From the Sector

Royal DSM, a global science-based company in Nutrition, Health and Sustainable Living, and SABIC, a global leader in the chemical industry, announced a collaboration to create recycled-based Dyneema®. Through a joint pilot with multiple CirculariTeam® members, the manufacturing and usage of Dyneema® using mixed plastic waste as feedstock (via mass balance approach) will be successfully demonstrated. It is an important step toward the future goal of fully closing the loop by delivering Dyneema® made from ultra-high molecular weight polyethylene (UHMwPE) waste. This collaboration underlines DSM’s and SABIC’s efforts to accelerate a circular economy for materials.

By working together with members of CirculariTeam®, DSM will produce recycled-based Dyneema® made using SABIC’s certified circular ethylene as a pilot project in both a sailing rope and a pelagic trawl net application. The circular ethylene, from SABIC’s TRUCIRCLE™ portfolio, uses mixed plastic waste as feedstock (mass balance approach), which not only contributes to preventing valuable plastic from becoming waste and the avoidance of carbon emissions compared to incineration, but it will also help preserve fossil resources. These pilots are an important early-stage milestone in the journey toward making fully circular Dyneema® from HMPE post-production and post-consumer waste.

Jon Mitchell, Managing Director at Marlow Ropes: “We’re proud to be one of the first manufacturers to integrate recycled-based Dyneema® within our products and demonstrate the material’s feasibility. By collaborating with materials science pioneers such as DSM and SABIC, we are able to create products that not only deliver superlative functional performance but also have a lower environmental impact. Our products are trialed and tested by professional offshore sailing teams including 11th Hour Racing Team, a proud partner of ours at Marlow, with whom we share a progressive approach to seeking sustainable solutions: no more business as usual."

Klaus Walther, Managing Director at Gleistein: “Warm congratulations to DSM and SABIC for pushing the boundaries of science to deliver a truly unique product. We’re proud that our ropes can be produced from what once was typical household plastic waste. This is an important stepping stone towards becoming circular. It will enable our customer Maritiem BV to further develop high-tech fishing gear whilst contributing to the circular economy. Not to forget Cornelis Vrolijk Fishing Company, who again illustrate their commitment to Corporate Social Responsibility by introducing this concept in fishery.”

Swiss dairy company Emmi is partnering with Borealis and Greiner Packaging to produce iced coffed drinking cups using chemically recycled polypropylene.

The cups are produced by Greiner Packaging and the chemically recycled material comes from Borealis, one of the world’s leading providers of advanced and circular polyolefin solutions based in Vienna, Austria.

Emmi, Switzerland’s largest milk processor is committed to climate protection and the circular economy. The dairy company has the stated goal to make all of its packaging 100% recyclable and is committed to various measures to promote circularity such as packaging that contains at least 30% recyclate by 2027.

From September 2021 Emmi will use at least 100 tonnes of plastic based on the recycled material each year. Chemical recycling renews plastic back to plastic creating recycled materials with a level of purity equivalent to fossil-fuel based PP and hence, fit for protective, food-safe and other demanding applications. In this way, Emmi is utilizing difficult to recycle feedstock preventing plastic waste that would be likely landfilled or incinerated. In the future, depending on the availability of suitable material, the amount of recycled plastic in packaging is to be further increased.

The new technology to recover the polypropylene is currently still in its infancy, where Greiner Packaging and Borealis are leading the way. Only limited quantities of chemically recycled polypropylene are currently available, and Emmi is one of only a few food manufacturers to have secured a share of the chemically recycled polypropylene plastic through its early commitment and long-standing collaboration with the development companies.

The chemically recycled material used for the cups consists entirely and solely of ISCC (International Sustainability & Carbon Certification) material, on a mass balance basis. Mass balance is a methodology that makes it possible to track the amount and sustainability characteristics of circular and/or bio-based content in the value chain and through each step of the process. This provides transparency ultimately also to the consumers, enabling them to know that the product they are buying is based on this renewable material.

• Circular economy at Kelheim Fibres: Examples of innovation from raw material, product design and all the way to “end of life”

Kelheim Fibres, the world's first viscose fibre manufacturer with an EMAS-certified environmental management system, is continuously working on optimising its special fibres. These can be functionalised as needed - in many cases to save further processing steps (such as dyeing or coating) and thus energy, water and chemicals - and are completely biodegradable at the end of their product life in a short time (according to OECD Test 301 B).

Currently, the specialists in Kelheim are working on the development of alternative raw materials for the production of viscose fibres, such as recycled cellulose as well as other cellulose-containing starting materials. One approach to closing the product cycle in the textile sector is the use of pulp produced from recycled post-consumer waste materials.

In production, Kelheim Fibres focuses on resource conservation by minimising emissions and waste through closed-loop recovery systems, as well as through highly efficient energy generation and the corresponding operation of the plants.

Dr. Roland Scholz, Project Manager Fibre and Application Development at Kelheim Fibres, will present details of this on Wednesday, 15 September, at 5.50 p.m., in Hall B of the 60th Dornbirn GFC WEBINAR WEEK.

Translated with www.DeepL.com/Translator (free version)

There has been a sharp rise in demand for organic cotton products. Compared to conventionally grown cotton, the cultivation of organic cotton requires the renunciation of genetically modified seeds, chemical pesticides or fertilisers. Nevertheless, genetic modifications are repeatedly found in textiles that are falsely labelled with organic claims. Often, available certification systems are not backed up by lab testing. At best, they only take random seed samples. Textile testing specialist, Hohenstein, has developed an assessment method specifically for cotton. This new DNA analysis method makes it possible to ascertain the amount of genetically modified cotton contained in products. This is good news for textile industry stakeholders who will be on the safe side in terms of quality control and labelling of organic cotton products.

First step: qualitative screening and identification. Second step: quantification of genetically modified cotton.
For qualitative screening, Hohenstein experts had developed molecular biological detection systems to make clear yes/no statements about genetically modified cotton. Testing can be applied to all kinds of materials, from raw cotton to chemically untreated yarns and fabrics. In addition, Hohenstein is one of only a few laboratories in the world accredited to test for GMOs in accordance with the ISO/IWA 32:2019 protocol. Its method provides reliable evidence of the presence or exclusion of genetic modification in cotton textile precursors.

Once qualitative proof of genetic modification is obtained, Hohenstein experts begin quantifying the type and extent of the genetic modifications. To do this, they use DNA analysis to search for different cotton lines known to contain genetic alterations and quantify the proportion. Only by pinpointing individual genetic modifications and quantifying the extent of modification is it possible to provide precise information on whether there is an extremely small proportion of contamination, or whether larger proportions of GMOs have been mixed in. This offers clear benefits to manufacturers, brand owners and retailers when it comes to supply chain transparency and fraud prevention.

Im THE SKY im Dreischeibenhaus wurde Mode-Pionier und Nachhaltigkeitsvordenker Heiko Wunder am Sonntagabend, 25. Juli, mit dem Modebusiness Award ausgezeichnet. Die Landeshauptstadt ist für den gebürtigen Düsseldorfer nicht nur Lebensmittelpunkt, sondern auch Ideenschmiede und Keimzelle seines nationalen Erfolgskonzepts: seiner Modemarke "wunderwerk".

Mit Anfang 20 entstand bei Heiko Wunder der Wunsch, eine modische, ressourcenschonende und konsequent nachhaltige Modekollektion auf den Markt zu bringen: "wunderwerk". "Im Namen meiner Modemarke stecken zwei Worte: Werk kommt dabei von ehrlich verrichteter Arbeit, und das Wunder passt wegen meines Nachnamens sehr gut dazu", so der Preisträger.

Oberbürgermeister Dr. Stephan Keller: "Der Modebusiness Award geht in diesem Jahr an Heiko Wunder, der nicht nur die lokale Modeindustrie maßgeblich geprägt hat, sondern auch eine nationale Einflussgröße in der Mode und Vordenker im Verknüpfen von Produktion und Nachhaltigkeit ist. Ich freue mich sehr, dass Mode hier in Düsseldorf nach wie vor erlebt und gelebt wird und viele namhafte Akteure aus der Mode- und Handelsbranche zur Verleihung des Modebusiness Awards zusammengekommen sind, um der Auszeichnung einen würdigen Rahmen zu verleihen."

Die Verleihung des Modebusiness Awards fand erstmalig im Rahmen der Düsseldorf Fashion Days – Festival Edition statt, die vom 21. bis zum 28. Juli 2021 sowohl Order- und Fachveranstaltungen als auch Shoppingevents und Modenschauen im gesamten Stadtgebiet präsentierten. Die Idee: Die bekannten und seit Jahrzehnten etablierten Ordertage für Fachhändler auf Messen und in den rund 600 Showrooms, die seit dem Sommer letzten Jahres unter der Marke Düsseldorf Fashion Days stattfinden, wurden um Events für Endkonsumenten erweitert. Dadurch entstand ein Mode- und Lifestyle-Festival für die gesamte Stadt, welches mit dem Shopping Day am Samstag, den 24. Juli, einen Höhepunkt für die Privatkundinnen und -kunden fand. Der Modebusiness Award war hingegen für das Fachpublikum der deutschsprachigen Modewirtschaft ein gelungener Abschluss des Wochenendes.

The Lenzing Group has been awarded Platinum status in EcoVadis’ CSR rating. The assessment comprehensively covers the four main CSR (Corporate Social Responsibility) practices: the environment, fair working conditions and human rights, as well as ethics and sustainable procurement.

In the previous three years, Lenzing had already received outstanding ratings in all categories, and was awarded Gold status in 2018, 2019 and 2020. “We are very proud to have now achieved the step up to the Platinum level after several Gold ratings in the past few years. At Lenzing, we always think beyond fibres and take responsibility for our children and grandchildren – for whom we do our best in order to constantly improve ourselves. This attitude forms part of our strategic principles and we will continue to work hard to make a sustainable contribution to the environment and to society”, notes Stefan Doboczky, CEO of the Lenzing Group.

The Lenzing Group’s ambitious climate targets form an essential part of its strategy and responsibility to future generations. In 2019, Lenzing became one of the world’s first fiber manufacturers to commit to reducing CO2 emissions per ton of product by 50 percent by 2030, and even becoming climate-neutral by 2050. The Science Based Targets Initiative, a recognised organisation in the area of climate-relevant target-setting, has scientifically validated Lenzing’s climate targets.

This scientific validation also forms one of the essential criteria that EcoVadis highlights in its rating. In addition, the responsible procurement of raw materials – according to social and ecological aspects – was also highlighted as a further core element in the company’s sustainability strategy, as well as support for external environmental initiatives (Sustainable Apparel Coalition, Fashion Industry Charter for Climate Action) and initiatives on labour and human rights issues (Sustainable Apparel Coalition).

SUPREME GREEN COTTON®, the water-saving smart-tech yarn by Varvaressos has been chosen by Diesel, Champ Blanc and Muntagnard, and won the Gold Award at the Greek Exports Forum & Awards 2020.

Thanks to a pioneering satellite-powered drip irrigation system, SUPREME GREEN COTTON® saves up to 40% of water. The range of yarns is entirely Made in Europe and comes with influential sustainable verifications. The MADE IN GREEN by OEKO-TEX® label guarantees that the yarns have been tested for harmful substances and manufactured using sustainable processes under socially responsible working conditions in accordance with STeP by OEKO-TEX®. Complete transparency and traceability are guaranteed throughout the whole production and supply chain by the unique diafania SI platform, powered via blockchain technology.

Global clothing and lifestyle Italian premium jeans brand Diesel stands out for its unique mindset and sustainable imprint. That’s why it chose SUPREME GREEN COTTON® for its collection ‘Green Label’ and ‘NightCrush’ as well as its ‘Malign’ jersey T-shirts, available in two different colours and prints.

Thee Swiss brand Muntagnard believes in «sustainability» as a powerful lever for innovative solutions for people who go their own way and think outside the box to advance sustainable development. Muntagnard rethinks textiles - from the sewing thread to the label – selecting only sustainable materials and minimizing the use of plastic to the bone while seeking sensible, biodegradable textile alternatives. The MANGOLA collection of T-sets is 100% made of SUPREME GREEN COTTON®.

CHAMP BLANC is a responsible French brand renown for its ready-to-wear men clothing and for its strong commitment to traceability. The brand has been working for nearly 8 months on the design of the "Traceable T-shirt" made of 100% SUPREME GREEN COTTON®. The result is a high quality and finishing t-shirt to make it last. By relying on existing technologies, the entire production chain is traceable and can be discover thanks a QR-code on the label.

SUPREME GREEN COTTON® has also been bestowed with the influential Gold Award in the “Top Branded Export Product” category of the Greek Exports Forum & Awards 2020

ISKO and textile research and development company HKRITA are proud to announce a licensing agreement for HKRITA’s award-winning, revolutionary Green Machine – a one-of-a-kind technology that fully separates and recycles cotton and polyester blends at scale.

The technology is still in the pilot stage, but is an additional step in ISKO’s drive to improve and commercialize recycling technologies which will eventually enable the company to offer a 100% post-consumer recycling solution to all of its customers. In addition, ISKO and HKRITA will work together to develop related technology, further strengthening the company’s position in sustainability.

The Green Machine uses an innovative and ultra-efficient hydrothermal treatment method that decomposes cotton into cellulose powders and enables the separation of polyester fibres from blended fabrics. The process is a closed loop and uses only water, heat and less than 5% biodegradable green chemicals. Crucially, this method does not damage the polyester fibres and therefore maintains their quality; the cellulose powders, which are clean and toxic-free, can be used in a variety of ways.

The investment in this new technology is the latest in ISKO’s ongoing drive for advancements in sustainability. As part of the company’s R-TWO™ programme, it is also working to develop fabrics with a guaranteed minimum 50%+ GRS (Global Recycle Standard) recycled content blend. This will significantly reduce the carbon and water footprint of a fabric, as well as make it easy for consumers to trace a garment’s sustainable journey step-by-step from the beginning of the supply chain through to the end product they purchase.

• Borealis deepens partnership with innovative recycling solutions provider Renasci N.V., acquiring a 10% minority stake in the Belgium-based creator of the Smart Chain Processing (SCP) concept
• Deal supports Borealis integrated approach to achieve a true circular economy of plastics in the most eco-efficient way, as defined by its circular cascade model
• EverMinds™ in action: Game-changing collaboration to accelerate plastics circularity

Borealis announces that it has entered into a multi-dimensional partnership with Renasci N.V., a provider of innovative recycling solutions and creator of the novel Smart Chain Processing (SCP) concept. The partnership is another key enabler for Borealis to realise its ambitions to bring circular base chemicals and polyolefins to market, and to deliver on its promise to bring 350 kilotons of recycled polyolefins into circulation by 2025.

SCP concept leaves no waste behind
The SCP concept developed by Renasci is a proprietary method of maximising material recovery in order to achieve zero waste. It is unique because it enables the processing of multiple waste streams using different recycling technologies – all under one roof. At the newly-built Renasci SCP facility in Oostende, Belgium, mixed waste – plastics, metals, and biomass – is automatically selected and sorted multiple times.

After sorting, plastic waste is first mechanically recycled, and then in a second step any remaining material is chemically recycled into circular pyrolysis oil and lighter product fractions, which are used to fuel the process.

Other types of sorted waste such as metals and organic refuse are further processed using other technologies. In the end, only 5% of the original waste remains, and even this residual material is not landfilled, but used as filler in construction materials. Because of this extremely efficient way of processing, the overall CO2 footprint of these waste streams is greatly reduced – yet another advantage of the circular SCP concept.

The cascade model is Borealis’ integrated circular approach
Borealis circular cascade model sits at the heart of its ambition to achieve a truly circular economy, by combining carefully chosen technologies in a complementary and cascading way to achieve full circularity. In this way, Borealis aims to give plastic products multiple lifetimes in the most sustainable way possible. Starting with optimising product design, first for eco-efficiency, then for re-use and finally for recycling. Once a product has reached its end of life, we must close the plastics loop: first with mechanical recycling to make products with the highest possible value, quality and lowest carbon footprint; then utilising chemical recycling, as a complement to mechanical recycling, to further valorise residual streams which would otherwise go to incineration, or even worse to landfills. The valorised material from mechanical and chemical recycling is then processed with Borealis Borcycle™ recycling technology consisting of Borcycle M for mechanical recycling and Borcycle C for chemical recycling, providing high quality solutions for more sophisticated applications, such as food packaging and healthcare.

The SCP concept is aligned to Borealis’ ambition to close the loop on plastic waste as encapsulated in its circular cascade model.

• New air purification and sulfur recovery plant up and running at the Lenzing facility
• Another step closer to meeting sustainability and climate targets
• Self-sufficiency in raw materials further enhanced

Lenzing Group is continuing to make great strides toward achieving carbon neutrality across the Group. The successful completion and commissioning of an air purification and sulfur recovery plant at the Lenzing facility marks another milestone in the Group’s ambitious strategy. Lenzing has invested some EUR 40 mn in this project since construction began in 2019.

Using state-of-the-art technology, the plant will enable carbon emissions to be reduced by 15,000 metric tons at the Lenzing facility. This will also make the group more self-sufficient in securing vital raw materials for processing, which will bolster the site’s competitive standing in terms of sustainability.

“As a result of this investment, Lenzing has made further progress towards implementing its climate targets, while achieving much greater autonomy with regard to one of its core raw materials”, says Christian Skilich, Member of the Managing Board at Lenzing Group.

In 2019, Lenzing set the strategic target of halving its group-wide greenhouse gas emissions per ton of product by 2030. Its goal for 2050 is to achieve climate neutrality.