From the Sector

Borealis continues to invest in growth through sustainable solutions that are transforming the polymer industry. Its facility in Burghausen, Germany, is significantly expanding production capacity for an innovative polymer foam solution called Daploy™ High Melt Strength polypropylene (HMS PP). This investment—totaling over EUR 100 million—addresses growing global demand for recyclable, high-performance foam solutions. The new line, scheduled to start up in the second half of 2026, will triple Borealis’ supply capability for fully recyclable HMS PP. This expansion enables the transition to more circular and recyclable material solutions for customers in the consumer products, automotive, and building and construction industries.  
 
The development of Daploy HMS PP took place at Borealis’ Innovation Headquarters in Linz. The new product provides exceptional foamability, lightweight properties, and mechanical strength—characteristics that support material efficiency and help cut both costs and CO2 emissions. It is suitable for use in monomaterial solutions, which are easily recyclable at end of life.  
 
By supporting the sustainability principles of Reduce, Reuse, and Recycle, Daploy HMS PP addresses the growing demand for recyclable solutions across multiple industry segments:
 
In the automotive industry, Daploy is used for ultra-lightweight foamed interior and under-the-hood components. Typically 60-90% lighter than non-foamed alternatives, these components help improve fuel efficiency and reduce carbon emissions. It also enables zero-waste production as all production trim-offs can be easily recycled. In addition, Daploy makes it possible for these parts to be constructed from a single material, facilitating recycling at the end of the vehicle’s life.  
In the building and construction sector, Daploy HMS PP is used to replace heavier materials in insulation and paneling applications. Its durability, strength, and heat resistance ensure excellent performance, while its lightweight properties and recyclability improve the sustainability of these components.
 
“In line with our We4Customers strategy, this investment creates value for customers by enabling them to design recyclable, foam-based products for a wide range of high-performance applications,” explains Craig Arnold, Borealis Executive Vice President Polyolefins, Circular Economy Solutions and Base Chemicals. “By expanding production, we’re ensuring a reliable supply of this advanced material to help our customers achieve their sustainability goals and deliver high-performance solutions.”

Archroma, a global leader in specialty chemicals towards sustainable solutions, has taken sustainable and cost-effective cellulosic dyeing to the next level with the introduction of AVITERA® RASPBERRY SE.

Extending the AVITERA® SE GEN NEXT platform color of deep shades, the IP-protected brilliant trichromatic red empowers mills to achieve rich, dark and extra-dark shades while meeting the stringent fastness and sustainability requirements of leading brands and retailers. The newest element also offers significantly lower processing costs, with focus on reducing the recipe cost together with reliable right-first-time performance as well, “AVITERA® SE revolutionized the dyeing of cellulosic fibers and blends when it was introduced 15 years ago – setting a new benchmark with state-of-the-art application and fastness performance and advanced sustainability,” Dhirendra Gautam, VP Marketing, Archroma said.

“Our goal was always to offer a full range of attractive colors without limits. With AVITERA® SE RASPBERRY SE as our new trichromatic red, we are now enabling fashion and textile companies to produce differentiated end articles in consistent and long-lasting dark and extra-dark shades with the same cost-competitiveness as in pale and medium shades. This is another major step forward on our PLANET CONSCIOUS+ journey to economic and environmental sustainability for our industry,” he continued.

Substantial Savings on Challenging Dark Shades
Dyeing darker shades – such as black, navy and especially red – has traditionally been more challenging and costly than dyeing lighter colors. Achieving a deep, uniform color requires higher dye concentrations and more water and energy, and often also demands additional steps or re-dyeing. Dark shades, particularly red, also tend to fade more quickly than light colors, especially when exposed to sunlight and repeated home laundering.

With high-speed low-temperature wash-off, high process reliability and excellent reproducibility on dark and ultra-dark shades, the AVITERA® SE GENERATION NEXT dyestuffs allow mills to achieve water and energy savings of up to 50% compared to best available technology, and to slash CO2 emissions and effluent discharge by up to 50% as well. They can also increase mill output by up to 25% or more.

Elkem Silicones has been honored for its commitment to sustainable businesses, receiving awards in two categories of the SEAL Awards. This recognition underscores our comprehensive approach to our ESG strategy, from executing our climate roadmap to developing silicone solutions supporting circularity.
Environmental Initiative Award:

The innovative Industrial Symbiosis for Silicones value chain initiative has been recognized for the recycling of hydrochloric acid (HCl) waste into valuable raw materials for specialty silicones.

This approach not only reduces waste and CO2 emissions but aligns with the company’s ambition to develop and scale up new technologies and processes to maximize raw material value, starting with in-house industrial waste.
This closed-loop system has already delivered a carbon footprint reduction of up to 6.5% in one of our product ranges, with the potential to achieve up to 14% in the midterm.

Sustainable Product Award
SILCOLAPSE™ EASY 10, honored with the Sustainable Product Award, is the result of an intensive R&D program aimed at formulating an optimal solution for foam control in the plastic recycling sector.

This product addresses the critical issue of foam formation during the washing and wastewater treatment stages of recycling, which are essential for reducing environmental impact and improving process efficiency.

In industrial trials, SILCOLAPSE™ EASY 10 has shown up to a 50% reduction in antifoam usage, leading to lower CO2 emissions and enhanced productivity. This innovation aligns with Elkem's commitment to supply industries enabling the green transition.

Dibella‘s latest sustainability report covers the period from January 1st, 2023 to July 31st, 2024 and documents progress and future plans in the areas of environmental, social and corporate governance.

Dibella laid the foundations for corporate social responsibility back in the early 2010s. Since then, the company has been consistently committed to the implementation of socially and environmentally consciously produced textiles and has initiated and completed numerous lighthouse projects in the supply chain. Dibella presented its activities and goals for the first time in 2012 in its sustainability report. Since then, the company has documented its progress at regular intervals.

Environment
Particularly noteworthy are the constant proportion of GOTS and Fairtrade-certified products and a significant increase in the implementation of Cotton made in Africa cotton in the supply chain using the mass balance system: from 300 tonnes in 2023 to 750 tonnes in 2024. Another highlight is the reforestation project in Tamil Nadu, India, where over 4,000 trees have already been planted to offset CO₂ emissions. As a founding member of CIBUTEX, Dibella is also committed to the recovery of textile resources and the associated reduction of environmental pollution.

Social
Dibella has initiated and completed various social projects. One example is the improvement of working conditions in the supply chain by providing ergonomic seating for employees of a Pakistani clothing manufacturer. Dibella's own GoodTextiles Foundation also supports educational projects in India and drinking water initiatives in Africa. Measures have been introduced within the company to promote a good working environment.

Corporate Governance
99.5 per cent of textiles are now labelled with the Green Button, which confirms compliance with the Supply Chain Duty of Care Act. In addition, digital transparency tools such as the respect-code, which disclose the origin and production steps of the goods, have been further expanded. Following the coronavirus-related travel restrictions, business trips to India were also resumed in order to familiarise customers and interested parties with the positive ecological and social framework conditions of the supply chain.

Goals for the future
By 2030, company-related CO2 emissions are to be reduced by 45% and the proportion of organic Fairtrade cotton is to be increased to 20%. Overall, the proportion of sustainable cotton is to be increased to 70% of production. The company will continue to focus on sustainable innovation and transparency in the future.

CARBIOS and Zhink Group, specializing in two global industries, PET and textiles, announce the signing of a joint Letter of Intent to build a biorecycling plant in China using CARBIOS’ revolutionary enzymatic depolymerization technology to serve the global market. This agreement officializes collaboration towards a long-term partnership in view of a first licensing contract to build a plant with a minimum annual processing capacity of 50k tons of prepared PET waste and would contribute to accelerating a circular economy for plastic and textiles. China is a key market for CARBIOS, and this agreement would establish a presence in this dominant market.

With 67 million tons of PET produced annually, representing 61% of global production^[1], China is the world's largest PET producer. With regional and global demand for recycled PET growing, China also has the potential to take the lead in recycled PET (r-PET) production. In 2021, 58% of the world’s r-PET was consumed in Asia (with 38% in China^[2]) underscoring this region’s importance both as a major producer and consumer.

Furthermore, China is a key transformer of PET into resins and fibers used in numerous applications in the packaging and textile industries.  Most notably, China is the primary country for transforming PET into fiber, representing 78% of all PET fiber transformation in the world^[3].

For Zhink, the strategic focus is on the development of two global industries, PET and textiles, and to be a leader with sustainable competitiveness. Zhink is a major actor within the PET market with an annual production of 3 million tons of PET, serving domestic and global markets. CARBIOS has developed a enzymatic depolymerization technology that enables efficient and solvent-free recycling of PET plastic and textile waste into virgin-like products. The initial agreement between the two groups would allow Zhink to increase its recycled PET capacities and meet its sustainable competitiveness objectives by offering r-PET from enzymatic recycling: a circular recycling solution that can process all types of PET waste including hard-to-recycle waste (such as opaque and colored bottles, multilayer food trays and textile waste) while reducing CO2 emissions by 57%^[4] compared with virgin PET production. For CARBIOS, this agreement marks a significant step in the deployment of its technology worldwide and roll-out of its licensing model to achieve its ambition to become a leading technology provider in the recycling of PET by 2035. This Asia-based plant under license by Zhink would come in addition to the world’s first industrial-scale enzymatic PET recycling plant which is currently under construction in Longlaville, France.

^[1] HIS Markit 2021, Market Research Future 2021
^[2] HIS Markit 2021, Market Research Future 2021
^[3] HIS Markit 2021, Market Research Future 2021
^[4] Database ecoinvent 3.8; French scenario, taking into account the detour of 50% of PET waste from conventional end-of-life. Virgin PET: 2.53 kg CO2/kg (cradle to gate)

KARL MAYER GROUP has developed a sophisticated system for considerable energy savings when operating the cylinder dryers in its PROSIZE® sizing machines and BLUEDYE dyeing plant.

Saving costs with inline energy recycling
The innovation is called CASCADE and focuses on steam as a heating medium in cylinder dryers. And for good reason: according to the IPCC report by ITMF Zurich, one tonne of steam cost between USD 20 and just under USD 27 internationally in 2021. The new solution relies on reuse to reduce the amount of process energy required.
"CASCADE recirculates parts of the process steam in cylinder dryers, enabling genuine, efficient energy recycling within the machine," explains Karl-Heinz Vaassen, Head of Textile Drying at KARL MAYER.
The customer benefits from significantly lower energy costs and CO2 emissions. With a view to the Asian market, a dryer with 14 cylinders and a running time of 7,000 working hours can achieve cost savings of up to USD 17,000 per year.

Precise, real savings values are available when looking at the machine dashboard. A sensor provides real-time data on the amount of steam circulating in the circuit, from which the corresponding reduction in CO2 equivalents can be calculated.

Utilizing the pressure drop
CASCADE reuses part of the invested process energy and uses the flash-steam in conjunction with the pressure ratios, which - nomen est omen - decrease in cascades in the different zones of the cylinder dryer.
The highest working pressure prevails in the first cylinder section. The heat transfer medium steam emits large amounts of energy for yarn drying and condenses without temperature loss.

The resulting hot condensate is not immediately discharged from the machine, but is instead fed into a flash tank, where vapor exhaust is formed as a result of the pressure reduction. In conventional systems, the carrier medium for gases is only created in the return line towards the boiler house and is eliminated as undesirable. Instead of being utilised in the process, it escapes into the environment. With the CASCADE system, this "freshly recycled steam" is used for the heat supply in the second cylinder section, but not without prior treatment.

In the system patented by KARL MAYER, the recycled steam is intelligently mixed with live steam and thus raised to the level of the required process conditions for use in the cylinder section at the end of the dryer. Here, the fabric moisture is reduced to the desired residual value at medium pressure and temperature conditions.

Market launch is underway
CASCADE was filed for patent by the KARL MAYER GROUP. It was published in September 2023.
The innovative solution at no extra charge was presented at ITM 2024 in Istanbul and was a visitor highlight at the KARL MAYER GROUP stand.

From January 2024, CASCADE will be part of the PROSIZE® as standard. The first sizing machine with the upgrade for greater energy efficiency will be delivered in the second quarter of this year. It will go to a manufacturer in Europe. In the next step, CASCADE will be integrated into other dryer types and will also be available for the BLUEDYE.

Stratasys Ltd. published its second Mindful Manufacturing™ ESG and Sustainability Report in accordance with the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) standards, fulfilling its commitment to transparency. The report includes an extensive overview of activities and advancements in Stratasys’ environmental, social and governance (ESG) programs.

Some highlights of the Mindful Manufacturing ESG and Sustainability report, by category, include:

Environmental

• Stratasys reduced water intensity by 32.5 percent across global operations, leading to an overall reduction in water usage by the company.
• Solar panels installed at Israeli facilities generated 441,339 kWh of renewable energy, which contributed to 207 metric tons of reduced CO2 emissions, or the equivalent of planting 3,423 trees
• Double digit (11.3 percent) increases in the number of spools, cartridges and canisters recycled through a new recycling program.

Social

• More than 38,000 hours of employee training were provided, equaling 18 hours of training per employee.
• Approaching world-class status with employee engagement, with a 78 percent participation rate in the last all-employee survey, with an all-time high engagement score of 73.
• 81 percent of managers participated in management training.
• 4 diversity KPIs were set in 2022, focusing on hiring practices. Targets were:
• 100 percent of candidate slates for manager and above will have a diverse slate
• 35 percent of management hires will be women
• 25 percent of tech hires will be women
• 40 percent of intern/student hires to reflect a range of ethnicity and gender diversity.

Governance

• 100 percent of new suppliers in 2021 and 2022 signed the Supplier Code of Conduct, which includes environmental, social and ethical standards.
• More than 97% of all employees completed compliance training.
• No product-related health and safety incidents of non-compliance occurred in 2021 or 2022.

The Tuscan tannery Vesta Corporation has presented to its stakeholders a report outlining its current commitment and future objectives, with a view to innovating, safeguarding and fostering high-end leather material processing.

Ever since it was founded in 1966 in Ponte a Egola, the Tuscan hub for the production of leather for vegetable tanned soles, Vesta has been a supplier and partner of haute couture and sportswear brands, from lightweight calf and half-calf leather, to heavy leathers made with hind and rump hide, for leatherware and shoes.

To draft this Report, reference was made to the “Global Reporting Initiative Sustainability Reporting Standards” established by the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI). The information in the balance sheet refers to the year 2022 (from 1 January to 31December 2022). Wherever possible, data for the previous year are included, to allow for a comparison of data over time and to assess the trend of Vesta activities. Sustainability is an objective-driven process. This means that comparing data allows for concretely measuring the company’s progress, as it pursues this accounting process year after year.

The improvement actions already implemented by Vesta involve corporate responsibility from an environmental, social and governance perspective. An example are the improved heating and processing plants (which entails the construction of a new tumbling department based on 4.0 technology). This guarantees significant energy, water and economic savings. Along with numerous corporate certifications, the company has passed the Raw Material Traceability test with a score of EXCELLENT, as well as the Carbon and Water footprint analysis.

As confirmation of its commitment to improving corporate performance levels, Vesta has been upgraded from BRONZE (2020) to GOLD in 2023, as assessed by the Leather Working Group (which measures leather manufacturers’ environmental performance for ecological production and for a systemic management of quality, environmental, safety and ethical factors).

Becoming energy-independent is a major step in the pipeline, involving the installation of a photovoltaic plant. This is complemented by the implementation of a project aimed at totally compensating its CO2 emissions for the year subject to accounting and certification. This neutrality will be achieved through the acquisition of credits deriving from projects certified by the United Nations. For example, with the construction of an important hydro-electric plant to which Vesta is contributing. With regard to production, corporate research is currently focused on developing solutions to reduce water and energy use. It is also implementing circular trends by adopting an increasing number of bio-based products, to guarantee the most sustainable end-of-life and waste management for its products.

Autoneum’s sustainable, textile and lightweight Propylat technology reduces both interior and exterior noise of vehicles. Propylat was originally developed by Borgers Automotive, which was acquired by Autoneum in April 2023. The versatile technology is characterized by a flexible material composition of natural and synthetic fibers with a high recycled content and contributes to significant waste reduction thanks to its complete vertical integration. In addition, the fully recyclable technology variant Propylat PET is now part of the sustainability label Autoneum Pure.

The ongoing electrification of mobility as well as increasingly strict regulatory requirements for vehicle performance in terms of sustainability and acoustics are presenting new challenges to car manufacturers worldwide. With Propylat, Autoneum now offers another lightweight, fiber-based and versatile technology whose sound-insulating and -absorbing properties as well as high content of recycled materials help customers address these challenges. Propylat-based products not only contribute to reducing pass-by noise and improving driver comfort, but they are also up to 50 percent lighter than equivalent plastic alternatives; this results in a lower vehicle weight and, consequently, less fuel and energy consumption as well as lower CO2 emissions.

Autoneum's innovative Propylat technology consists of a mixture of recycled synthetic and natural fibers – the latter include cotton, jute, flax or hemp, for example – that are consolidated using thermoplastic binding fibers without adding any further chemical binders. Thanks to the flexible fiber composition and the variable density and thickness of the porous material, the properties of the respective Propylat variant, for example with regards to acoustic performance, can be tailored to individual customer requirements. This allows for a versatile application of the technology in a variety of interior and exterior components such as wheelhouse outer liners, trunk trim, underbody systems and carpets. For instance, Propylat-based wheelhouse outer liners significantly reduce rolling noise both inside and outside the vehicle while at the same time offering optimum protection against stone chipping and spray water.

In terms of sustainability, Propylat always contains a high proportion of recycled fibers – up to 100% in some variants – and can be manufactured with zero waste. Thanks to the full vertical integration of Propylat and Autoneum’s extensive expertise in recycling processes, the technology also contributes to a further significant reduction in production waste. Moreover, the Propylat PET technology variant, which consists of 100% PET, of which up to 70% are recycled fibers, is fully recyclable at the end of product life. For this reason, Propylat PET has been selected for Autoneum Pure – the Company’s sustainability label for technologies with excellent environmental performance throughout the product life cycle – where it will replace the current Mono-Liner technology going forward.

Propylat-based components are currently available in Europe, North America and China.

Sustainable fashion and sportswear must be high on the political agenda:
Three University of Manchester academics who specialise in fashion and textiles have criticised the Government for failing to take action to boost sustainability in the UK fashion and sportswear industries.

In an article published by the University’s policy engagement unit Policy@Manchester to coincide with the 20th annual Recycle Week, Lindsay Pressdee, Dr Amy Benstead and Dr Jo Conlon highlight that, of the one million tonnes of textiles disposed of every year in this country, 300,000 tonnes end up in landfill or incineration with figures suggesting 10 per cent of global CO2 emissions may come from the fashion industry.

And they warn that the damage inflicted by discarded sportswear is often overlooked, “despite an over-reliance on polyester garments, which are harmful to the environment as the fabric releases microfibres and takes hundreds of years to fully biodegrade.”

Pressdee, Benstead and Conlon stress the importance of establishing “sustainable behaviour throughout the supply chain” and praise the European Commission for proposing an “extended producer responsibility (EPR)” for textiles in the EU which “aims to create appropriate incentives to encourage producers to design products that have a reduced environmental impact at the end of their life.”

This contrasts with the UK where, they argue, “tackling sustainability in the fashion industry has lost its place on the political agenda.”

"We are calling on the Government to reintroduce textiles as part of the school curriculum to engage young people in sustainable materials and equip them with the basic skills required to repair clothes.”
Lindsay Pressdee, Dr Amy Benstead and Dr Jo Conlon

The University of Manchester academics contend that there has been “disappointing lack of progress from the UK Government” following the House of Commons Environmental Audit Committee’s Fixing Fashion report in 2019.

They continue: “This report included a call for the use of EPR as well as other important recommendations such as a ban on incinerating or landfilling unsold stock that can be reused or recycled and a tax system that shifts the balance of incentives in favour of reuse, repair and recycling to support responsible companies. We urge the Government to think again and drive forward the Committee’s recommendations in order to put sustainable fashion back on the political agenda.”

Pressdee, Benstead and Conlon also criticise Ministers for abolishing the standalone GCSE in textiles which provided many young people with the ability to mend clothing such as football kits instead of throwing them away.

They write: “We are therefore calling on the Government to reintroduce textiles as part of the school curriculum to engage young people in sustainable materials and equip them with the basic skills required to repair clothes.”

The University of Manchester has launched a new project dedicated to tackling the impact of textile waste in the football industry through the provision of workshops tasked with transforming surplus football shirts into unique reusable tote bags, whilst educating local communities on the environmental impacts of textile waste and how to extend the life of garments. The initiative aims to provide a fun, responsible way to keep kits in circulation while shining a light on the problem.