps – robust all-rounders convey any medium
The requirements for pumps are considerable, as the demand for customized solutions for increasingly complex processes is rising. This is particularly true for Oerlikon Barmag’s new eccentric screw pump range. High wear-resistance, increased durability and robust operation – the new pump is tailor-made for conveying highly-filled, high-viscosity and abrasive media, such as filled adhesives, filled silicones and filled casting compounds, for example. The is the multi-stage seal system, which considerably increases the pump’s lifespan. The upstream shaft sealing ring protects the slide ring seal against excessively-fast wear caused by challenging media. In turn, the optimum alignment of the drive shaft – ball bearing-supported and centrally-guided through the shaft sealing ring – prevents any metal debris caused by friction and hence ensures considerably greater durability. Producers benefit from considerably greater productivity, as the pumps’ maintenance intervals and hence machine downtimes are significantly reduced.

New pump for shear-sensitive materials
For increasingly complex customer-specific process solutions, Oerlikon Barmag is now expanding its GA series, developed especially for the challenging conveying of high-viscosity media, to include the GAB51F for shear-sensitive conveying media. The newly-developed pump with its viscosity range of max. 300 Pas is tailored to conveying high-viscosity, shear-sensitive materials such as adhesives and silicones, for example. “The shear forces impacting the medium within the pump are reduced to a minimum as a result of a specially geometry”, explains Thorsten Wagener, Senior Sales Manager within the Pump Construction business unit. The material is conveyed through the pump in an as gentle and low-pulsation manner as possible and metered precisely at the outlet – ensuring it retains its characteristic properties.

High-speed metering pump with sealed product space
The high-speed metering pump has been especially developed for metering poorly-lubricating media. Here, the main benefit is the sealed product space, which extends the pump’s lifespan considerably. The space that comes into contact with the media is limited to the area around the gears. “As a result, the high-speed pump is particularly suited for applications in the chemicals industry, which frequently involve aggressive acids”, comments Thorsten Wagener.

GM series for low-viscosity media
The pumps in the GM and GA series provide precision metering with low-pulsation feeding of the conveying medium. The multi-stage GM pump conveys low-viscosity media (i.e. 250 bar, 100 mPas) even under high pressure and in the most challenging conditions. The square design from the proven GM series is the standard pump for many metering tasks. The development of the multi-stage pump expands the applications range for the GM series considerably. The round 2-stage GM pump has been developed especially for use in high-pressure technology. It masters the particular challenge of conveying small throughputs with low viscosities. The pump is perfect for 0.05 through 20 cm³/rev feed sizes and is excellently suited for use in high-pressure machines for PUR molded parts, foam slab stock, refrigeration unit insulations and sandwich panels, for example.

GA series pumps for high-viscosity media
The Oerlikon Barmag GA range has been especially developed for the challenging conveying of media with higher viscosities. The GA series pumps are available for conveying volumes of between 1.25 and -30 cm³/rev (0.6-144 l/h). They have been designed for pressures of up to 200 bar, for viscosities of up to 1.500 Pas as well as for temperatures of up to max. 225 °C. With this range of pumps, Oerlikon Barmag offers its customers tailor-made solutions for many technical processes in which high-precision and even metering is of paramount importance.

The drum pump – conveying and metering using a single unit
With the drum pump, the Oerlikon Barmag pump specialists have created a pump designed specifically for conveying and metering high-viscosity materials such as adhesives, silicones and other high-viscosity materials from drums and other large containers and for pressures of up to 250 bar. Its special features not only include the fact that it removes high-viscosity materials from the drum, but that it also meters the medium directly without any additional interim stops.

From 7 - 9 July, the who's who of the fashion industry and the entire fashion ecosystem will finally meet again in person at the events of the Premium Group at Messe Berlin! For business and exchange, for new experiences and impulses, for new brands and above all for one thing: for a new togetherness!

As usual, the trade shows PREMIUM and SEEK as well as the conference format FASHIONTECH are reserved for business professionals - who can find inspiration on site entirely. With the new D2C festival ‘The Ground – Celebration of Style & Culture’, young consumers and fashion enthusiasts from GenZ and GenY as well as the international community living in Berlin are invited to the exhibition grounds for the first time.

More than fashion: 360-degree inspiration at The Ground Festival
At The Ground, industry professionals meet young enthusiasts to inspire each other and discover new worlds. The Ground presents a completely new mix of topics, brands and partners around beauty, music, sport, play, soul and talks. Fashion is the connecting element of The Ground and runs through all areas. Creative and interactive brand presentations meet pre-loved and vintage store pop-ups, inspiring panel talks, sports and mental health workshops and live performances.

In the name of peace and unity: The Ground Festival opened by #FashionUnites Parade
On 7 July, the first The Ground Festival will open with a colourful parade through the capital. Together with the PLATTE.Berlin community, The Ground is organising a parade under the motto #FashionUnites starting at noon from the Victory Column through the west to the festival location of the Berlin exhibition centre. Accompanied by a Berlin DJ, everyone is invited to take part in the parade and can register here and thus also receive free access to The Ground on the first day of the festival.

High-profile charity campaign: The Ground launches 'MUST-HAVE PEACE Merch Collection'
Due to the ongoing war situation in Ukraine, the makers behind The Ground have launched a charity campaign: the MUST-HAVE PEACE Merch Collection. In this exclusive collaboration, players and brands such as Closed, Drykorn, Eastpak, Lala Berlin, Lee and others design one piece of merch each (denim jackets, shirts, shorts, bags) that can be bought during The Ground Festival.

New hub for sustainability: the SEEK Conscious Club
SEEK has always been a magnet for brands and people who have a common vision, tackle things and get them on the road. With the new SEEK Conscious Club, there will be a separate exhibition area focusing on sustainability - more than 80 sustainable brands are joining the club already.

New brand worlds at PREMIUM
This July, PREMIUM will be divided into three sections for the first time: High, Icon and Volume. High is the new home for brands that operate in the market above the premium segment. These include Lala Berlin, Nove, Helene Galwas and Jane Kønig. Icon covers the classic premium segment from Strellson and Seidensticker to Mos Mosh and Denham to Young Poets Society and Fabienne Chapot, and Volume is the new area for commercially successful brands that approach premium from the middle of the market. Here you will find brands like Gerry Weber, Mexx, Pierre Cardin or Miracle of Denim.

The Content Stage program
The stage program will reflect all relevant topics of the fashion ecosystem as part of the new Premium Group cosmos.

• It starts on the first day of the fair, Thursday 7 July, with the popular FASHIONTECH conference.
• On 8 July, the SEEK Conscious Club will host an extensive stage program on the subject of sustainability in all its facets for the first time.
• On Saturday, 9 July, the stage will become the entertainment spotlight for The Ground visitors.

The DiloGroup informs at Techtextil in Frankfurt (June 21 – 24, 2022) about new developments aimed at improving production technologies with a focus on needlefelts.

It becomes more evident that the textile industry comes into the focus of regulatory authorities who push respecting sustainability principles and who initiate a new body of laws. Hence all industrial sectors are requested to achieve savings in material and energy. The textile machine building, of course, plays an important role by seizing this initiative and offering solutions for fibre pulp recycling and reduction of energy, water and ancillaries. DiloGroup has made big efforts to meet these challenges together with a circle of partner companies. In this regard focal points of the development work are:

1. Intense Needling
   Needling per se is a mechanical production method with a high energy efficiency. For this reason, the development efforts of DiloGroup aim at producing nonwovens by “intense needling” instead of water entangling, even for light nonwovens made of fine fibres for the medical and hygiene sector with an area weight of 30 – 100 g/m². This would result in a reduction of the environmentally relevant production costs; per annum to about 1/3 to 1/5 of current.
   Despite the prospective advantages of the mechanical intense needling method over the hydrodynamical, water entanglement is at the moment the most important production method for low area weights and highest production capacity and is also offered by the DiloGroup as general contractor in cooperation with partner companies.
2. “Fibre Pulp Recycling”
   Fibrous material in nonwovens and particularly used clothes can be successfully recycled, if staple length can be conserved in the tearing process. In the classical tearing process, staple lengths are dramatically reduced and therefore these fibres can only be used as base material for inferior uses in thermal or acoustic insulation or in protective textiles, transportation or protective covers etc.
   When recycling textile waste in the context of the collection of used clothes, the so called “filament-saving” tearing using special tearing machines and methods must be used to produce fibres with longer staple lengths which can be fed to a nonwoven installation. Hence product characteristics can be better specified and controlled.
3. Additive nonwoven production
   The additive production method of the “3D-Lofter” is especially suited for automotive parts with differently distributed masses; but there may also be potential for increasing uses in the sector of apparel and shoe production.
4. “IsoFeed”-card feeding
   In the field of card feeding, the “IsoFeed” method offers great potential for a more homogeneous card feeding at the same time reducing the variation in cross-machine fibre mass distribution and thus the fibre consumption while conserving the end product quality.

The opening of this facility marks the expansion of ISKO’s Creative Room Services (CRS) division and its dedication to the continuation of responsible production.

ISKO has opened its first product development centre, based in London. Creative Room London is a unique and innovative space and the first of its kind in the UK. It is the latest initiative of Creative Room Services (CRS), a division of ISKO devoted to offering streamlined and simplified solutions for all denim requirements – from fabric to finished garment.

With a focus on sustainable washing and finishing techniques, customers at Creative Room London will be able to work in parallel with experts to achieve their desired denim looks. Together with machine technology partner Jeanologia, they have been able to develop innovative washing and finishing techniques that meet the highest quality and sustainability standards with a significantly lower environmental impact.

The Creative Room London will also be the central point for their customer’s full product development, ensuring the whole process is agile and more efficient. As well as a hub for its customers, Creative Room London will also act as a platform of education and support for the wider denim community, working with local talent and universities to share knowledge and to bring ideas and concepts to life.

Sustainable products that solve problems are the themes for this year’s finalists for the World of Wipes Innovation Award® that will be presented at the 16th annual World of Wipes® International Conference, June 27-30, at the Marriott Marquis in Chicago, Illinois.    

The three products vying for the award are an all-natural substitute for plastic fibers from Bast Fibre Technologies, a dual-textured 3D cleaning wipe from Fitesa and an environmentally safe flushable wipe from Nice-Pak.

INDA’s Technical Advisory Board selected the finalists from nearly 20 submissions based on their creativity, novelty, uniqueness, technical sophistication within the entire nonwovens wipes value chain and expansion of nonwovens use.

Kimberly-Clark Scott® 24-Hour Sanitizing Wipes was the recipient of the 2021 World of Wipes Innovation Award®.

This year’s in-person WOW International Conference is expected to draw 400-plus senior-level wipes professionals from all wipes segments, repeating last year’s strong live event that welcomed 475 wipes professionals from 14 countries to Atlanta, GA.

Finalists Announced
The three companies vying for the award (in alphabetical order) are:

• Bast Fibre Technologies – Sero® Hemp Fibers
• Fitesa – Dual Textured 3D Wipe
• Nice ’N CLEAN® SecureFLUSHTM Technology Flushable Wipes by Nice-Pak

WOW 2022 Conference Highlights
This year’s WOW conference sessions focus on: Circular & Sustainable Wipes, Supply Chain Challenges in Wipes, Nonwoven Substrates for More Sustainable Wipes, Trends in the Wipes Market and Among Consumers, Disinfection Concerns and New Technologies, Sustainable Wipe Packaging Trends, and Developments in Flushability Issues.

Stahl, an active proponent of responsible chemistry, has published its 2021 Environment, Social, and Governance (ESG) Report. The report outlines the company’s sustainable development ambitions and its achievements over the year. It also features Stahl’s ambitious climate mitigation targets for 2030, such as the transition to more renewable feedstocks.

The 2021 Stahl ESG Report is a cornerstone of Stahl’s commitment to reporting transparently on its progress toward a more sustainable chemicals value chain. This acknowledges the important role that industry must play in tackling climate change while enabling a higher quality of life for more people. A key focal point of the new report is a progress update on Stahl’s ESG Roadmap. Introduced last year, this ten-year plan outlines the company’s ESG commitments and targets for 2023 and 2030.
 
Climate action
Stahl is focused on mitigating climate change by reducing greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from all activities over which it has influence. This includes investing in renewable energy and process efficiencies to lower the GHG emissions caused directly by Stahl’s own operations and the energy used to power them. On this point, progress was made toward the 2023 and 2030 targets in 2021, including a reduction in Scope 1 and 2 CO2 emissions of 15%. Also covered are Stahl’s indirect value-chain impacts, for example, from the raw materials it buys. Looking beyond Stahl’s direct environmental impacts and fostering greater supply-chain transparency will be vital for tackling emissions on a wider scale.

Creating responsible chemistry, together
In 2021, advances were made regarding the company’s diversity and safety targets, which are areas of continuous improvement. Stahl is committed to ensuring a safe working environment, as well as nurturing a diverse and inclusive workplace to continuously improve employee skills.

EcoVadis Gold rating
Fostering ethical behavior through exemplary leadership and governance is key to Stahl’s ambitions. Achieving the EcoVadis Gold rating was an important milestone in this respect. This well-established award reflects the company’s ongoing commitment to supply chain transparency and working with partners to improve the sustainability of its products and operations.