From the Sector

The Lenzing Group, a leading provider of wood-based specialty fibers, is expanding its global clean electricity portfolio by gradually transitioning to green energy at its production site in Nanjing. This will enable its Chinese subsidiary Lenzing Nanjing Fibers to use electricity derived solely from renewable sources from 2023 onwards and reduce the site’s carbon emissions by 100,000 tonnes annually. Lenzing only recently announced the transition to green electricity at its Indonesian production facility.

In 2019, Lenzing became the first fiber producer to set a target of halving its carbon emissions by 2030 and becoming climate neutral by 2050. This carbon reduction target has been recognized by the Science Based Targets Initiative. In Nanjing, Lenzing is currently investing in cutting its carbon emissions and converting a standard viscose production line to 35,000 tonnes of TENCEL™ branded modal fibers. Thanks to this move, the Chinese site will exclusively produce eco-friendly specialty fibers.

The company aims to generate more than 75 percent of its fiber revenue from the wood-based, biodegradable specialty fibers business under the TENCEL™, LENZING™, ECOVERO™ and VEOCEL™ brands by 2024. With the launch of the lyocell plant in Thailand in March 2022 and the investments in existing production sites in China and Indonesia, the share of specialty fibers in Lenzing’s fiber revenue is set to exceed the 75 percent target by a significant margin as early as 2023.

• Values from the past 30 years more relevant than ever and are reflected in recent growth

During its 30^th anniversary, the international OEKO-TEX^® Association is still seeing positive business development despite numerous global challenges. In total, OEKO-TEX^® issued more than 36,000 certificates and labels in the past financial year – an increase of 14% compared to the previous year. The STeP by OEKO-TEX^® facility certification recorded the strongest growth, almost doubling compared to 2020/2021. The number of labels and certificates issued increased from 31,696 to 36,084 between July 1st, 2021, and June 30th, 2022.

"Since OEKO-TEX^® was founded in 1992, our business practices have been aligned with our core values," says OEKO-TEX^® Secretary General Georg Dieners. “Sustainability, trust and safety build upon each other and are the basis of transparent and sustainable action. We underpin responsible action with our independent scientific methods and are valued in the industry as an effective, solution-oriented partner.” In the past financial year, this was reflected in the new Impact Calculator, with which STeP by OEKO-TEX^®-certified companies calculate their CO₂ emissions and measure their water consumption to ultimately reduce both. For OEKO-TEX^®, a sustainable future is inextricably linked to a transparent status quo. "By setting the highest standards and communicating them openly, we encourage companies and consumers to do the same," says Dieners.

To maintain trust and credibility, OEKO-TEX^® includes external perspectives. The International Advisory Board reviews proposals of the OEKO-TEX^® Working Groups and provides important impetus for continuous optimization of the standards. Additionally, a Public Stakeholder Consultation was conducted in March 2022 to gain comprehensive insights from all interest groups. These are now being integrated into the further development of the standards and services. The investments of the past financial year reflect how important quality assurance and product control are for the OEKO-TEX^® Association: Almost 40% of the total expenditure flowed into these two items.

In the meantime, the basic business continues to progress successfully. The number of STANDARD 100 by OEKO-TEX® certificates issued in the 2021/2022 financial year exceeded 25,000 for the first time. More than 15,000 chemicals, colorants and auxiliaries were certified with ECO PASSPORT by OEKO-TEX^®.

In autumn 2022, OEKO-TEX^® will launch a certification to help companies comply with upcoming due diligence laws. With RESPONSIBLE BUSINESS by OEKO-TEX^®, OEKO-TEX^® is responding to the increasing global expectations of compliance with due diligence requirements in companies. The new standard is based on the EU proposal for due diligence, the German Due Diligence Act, which will come into force from 2023, and numerous other international legislative proposals.

Freudenberg Performance Materials (Freudenberg) has been awarded its first EcoVadis Silver Medal for its two UK facilities in Ebbw Vale and Littleborough. The company manufactures solutions for advanced wound care and ostomy products at these two locations. With the award, EcoVadis recognizes the company’s performance in the categories of environment, ethics, labor and human rights, and sustainable procurement. The award means that Freudenberg Performance Materials LP with its two facilities in Ebbw Vale and Littleborough ranks among the best 25% of companies rated by EcoVadis.

adidas has unveiled the latest in its Made with Nature Capsule Collection with a new Ultraboost 22 Made with Nature and Made with Nature apparel joining the range as the brand continues its mission to call time on conventional materials and design out finite resources.

Designed in balance with the planet, the women’s Ultraboost 22 Made with Nature takes the forward-thinking elements of the Ultraboost 22 and amplifies them with natural materials. The shoe is made in part with natural materials – 40% of the knitted upper is made with lyocell, a material created with cellulosic fibers made from sustainably grown wood.

Launching alongside the Ultraboost 22 Made with Nature is a new Made with Nature apparel range, including a performance running wear look for men and women. The apparel range is made with at least 50% organic cotton.

Christopher Wheat, Global Category Director Running Footwear said: “At adidas, we understand that change is not only possible, it’s an urgent necessity. With Made with Nature, we are on a journey to a world beyond plastic. We’re calling time on conventional materials and methods of make. Once depleted, there’s no coming back for fossil resources. But when we design in synergy with natural processes, when we make with nature, we can use materials that regrow or regenerate – and change the way products are made."

Global Fashion Agenda (GFA) has launched a new international edition of Global Fashion Summit. Traditionally held in Copenhagen, the new edition in Singapore will further focus on the perspectives of manufacturers and supply chain partners to deeper understand how the industry can collaborate to reduce social and environmental impact in the entire value chain. Global Fashion Summit: Singapore Edition will take place on 3 November 2022 at Hilton Singapore Orchard.

The theme of Global Fashion Summit: Singapore Edition continues GFA’s focus on ‘Alliances For a New Era’. Under this theme, the Summit will call on the industry to accelerate change - encouraging more alliances between manufacturers, suppliers, investors, brands, NGOs, policymakers and more. It will also examine cross-industry alliances, in a bid to accelerate the transition to a net positive reality.
 
By bringing the forum to Asia, the new edition will include even more manufacturer and supply chain partner voices in the programme to discuss sustainability challenges, differences, and opportunities to collaborate with brand executives on equal terms. Plenary sessions will consider topics such as:

• Renewable energy transformation – what does concrete transformation look like from tier 1-3 perspectives and what measures are needed to implement it?
• Better wage systems – how can the industry establish fair compensation, underpinned by fair purchasing practices that will help end poverty for millions of garment workers?
• Performance measurement – how can the industry accurately measure sustainability performance and tackle data credibility challenges?

Half of the programme will be dedicated to educational and action-oriented business case studies with options for direct interaction and live reactions. These will include tangible learnings and concrete recommendations to mobilise guests to take immediate action following the event.
 
The event will foster further collaboration across stakeholder groups through productive roundtable sessions that create an exchange of views among key decision makers in both the public and private sectors. These meetings will be designed and set up to drive commitments and new alliances for concrete action.

• Aims to tackle the immense textile waste generated in urban environments, on the back of import bans of waste materials
• Addresses the shortcomings of current textile recycling technologies, which are unsuitable for urban settings due to the use of heavy chemicals
• Technologies developed by the newly-formed RGE-NTU Sustainable Textile Research Centre will be test-bedded in RGE’s pilot urban-fit textile recycling plant, projected for completion as early as 2024

Royal Golden Eagle (“RGE”), a global group of resource-based manufacturing companies, which includes a world-leading viscose fibre producers Sateri and Asia Pacific Rayon (APR), is developing urban-fit, closed-loop textile-to-textile recycling solutions, through the newly-formed RGE-NTU Sustainable Textile Research Centre (RGE-NTU SusTex). This is a five-year research collaboration between RGE and Nanyang Technological University, Singapore (“NTU”), to accelerate innovation in textile recycling that can be deployed in urban settings. The research centre will develop new technologies to recycle textile waste into fibre and create new, next-generation eco-friendly and sustainable textiles.

This move comes on the back of the tightening of waste import bans in countries such as China, India and Indonesia, which are among the world’s largest waste processors. The stricter import bans have left cities in need of viable local textile recycling solutions to tackle the immense textile waste generated.

RGE Executive Director, Mr Perry Lim, said, “Current textile recycling technologies, which rely primarily on a bleaching and separation process using heavy chemicals, cannot be implemented due to environmental laws. At the same time, there is an urgent need to keep textiles out of the brimming landfills.” He added, “As the world’s largest viscose producer, we aim to catalyse closed-loop, textile-to-textile recycling by developing optimal urban-fit solutions that can bring the world closer to a circular textile economy.”

Globally, an estimated 90 million tonnes of textile waste is generated and disposed of every year, with less than 1% being upcycled into new clothing or other textile materials. By 2030, the amount of global textile waste, which currently accounts for almost 10% of municipal solid waste, is expected to reach more than 134 million tonnes. The textile industry is also responsible for 10% of global greenhouse gas emissions – more than international flights and maritime shipping combined.

At present, most of the available textile recycling technologies are open-loop, where textile waste is typically downcycled to lower-quality products (insulating materials, cleaning cloths, etc.) or be used in waste-to-heat recycling.

“Closed-loop textile-to-textile recycling processes, particularly chemical recycling, are still under development. Scaling up the technologies to industrial scale remains a challenge. A key bottleneck is that refabricating textile waste into fibre needs purity standards for feedstock. However, most of the clothes that we wear are made of a mixture of different synthetic and natural fibres, which makes separating the complex blends of materials challenging for effective recycling.

“Our aim is to address this industry pain point by developing viable solutions that use less energy, fewer chemicals and produces harmless and less effluents, and then potentially scale up across our global operations,” Mr Lim said.

To tackle the key challenges in closed-loop textile recycling, RGE-NTU SusTex is looking into four key research areas, namely cleaner and more energy efficient methods of recycling into new raw materials, automated sorting of textile waste, eco-friendly dye removal, and development of a new class of sustainable textiles that is durable for wear and, at the same time, lends itself to easier recycling.

Technologies developed by RGE-NTU SusTex will be test bedded at RGE’s pilot urban-fit textile recycling plant in Singapore, which is projected for completion as early as 2024. If successful, RGE has plans to replicate the plant in other urban cities within its footprint.

Adient, a supplier of seating systems for the automotive industry, has entered into a cooperation with Swedish steelmaker H2 Green Steel (H2GS) to reduce the carbon footprint in its value chain.
 
On 1st September Michel Berthelin, Executive Vice President Adient EMEA, and Henrik Henriksson, CEO of H2 Green Steel, have mutually signed an agreement to supply fossil-free steel with low carbon footprint from 2026 on and subsequently use it in Adient's metal products.

Michel Berthelin explains the background to the cooperation: “As a company, we are committed to the Science Based Targets Initiative, a collaboration between leading global institutions to set a science-based climate target. We also support the Carbon Disclosure Project, which helps companies and cities to understand and disclose their environmental impacts. The decision to shift parts of the steel volume sourced for our production to a steel with low carbon footprint is part of our sustainability strategy. It is our goal to reduce emissions at our production sites that are caused directly by our own sources or indirectly by our energy suppliers by 75% by 2030. In parallel, we aim to reduce emissions along our supply chains by 35% over the same period. In doing so, Adient actively fosters the industry's transformation towards a more responsible use of natural resources.”

Steel from H2 Green Steel is produced with up to 95% less CO₂ emissions compared to conventional steel production. The company achieves this by replacing coal with green hydrogen in production and by the use of electricity from non-fossil sources. In this way, mainly water and heat are produced as waste products.

• Innovations in Recycling and Sustainability: Sustainable Diaper Components, Natural Fibers, and Kitty Litter from Recycled Nappies

INDA, the Association of the Nonwoven Fabrics Industry, announced the three finalists that will present their innovative material science solutions as they compete for the prestigious RISE® Innovation Award during the 12th edition of the Research, Innovation & Science for Engineered Fabrics Conference (RISE®) to be held in person September 27-28, 2022 at North Carolina State University.  The award recognizes novel innovations within and on the periphery of the nonwovens industry that creatively use next-level science and engineering principles to solve material challenges and expand the usage of nonwovens and engineered fabrics.

Finalists for the 2022 RISE® Innovation Award:
Cat Litter Made from Recycled Nappies – DiaperRecycle
DiaperRecycle has developed technology to recycle used diapers into cat litter. The aim of the company is to make an environmental impact and decrease the climate changing emissions of diaper waste. They’re diverting used diapers (used in households and businesses such as elder care) from landfill, separating the plastic and fiber and making cat litter. The plastic is prepared for recycling by plastics recyclers. The cat litter product is made by DiaperRecycle from the super absorbent fiber of diapers; it’s highly absorbent and flushable.

Biodegradable Diaper Components – Gottlieb Binder GmbH & Co. KG
Together, Avgol and Binder take on the challenge of disposable absorbent articles for the good of future generations and came up with sustainable diaper components. The technologies used are based on biotransformation technology, which makes it possible to achieve more sustainable products by supporting recycling and providing an alternative route for non-recyclable/fugitive waste management.

sero® hemp fibers – Bast Fibre Technologies, Inc.
Bast Fibre Technologies’ sero® hemp fibers offer the nonwoven industry an all-natural substitute for plastic fibers. From dedicated European- and US-based production facilities, BFT transforms raw bast fibers into premium natural fibers for applications ranging from single-use and durable wipes to industrial applications. Suitable for minority or majority blends, sero® hemp combines easily with standard nonwoven fibers to produce fabrics that meet the industry requirements for strength, uniformity, and processing efficiency.

RISE® conference attendees, technology scouts and product developers in the nonwoven/engineered fabrics industry seeking new developments to advance their businesses, will electronically vote for the recipient of the 2022 RISE® Innovation Award. The winner will be announced Wed., Sept. 28^th.

Technical experts on INDA’s Technical Advisory Board selected three finalists from among 12 nominations.  The 22-member board of technical professionals is represented by companies such as Absorbent Hygiene Insights LLC, Attindas Hygiene Partners, Berry Global, Cotton Incorporated, Crown Abbey, LLC, The DAK Group, Fi-Tech, Inc. Freudenberg Performance Materials, Glatfelter Sontara Old Hickory, Inc., Lenzing Fibers, Inc., Natureworks LLC, Nice-Pak Products, Inc./PDI, Nonwovens by Design, Norafin (Americas) Inc., The Nonwovens Institute at North Carolina State University, Poccia Consulting, LLC, The Procter & Gamble Company, RKW North America, Inc., Rockline Industries, Smith, Johnson & Associates, Suominen Corporation, and Texas Tech University.

“The RISE Conference recognizes and promotes innovation across the nonwoven and engineered material industry. Technology leaders will share invaluable information on innovative new approaches and concepts to resolve material science challenges. For any technical leader, technology scout or new product innovator, RISE is an event not to be missed,” said Tony Fragnito, INDA’s President.

The conference program will cover relevant and timely topics including: Creating a Circular Industry, Advancements in Sustainable Inputs in PLA, Developments in Natural Fibers I and II, Sustainable Inputs in Fibers and Biofibers, Sustainable Inputs from Waste Products, and Economic Insights and Market Intelligence.

• Gradual transformation of production capacities to LENZING™ ECOVERO™ and VEOCEL™ branded specialty viscose

The Lenzing Group, provider of wood-based specialty fibers, is expanding its global clean electricity portfolio and transitioning its production site in Purwakarta to green electricity. The Indonesian subsidiary PT. South Pacific Viscose (SPV) has been using electricity generated solely from renewable sources since July this year, which will reduce its specific carbon emissions by 75,000 tonnes annually.

In 2019, Lenzing became the first fiber producer to set a target of halving its carbon emissions by 2030 and becoming climate neutral by 2050. This carbon reduction target has been recognized by the Science Based Targets Initiative. In Purwakarta, Lenzing is currently investing in the reduction of carbon emissions, as well as air and water emissions. Thanks to its EUR 100 million investment in this area, Lenzing is gradually transitioning its existing capacities for standard viscose to LENZING™ ECOVERO™ and VEOCEL™ branded specialty viscose.

“Demand for our wood-based, biodegradable specialty fibers is constantly rising. We see enormous growth potential, especially in Asia. The switch to green, renewable electricity marks a huge step forward in converting our Indonesian site into a specialty fiber supplier. This makes us better positioned to meet the growing demand for sustainably produced fibers,” comments Robert van de Kerkhof, Chief Commercial Officer for Fiber at Lenzing.

The company aims to generate more than 75 percent of its fiber revenue from the wood-based, biodegradable specialty fibers business under the TENCEL™, LENZING™ ECOVERO™ and VEOCEL™ brands by 2024. With the launch of the lyocell plant in Thailand in March 2022 and the investments in existing production sites in Indonesia and China, the share of specialty fibers in Lenzing’s fiber revenue is set to exceed the 75 percent target by a significant margin as early as 2023.

The second annual Ryan Young Climate+ Awards will take place this November 2022 at the annual Textile Exchange conference. Nominations are open until August 31, 2022.

The late Ryan Young, Textile Exchange COO from 2017-2020, is the inspiration behind Textile Exchange’s Climate+ Strategy, which is for the organization to serve as “a driving force for urgent climate action,” with a goal of 45% reduced CO2 emissions from textile fiber and material production by 2030. Ryan’s bold and courageous spirit defined what Textile Exchange and its members must do to tackle the climate crisis.

In honor of Ryan and his vision, TE will again be awarding Ryan Young Climate+ Awards to outstanding individuals and teams who show a clear commitment to the Climate+ vision along with other leadership traits.

Winners will be announced at the 2022 Textile Exchange Conference which will take place virtually and in person in Colorado Springs, U.S. from November 14-18, 2022.

The 2022 award categories and criteriaare listed below:
Nominees may be brands, retailers, farmers and/or ranchers, and raw material suppliers.
Winners will receive one free full-access pass to attend the Conference (travel not included).

Three Ryan Young Climate+ Award Categories:

1. Overall leadership – individual
2. Overall leadership – team
3. Rising star – individual with less than 5 years of industry experience

Award recipients will meet the following criteria:

• Commitment to Climate+ – involved in accelerating Climate+ action in the apparel, textile, and footwear industry.
• Collaboration – reflective of Ryan’s vision and determination to collaboratively move the industry forward.
• Impact – driving innovative, scalable, transparent programs with measurable impact reduction and/or beneficial impacts on climate, water, soil health, and/or biodiversity at the raw materials level. Achievements/solutions are backed by trusted data and/or reporting.
• Leadership and Inspiration – clearly demonstrating leadership and vision for industry climate solutions over the past year and beyond