From the Sector

Indorama Ventures Public Company Limited (IVL) named the winners of ‘RECO Young Designer Competition’, Thailand's largest upcycling fashion design event, parading haute couture garments containing at least 60% recycled materials.

Eleven finalists showcased 33 handmade sustainable outfits at the 9th edition of the fashion show at IVL’s headquarters in Bangkok, using recycled PET and polyester items to craft creative fashions. Under the concept of ‘REVIVE: Start from the Street,’ RECO supports young Thai designers while raising awareness of recycling. The designs use a range of recycled materials including recycled PET yarns, discarded fabric from factories, and even repurposed safety belts.

RECO awarded finalists and winners with 500,000 baht in prizes to support their careers. First prize of 125,000 baht was awarded to 23-year-old emerging furniture designer Prem Buachum for his ‘The Origin of Rebirth’ collection, using fabric recycled from post-consumer PET bottles. The first runner-up, Sathitkhun Boonmee, was awarded 75,000 baht for his ‘Remembering Your Favorite Teddy Bear’ collection, using old dolls made of polyester fibers. Second runners-up, Worameth Monthanom and Tanakorn Sritong, received 50,000 baht for their ‘Regeneration of Nature (into Spring)’ collection, using unused fabrics and discarded PET film. Napat Tansuwan, a finalist with his’ Don’t Judge’ collection, will go on to create designer merchandise for sponsor Buriram United Football Club using local weaving techniques from communities in Buriram province.

Mrs. Aradhana Lohia Sharma, Vice President at Indorama Ventures and RECO Young Designer Competition Chairperson, said, “Since 2011, RECO's ambition has been to uplift recycling and inspire people to realize the value of recyclable materials to produce great new products for daily life. We have witnessed many thoughtful initiatives on upcycling through the collections created by our talented young Thai designers. The designs this year showcase stunning wearability and innovation while using a large percentage of recycle materials. Public interest in recycling has been growing immensely, and we are grateful to strengthen the relationship with partners like Buriram United Football Club.”

“Indorama Ventures hopes this competition will be a driving force in nurturing sustainable fashion concepts and increasing the acceptance of recycled materials, especially post-consumer PET. We are proud to be a stepping-stone for our youth's design journey and our community’s sustainable future.”

Natural fibres offer mechanical strength, low weight, and resilience, as well as renewability and biodegradability, making them ideal partners to high-tech, modern, and sustainable textile applications. The DNFI Innovation in Natural Fibres Award offers recognition for outstanding design and innovation in this important textile sector.

The DNFI award has proven to be successful in raising awareness of the outstanding work being done by specialists in this field and previous winners speak of their appreciation for the subsequent media coverage and interest in their work.

• Applicants are invited to submit their proposals by email to: Secretariat@dnfi.org.
• Application templates are available on the DNFI web site: https://www.dnfi.org/dnfi-award
• Closing Date for award applications is 9. September 2022.
• A maximum of two extra pages (for a total of three pages) of information and three photographs/graphs/tables may be included with this submission.

Stahl, an active proponent of responsible chemistry, has joined CLIB, an international open innovation cluster of stakeholders in the biotechnology space. CLIB is committed to providing networking opportunities for its members across different industries and sectors with a view to using biotechnology to foster sustainability. Stahl’s membership of the network underlines the company’s commitment to open innovation and to working with partners across value chains to reduce its Scope 3 emissions.

CLIB members include large companies, SMEs, start-ups, academic institutes, universities, and other stakeholders engaged in biotechnology and the circular- and bioeconomy as a whole. As part of this cluster, Stahl seeks to connect with likeminded contacts and partners to explore opportunities for increasing the use of bio-based and bio-derived solutions in its chemistries, products, and applications. In turn, Stahl hopes to add value to other members of the network by providing a route to market for biotechnology solutions through the company’s extensive range of industrial products and applications.
 
Stahl’s first face-to-face interaction with its fellow CLIB members will take place at the CLIB Networking Day in October 2022.

• Unternehmenseigene Solaranlage hat inzwischen 100.000 KWh Strom erzeugt

Dibella ist in einer sonnigen Region ansässig. Dort wird im Jahresdurchschnitt eine Sonnenscheindauer von ungefähr vier Stunden pro Tag gemeldet. Diese Energiequelle macht sich das Unternehmen zunutze: Auf der gesamten Dachfläche des im Jahr 2007 errichteten und im Jahr 2013 erweiterten Firmengebäudes wurde eine Solaranlage mit einer Nennleistung von ca. 13 Kilowatt-Peak (kWp) 2 installiert. Sie erzeugt den Strom für die Beheizung des gesamten Bauwerks. Seit ihrer Inbetriebnahme haben die 53 polykristallinen Solarmodule jährlich eine Energiemenge von etwa 11 MWh geliefert, in Jahren mit besonders guten Sommern sogar 13 MWh. Im Jahr 2020 gab es einen Ausreißer aufgrund eines Software-Defekts, so fehlte die Energie-Erzeugermenge von rund einem Dreivierteljahr.

Weitsichtig geplant
„Bei der Planung unseres Neubaus haben wir uns bewusst für die Nutzbarmachung von erneuerbaren Energien entschieden, da dies unserer Nachhaltigkeitsphilosophie entspricht. Die Solaranlage produziert einen umweltfreundlichen, kostengünstigen Strom“, berichtet Ralf Hellmann, Geschäftsführer von Dibella. „Gerade in den vergangenen Monaten hat sich gezeigt, wie richtig der damalige Entschluss für eine umweltfreundliche Wärmeerzeugung war: Wir sind von fossilen Brennstoffen und deren unberechenbaren Preisen und Verfügbarkeiten unabhängig. Die Investition in eine teurere, aber nachhaltige Technologie hat sich damit (wieder einmal) ausgezahlt.“

• Exceptional achievement of research work on the use of Nuclear Magnetic Resonance (NMR) spectroscopy for understanding PET depolymerization enzymes

Carbios (Euronext Growth Paris: ALCRB), a pioneer in the development of enzymatic solutions dedicated to the end-of-life of plastic and textile polymers, announces the publication of an article entitled “An NMR look at an engineered PET depolymerase” in the scientific journal Biophysical Journal.

The article describes the use of Nuclear Magnetic Resonance (NMR) spectroscopy to study the thermal stability of PET depolymerization enzymes and the mechanism of adsorption of the enzyme on the polymer. This innovative approach, which required months of development, is a world first and opens up new ways of improving these enzymes. This publication confirms Carbios' international lead in the development of the most efficient enzymes for the depolymerization and recycling of plastics.

Prof. Alain Marty, Chief Scientific Officer of Carbios and co-author of the article, explains: “ Nearly 25 researchers are currently working on our unique enzymatic technology. It is based on academic collaborations with the world's leading experts in their fields..”

Dr. Guy Lippens, CNRS Research Director and co-author of the artcle, adds: “Nuclear Magnetic Resonance (NMR) is an extraordinary biophysical technique for visualizing an enzyme directly in solution. Our study is the first to use NMR as a complementary technique to crystallography and molecular modeling to observe a PETase. This gives new perspectives to better understand the functioning of these enzymes and it makes it possible to imagine new ways of improving these enzymes. ”

Genomatica (Geno) alongside longtime collaborator Aquafil [ECNL:IM] successfully completed the first demonstration scale production runs for plant-based nylon-6. The material is intended to reshape the $22B nylon industry, enabling brands to meet demand from consumers for sustainable everyday materials from apparel to automotive parts to carpets. Geno and Aquafil have produced the first several tons of plant-based nylon-6 building block caprolactam, have converted it to nylon-6 polymer, and are now in the process of transforming it for evaluation in nylon applications such as yarns for textile and carpet and engineering plastics as part of pre-commercial quantities from demonstration production taking place in Europe.

The companies have been collaborating to first produce pilot-scale quantities of plant-based nylon-6 and have now advanced to produce pre-commercial quantities at demonstration scale which will help determine the final design of future commercial plants. The material will go to leading global brands and their value chain partners who are eager to explore and develop renewable products, create showcase goods and test feedback with customers.

Plant-based nylon-6 is Geno’s third major product line on a path to commercialization. The company has executed high impact deals with a range of brands to accelerate the global commercialization of sustainable materials, with the potential to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 100 million tons in upcoming years. Recent milestones advancing the sustainable materials transition include: a collaboration with lululemon (NASDAQ: LULU) to bring plant-based materials into lululemon’s products, a production milestone with partner Covestro (OTCMKTS: COVTY) for plant-based HMD used in sustainable coatings, and a partnership with Asahi Kasei (OTCMKTS: AHKSY) and a newly formed venture with Unilever (NASDAQ: UL) to commercialize and scale plant-based alternatives to feedstocks like palm oil or fossil fuels, to make key ingredients used in everyday cleaning and personal care products.

Als einer der führenden Anbieter für Gutscheinkarten und Payment Solutions für die Arbeitswelt setzt Edenred einen neuen Standard bei der Materialverwendung. So werden künftig alle Edenred Gutscheinkarten aus recyclebarem PVC (rPVC) hergestellt. Die neue Kartengeneration ist für Neukunden bereits seit dem 1. Juli 2022 im Einsatz. Durch den Einsatz der rPVC-Karten werden im Herstellungsprozess künftig 31 Prozent CO₂ pro Karte eingespart.

Das Recycling von Rohstoffen vermindert die Treibhausgasemissionen erheblich. Ein positiver Effekt für die Umwelt, zu dem künftig auch die Gutscheinkarten von Edenred beitragen. So wird der Plastikanteil ab sofort aus 100 Prozent recycelbarem PVC gefertigt. Für Nutzer stellt die Materialumstellung dabei keinen Nachteil dar, die Produktlebensdauer und die Materialeigenschaft unterscheidet sich nicht von der PVC-Kartengeneration.

Neue Kartengeneration: Einsparungspotenzial bis zu 1,5 Tonnen PVC
Bis zu 40.000 neue Edenred Karten kommen jeden Monat auf den Markt. Bis Ende des Jahres werden also eine viertel Million rPVC-Karten ausgegeben. Die Umstellung ersetzt damit insgesamt 1,5 Tonnen neues PVC. Da jedes Kilo rPVC der Menge an Neu-PVC entspricht, trägt Edenred dazu bei, eine deutlich reduzierte Menge an neuwertigen Kunststoff in Umlauf zu bringen.

CO₂-Fußabdruck dank Recycling senken
Bereits im Herstellungsprozess der rPVC-Karten lassen sich 31 Prozent CO₂ einsparen. Laut dem Kartenlieferanten tag systems gleich der CO₂-Fußabdruck, der mit dem Lebenszyklus von 100 Karten verbunden ist, einer Autofahrt von 50km.

 „Für uns ist die komplette Umstellung der Karten auf recycelbares PVC ein konsequenter und logischer Schritt im Sinne der Nachhaltigkeit und zudem ganz im Sinne unseres Unternehmensverständnis.  Umweltschutz ist ein fester Bestandteil sowohl in unserer Corporate-Social-Responsibility-Politik als auch in unserer Ethik-Charta und umfasst weitreichende Maßnahmen zur Reduzierung der Kohlenstoffbelastung, des Ressourcenverbrauchs sowie der Abfallproduktion. Alles mit dem Ziel eine Optimierung der Umweltauswirkungen sowie des ökologischen Fußabdrucks zu erlangen“, so Christian Aubry, GF Edenred Deutschland.

Das U.S. Cotton Trust Protocol wurde nach einem sorgfältigen Aufnahmeverfahren und achtzehn Monate nach seiner Gründung als Mitglied von ISEAL anerkannt.

ISEAL ist eine globale Mitgliedsorganisation, die anerkannte Nachhaltigkeitsinitiativen in ihrer Arbeit unterstützt, mit dem Ziel, eine größere Wirkung zu erzielen und Märkte zu schaffen, die positive Entwicklungen fördern. Die Organisation konzentriert sich auf eine Vielzahl globaler Herausforderungen, wie z. B. die Klimakrise, die Bedrohung der Artenvielfalt und Menschenrechtsfragen. ISEAL arbeitet daran, glaubwürdige Praktiken für Nachhaltigkeit zu definieren, die Zusammenarbeit und den Erfahrungsaustausch zu fördern, Fachwissen und Schulungen anzubieten sowie Innovationen zur Stärkung von Nachhaltigkeitsinitiativen zu fördern.

„Ich freue mich sehr, dem U.S. Cotton Trust Protocol zur Aufnahme als ISEAL-Mitglied gratulieren zu dürfen", sagte Karin Kreider, Geschäftsführerin der Organisation. „Das Trust Protocol unterstützt Baumwollproduzenten bei der Entwicklung maßgeschneiderter Managementpläne zur Verbesserung ihrer Nachhaltigkeit, und eine innovative Nutzung von Daten und Kennzahlen ermöglicht Erfolgsmessungen über die Zeit. Wir freuen uns über einen neuen Blickwinkel in der ISEAL-Community und ein weiteres Mitglied, das sich für die Verbesserung der Nachhaltigkeitsergebnisse im Baumwollsektor einsetzt.“

Die Mitglieder von ISEAL verpflichten sich dazu, ihre Vorgehensweise durch kontinuierliches Lernen und Innovation zu verbessern, wobei der Fokus hier auf der Zusammenarbeit liegt. Außerdem müssen sie transparent machen, wie ihre Programme funktionieren und wie sie deren Auswirkungen messen.

Das Trust Protocol ist eine Nachhaltigkeitsinitiative für Baumwollfasern, die quantifizierbare und überprüfbare Ziele und Messungen vorsieht und eine kontinuierliche Verbesserung sechs zentraler Nachhaltigkeitskennzahlen anstrebt – Landnutzung, Bodenkohlenstoff, Wassermanagement, Bodenverlust, Treibhausgasemissionen und Energieeffizienz. Außerdem ist es eine nachhaltige Baumwollfaser, die ihren Mitgliedern mit der Protocol Consumption Management Solution Transparenz in der Lieferkette bis zur Auslage bietet.

• Sustainability Report 2021 combines financial and non-financial performance indicators
• 2011-2021: 60% reduction in greenhouse gas emissions per metric ton produced. 51.7% renewable source energy achieved
• ESG criteria (environmental impact (E), social values (S), organizational governance (G)) determine sustainability strategy

The new RadiciGroup Sustainability Report has been published. With the goal of continuous improvement, the 2021 report has a broader reporting boundary compared to prior years and takes into consideration all the Group companies, including sales and service companies. Over 30 sites located across Asia, North America, South America and Europe have provided their 2021 data on economic, social and environmental performance.

Not only indicators of a financial nature but also measures of environmental impact (E), social values (S) and good organizational governance (G): the latter so-called ESG criteria have become a priority for RadiciGroup, which is preparing for the new European Union non-financial reporting directive in order to contribute to the transition towards a fully sustainable economic system and increase the value of its companies.

On the environmental front, the themes of climate change and decarbonization are RadiciGroup priorities and part of a policy aimed at the uncoupling of growth and resource usage. The Group undertakes to lower emissions from production and choose limited-impact energy sources. This commitment is confirmed by the numbers: in the 2011-2021 period, total emissions per metric ton produced were reduced by 60%, while renewable source energy used by the Group reached 51.7%. Specific investments to decrease environmental impact are ongoing: in 2021, EUR 3.1 million were allocated to introduce best available techniques and improve emissions abatement and energy efficiency.

RadiciGroup promotes professional growth by valuing competence and investment in training: Group training hours once again rose after the pandemic period from 36,000 hours in 2020 to 46,000 hours in 2021. The training method was often a hybrid, taking advantage of aspects experimented with during the pandemic, that is, less traveling and use of facilities in favour of higher groupwide attendance, without the need for participation limits. Fifty-five percent of total training hours was dedicated to health and safety, which has yielded positive results based on the related indicators.

Angelo Radici, president of RadiciGroup: “Today, the United Nations 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development is our main guideline on sustainability issues. It shows us an ambitious scenario and urges us to confront a multitude of challenges that affect our enterprise from every point of view. We try to be quick to react and tenacious, staying faithful to our roots and our style, but expanding our perspective to become increasingly more competitive and proactive in the businesses we are engaged in. From the viewpoint of achieving less environmental impact in the future, we propose to be an enabler and facilitator for our stakeholders on themes such as the circular economy, where we see ourselves as protagonists in ecodesign and recycling, as well as innovation, which we put at the service of anyone who is processing and using our products, so as to offer real sustainability solutions together.”

• Annual assembly of ACIMIT, the Association of Italian Textile Machinery Manufacturers

• Digitalization and Sustainability Key to Resiliency for Italian Textile Machinery Sector

The objective critical issues faced by Italy as a whole throughout the course of 2021, primarily dictated by a pandemic that upset any and all pre-existing equilibriums, have not slowed or halted the Italian textile machinery sector.

Indeed, data presented during the annual assembly of ACIMIT, the Association of Italian Textile Machinery Manufacturers, held on 1 July proved decidedly positive, showing that in 2021 the sector recovered significantly compared to 2020, to the point of returning to pre-Covid levels.

Specifically, Italian textile machinery production amounted to 2.388 billion euros (+35% over 2020 and + 5% over 2019), with total exports amounting to 2.031 billion euros (+37% over 2020 and +9% over 2019).

However, these results do not cancel the obstacles that companies are still facing. Looking to the near future, expectations are for a rather uncertain outlook, as underscored by ACIMIT President Alessandro Zucchi: “2022 remains a year replete with unknown factors, starting with the Russian-Ukrainian conflict, along with the persistence of the pandemic, which seriously risk delaying expected growth consolidation for businesses in the sector. Difficulties in finding raw materials and components negatively affect the completion and fulfilment of orders processed as far back as 2021. To boot, rising energy costs and inflationary trends affecting numerous commodities are depressing overall business confidence. So the outlook for the sector is not so good.”
As such, the two cornerstones through which ACIMIT aims to support the Italian textile machinery sector are digitilization and sustainability.

4.0: The textile machinery sector looks to the future
The road to digital transformation has already led numerous manufacturers to completely rethink their production processes, rendering them more efficient and l ess expensive. The digital world is moving ahead at a decisive rate in the textile machinery sector, where the buzzwords are increasingly, for instance, the Internet of Things connecting to a company’s ecosystem, machine learning algorithms applied to production, predictive maintenance, and the integrated cloud management of various production departments. It is no coincidence that ACIMIT has focused decisively on its Digital Ready project, through which Italian textile machinery that adopt a common set of data are certified, with the aim of facilitating integration with the operating systems of client companies (ERP, MES, CRM, etc.).

A green soul
Combining production efficiency and respect for the environment: a challenge ACIMIT has made its own and which it promotes among its members through the Sustainable Technologies project. Launched by the association as early as 2011, the project highlights the commitment of Italian textile machinery manufacturers in the area of sustainability. At the heart of the project is the Green Label, a form of certification specifically for Italian textile machinery which highlights its energy and environmental performance. An all-Italian seal of approval developed in collaboration with RINA, an international certification body.
The assembly held on 1 July provided an opportunity to take stock of the Sustainable Technologies project, more specifically, with the presentation of the Rina Consulting survey on the Green Label’s evolution and impact in recent years.

The results have confirmed the initiative’s extreme validity. The technological advances implemented by the association’s machinery producers participating in the project have effectively translated into benefits in terms of environmental impact (reduction of CO₂ equivalent emissions for machinery), as well as economic advantages for machinery users.

With reference to the year 2021, a total of 204,598 tons of CO₂ emissions avoided on an annual basis have been quantified, thanks to the implementation of improvements on machinery. This is a truly significant reduction which, for the sake of comparison, corresponds to the carbon dioxide emissions generated by 36,864 automobiles travelling an average of 35,000 km a year. In terms of energy savings, the use of green labeled textile machinery has provided excellent performances in allowing for a reduction of up to 84% in consumption.

A round table discussion on the Green Label’s primary purpose
The environmental and economic impact generated in production processes for Italian textile machinery through the use of Green Label technologies was the focus of the round table which concluded the ACIMIT assembly.

Moderated by Aurora Magni (professor of the Industrial Systems Sustainability course at the LIUC School of Engineering), the debate involved Gianluca Brenna (Lipomo Printing House administrator and Vice President of the Italian Fashion System for Welfare), Pietro Pin (Benetton Group consultant and President of UNI for the textile-clothing area), Giorgio Ravasio (Italy Country Manager for Vivienne Westwood), as well as ACIMIT President Alessandro Zucchi.

Called on to compare common factors in their experiences relating to environmental transition processes for their respective companies, the participants were unanimous: the future of Italian textile machinery can no longer ignore advanced technology developments capable of offering sustainable solutions with a low environmental impact while also reducing production costs. This philosophy has by now been consolidated, and has proven to lead directly to a circular economy outlook.

The upcoming ITMA 2023 exhibition
Lastly, a word on ITMA 2023, the most important international exhibition for textile machinery, to be held in Italy from 8 to 14 June 2023 at Fiera-Milano Rho. Marking the 19th edition of ITMA, this trade fair is an essential event for the entire industry worldwide, providing a global showcase for numerous innovative operational solutions on display. A marketplace that offers participants extraordinary business opportunities. The participation of Italian companies is managed by ACIMIT.