From the Sector

Freudenberg Performance Materials Apparel launches the complete RCY 99xx series recycled polyester (rPET) shirt interlinings. This product line serves as a sustainable counterpart to Freudenberg's renowned 95xx series, which has been a staple in the industry for over twenty years.

The 95xx series, celebrated for its unique bi-elastic properties, has earned its place as one of Freudenberg Apparel's most sought-after shirt interlining ranges.

Now, taking a leap towards sustainability, Freudenberg Apparel introduces the complete RCY 99xx series. Crafted from rPET, these bi-elastic interlinings are designed to complement an array of contemporary fabrics, including pure cotton, T/C, flannel, oxford, cotton & linen blends, seersucker, jersey, and all types of stretch knits. The RCY 99xx series not only preserves the natural hand-feel, texture, and shape of these fabrics but also infuses a fresh creative dimension into shirt design.

The RCY 99xx series boasts an weight range of 30-150 g/m2, offering versatility for a diverse spectrum of shirt styles, from men’s casual shirts and women's blouses to polo shirts, sports shirts, and denim shirts. This adaptability ensures that designers and manufacturers have the flexibility to meet the evolving demands of the market while upholding sustainability principles.

Freudenberg Performance Materials (Freudenberg) is showcasing solutions for the automotive, building, apparel, filtration and packaging industries at this year’s Techtextil in Frankfurt am Main from April 23 – 26.

Sustainable nonwoven for car seats
One innovation highlight at Techtextil is a novel Polyester nonwoven material for car seat padding. Also available as a nonwoven composite with PU foam, it is not only easier for car seat manufacturers to handle during the mounting process, but also ensures better dimensional stability as well as providing soft and flexible padding. It has a minimum 25 percent recycled content, for example, by reusing nonwoven clippings and waste, and is fully recyclable. Full supply chain transparency enables customers to trace and verify the content of the nonwoven and thus ensures a responsible production process. The Freudenberg experts will also be presenting several other nonwoven solutions made of up to 80 percent recycled materials that can be used in car seat manufacturing.

Biocarrier for green roofs
Freudenberg is showcasing a sustainable carrier material for green roofs on urban buildings at the trade fair. The carrier is made from polylactide, i.e. from renewable resources. When filled with soil, it provides a strong foothold to root systems, enabling the growth of lightweight sedum blankets that can be rolled out to provide instant green roofs. These roofs not only help counter urban heat, they also improve stormwater management and regulate indoor temperatures.

From textile waste to padding
The company extended its circular thermal wadding product range with the release of comfortemp® HO 80xR circular, a wadding made from 70 percent recycled polyamide from discarded fishing nets, carpet flooring and industrial plastic. Because polyamide 6, also known as nylon, retains its performance characteristics after multiple recycling processes, the fibers can be used again and again to manufacture performance sporting apparel, leisurewear and luxury garments.

Packaging solutions with various sustainability benefits
Freudenberg is also showcasing products for sustainable packaging and filtration solutions. The long-lasting Evolon® technical packaging series is a substitute for disposable packaging used in the transport of sensitive industrial items such as automotive parts. The material is made from up to 85 percent recycled PET. A further highlight at Techtextil are Freudenberg’s fully bio-based solutions for manufacturing dessicant bags. The binder-free material based on bio-fibers is also industrially compostable.
In addition, the experts will be giving trade fair visitors an insight into Freudenberg’s filtration portfolio.

Freudenberg Performance Materials (Freudenberg) is extending its recently-introduced ECO range of sustainable nonwoven carpet backings: Lutradur ECO-R and Colback ECO-R backings contain high percentages of recycled raw materials. With its ECO portfolio Freudenberg supports carpet manufacturers in their transition towards an increasingly sustainable product offering.

The company launched its ECO range for sustainable primary backings earlier this year with the introduction of the ECO-RE resource-efficient backings that use less raw materials and support end product recyclability. To achieve this, Freudenberg R&D teams further developed the company’s proprietary yarn production technology allowing for extremely thin filaments.

ECO-R products
Freudenberg’s spunbond nonwoven primary and secondary carpet backings contribute to manufacturers’ easy and efficient production processes as well as to high-performance end products. The company is now extending its ECO range in Europe with Colback ECO-R and Lutradur ECO-R backings that contain a recycled content of between 51 and 90%. Replacing virgin raw materials with recycled polyester saves on natural resources and improves the carbon footprint of end products. The ECO-R backings are specifically suitable for carpet tiles, broadloom, dust control mats and automotive option mats.

The thermal insulation in the product series comfortemp® soft HO 80x from Freudenberg Performance Materials Apparel (Freudenberg) has achieved Gold status in the Material Health category of the Cradle to Cradle Certified® Product Standard Version 3.1.

The soft thermal insulation of the HO 80x soft series (HO 803, HO 804, HO 805, HO 806) is made from polyamide 6 wadding and is multiple recyclable in terms of a sustainable circular economy. The wadding is also characterized by high wearing comfort, making it suitable for sustainable applications in the luxury, sportswear and outdoor sectors. Thanks to its construction as roll goods, the wadding does not clump and can endure multiple wash cycles at 40°C.

Certifications by the Cradle to Cradle Products Innovation Institute are based on testing for hazardous materials in products and processes. Plus, the impact of chemical substances is assessed on the three product life cycle phases: final manufacture, use and end of use. Freudenberg will continue optimizing its products to ensure material safety and quality for future use and cycling.

Freudenberg Performance Materials (Freudenberg) announces the launch of sustainable carpet backing products for the flooring industry. Sustainable backings support customers in their transition towards producing more sustainable carpets. The range is introduced as Colback ECO and Lutradur ECO and is part of the Freudenberg portfolio of high-performance spunbond nonwoven technical textiles.

Reduced CO₂ footprint
Freudenberg follows a ‘less is more’ principle: the best raw materials are the materials that are not needed at all. For the ECO product range, Freudenberg R&D teams developed a solution to save raw materials in their carpet backings. Freudenberg redefined its proprietary yarn production technology allowing for extremely thin filaments with a diameter up to 30% smaller than the standard portfolio for carpet backings.  
The new thin yarn technology is one of Freudenberg’s sustainable initiatives benefitting the carpet industry. Other developments supporting sustainability include backings with a high recycled content and backings using alternative approaches to facilitate carpet recyclability. They will extend the ECO portfolio in the future.

ECO-CHECK-Label
The currently launched thin yarn ECO-backings have been awarded the ECO-CHECK label. Freudenberg introduced this label in early 2021 to identify particularly sustainable products within its portfolio.

By using a high share of recycled content in its Evolon® materials, Freudenberg Performance Materials (Freudenberg) offers technical packaging textiles with a carbon footprint decreased by 35%. An independent LCA study showed additional benefits such as energy resource savings and lower water use. Furthermore, Evolon® fabrics provide sustainability benefits over the packaging entire life cycle thanks to high end performance and durability.

By replacing virgin PET with recycled PET, the cradle-to-gate carbon footprint of Evolon® packaging textile materials decreased by 35%. This is the result of a study by an independent LCA and eco-design consultancy firm, which made a Cradle-to-Gate assessment of several Evolon® products using virgin PET or recycled PET. The study was finalized in 2022 and conducted according to the principles of ISO 14040/ ISO 14044 standards, following the recommendations of the Product Environmental Footprint and the Circular Footprint Formula.

Evolon® microfilament textiles have a small carbon footprint because their manufacturing process uses low CO2 energy sources. The fabrics are lightweight and can be reused throughout entire production programs, e.g. of a car model when it is about the automotive industry. Furthermore, the new Evolon® RE fabrics contain up to 85% of recycled PET which is produced in-house out of post-consumer PET bottles.

Evolon® textiles are suitable for reusable technical packaging, which eliminate the use of thousands of disposable packaging materials. Evolon® fabrics offer scratch-free, lint-free, high-end surface protection for molded plastic parts, painted parts and other sensitive industrial and automotive parts during transport. This contributes to lower the scrap rate of parts and provide both financial and ecological benefits. By using Evolon® reusable packaging to transport highly-sensitive parts, customers can increase their efficiency and save resources.

• Presenting Sustainable Apparel Solutions

Freudenberg Performance Materials Apparel (Freudenberg) will be part of the Performance Days from November 03 to 04, 2022 in Munich, Germany. The specialist in woven, knitted, weft and nonwoven interlinings will showcase the latest sustainable products for sportswear, workwear, sportive fashion and athleisure collections.

Freudenberg will showcase its full range of European and global products being part of its House of Sustainability, Active Range and the comfortemp® brand offering high-performance thermal insulation for outdoor and active wear.

Freudenberg Performance Materials Apparel’s House of Sustainability strives to minimize the company’s footprint by reducing the environmental impact of the company’s manufacturing processes to a minimum. At the same time, Freudenberg maximizes its handprint by developing products enabling customers to manufacture more efficiently and sustainably or to consume fewer valuable resources. This initiative is based on seven product pillars with more than 500 sustainable products, among them recycled general interlinings, recyclable, energy-saving or biodegradable materials, sustainable cotton, nature-based solutions and recycled thermal insulations and linings.

Being part of the House of Sustainability, Freudenberg’s Active Range stands for high-performance solutions for stretch active and outdoor active wear including interlinings, tapes, linings, bonding solutions and measuring tools. Most materials of this portfolio are made of at least 70% recycled materials and thus cater to customers’ sustainability goals.

Freudenberg Performance Materials (Freudenberg) will be presenting Evolon® eco-friendly microfiber reinforcement material for leather goods that is manufactured in Europe with no solvent and no chemical binder at the Lineapelle international trade show for the leather industry. Another sustainability highlight is binder-free strobel material made from 100% recycled PET for the shoe industry. The company will also be showing a nonwoven crimping material that meets the increasing demands of manufacturers and consumers alike in the footwear market.

Evolon® contains 80% recycled PET. It is produced at Freudenberg’s facility in Colmar, France, where the manufacturing process is highly sustainable: it is certified to STeP by OEKO-TEX® and fully complies with the DETOX TO ZERO by OEKO-TEX® criteria. In addition, shorter transport routes help to secure supply chains for players in the European leather goods industry.

The binder-free strobel material is made from 100% recycled PET. It is GRS-certified for reliable traceability. The GRS certification recognizes the share of recycled materials in the strobel material. This allows customers to calculate the total amount of recycled material in shoes. Moreover, the mono-component material itself is fully recyclable. In terms of performance, the material is lightweight and also demonstrates a high tensile strength.

Made from nonwoven fabric, the innovative crimping material optimally combines high permanent moldability and shape retention with flexibility and suppleness. This crimping material enables manufacturers to reduce their production costs, while consumers benefit from increased comfort. Compared to conventional knitted fabric-based crimping materials, the nonwoven crimping material offers multi-directional stretching properties, improved fitting, greater design freedom and reduced weight.

Following their merger, Freudenberg Performance Materials, Low & Bonar, Mehler Texnologies® and Filc will be presenting their innovative solutions at a joint stand for the first time at this year’s techtextil exhibition in Frankfurt. The focus is on sustainability. Among the highlights are Evolon® RE, a microfilament textile for a wide variety of applications and markets, FILFLEX, a sustainable padding material for car seat covers, and the truck tarpaulin POLYMAR® 8556 ECO CF. Customers will find the world's leading manufacturer of technical textiles at Stand C51 in Hall 12.1.

Evolon® textiles made from recycled PET
With Evolon® RE, Freudenberg Performance Materials is presenting an even more sustainable version of its high-performance microfilament textiles. Evolon® RE is manufactured from an average of 70% recycled polyester, which the company makes by cycling post-consumer PET bottles in-house. Evolon® RE products are available for various applications such as technical packaging, in weights currently ranging from 80g/sqm to 300g/sqm. For high-tech wiping, lightweight Evolon® RE is now available starting from 30g/sqm. The material meets the needs of cleaning specialists for more sustainable wiping solutions. Evolon® RE offers the same high quality and material performance as all other Evolon® textiles.

Tarpaulins made from recycled raw materials presented by Mehler Texnologies®
When it comes to tarpaulins on trucks, both protection of the transport cargo and advertising for the transport company place high demands on the material. Mehler Texnologies® tarpaulin material ranks among the premium products for truck tarpaulins. The company is a pioneer in sustainable development and is showcasing POLYMAR® 8556 ECO CF. This unique material has a 25% share of recycled raw materials in the coating mass. In addition, the material is made with 100% R-PES yarns. The input materials undergo a complex separation and filtering process.

Sustainable padding material for automotive and furniture seat covers presented by FILC
FILFLEX is a soft and flexible padding layer made from nonwovens for automotive and furniture seat covers. It prevents leather from creasing and improves the dimensional stability of the seat covers. In terms of sustainability, its benefit is its 100% PET composition, making FILFLEX easy to recycle. FILFLEX offers customers easier handling during sewing and the seat covering process. End users benefit from the high seating comfort.

Freudenberg Performance Materials (Freudenberg) offers a range of efficient interlinings, tapes and thermal insulation materials for workwear and protective clothing. The materials not only withstand diverse kinds of strain they are exposed to in everyday work and washing procedures but also offer great comfort.

Innovative materials and manufacturing technology
The nonwoven and woven interlinings and tapes stand out due to a number of features, such as increased stability, elasticity, abrasion resistance and wind-blocking properties. Thanks to the sophisticated adhesive technology used by the manufacturer of technical textiles, some products are especially resistant and durable.

Highly flexible and resilient interlinings as well as Freudenberg comfortemp® thermal insulation materials are used for protective clothing, and they do not only protect the wearer from danger but also ensure the wearer’s comfort in any kind of weather. Furthermore, hem and edge stabilisation tapes ensure optimal fit and reflective tapes provide additional safety.  

Active contribution to sustainability
Many products of the Freudenberg Workwear Range consist of a high percentage of recycled polyester coming from post-consumer PET bottles.