From the Sector

The sustainable collaboration and innovation between Indorama Ventures (IVL), Auping and TWE Group presented a certified cradle to cradle process for mattress components across nonwoven applications, at Techtextil, Frankfurt, 21st to 24th June 2022.

Using circular research and design, the industry partnership between IVL Mullagh (Ireland), Auping and TWE Group has resulted in a perpetual, sustainable economic business model, for manufacturers globally. The inclusion of safe raw materials within mattress manufacturing allows the materials to be easily disassembled at the product’s end of use in order to be further reused as same components or recycled into new raw material at the same quality level, to enable versatile textile applications.

Designed for disassembly to optimize the use of existing resources, reduce carbon footprint and support customer objectives all along their customers’ supply chain. This circular industry collaboration begins with design, where the mattress is constructed using only two different base materials, 100% PET polyester textiles and steel wire pocket springs connected with Niaga®️, a non toxic reversible adhesive, making the mattress easy to disassemble and recover.

IVL, Auping and TWE’s shared vision for a better world is demonstrated through their connected and innovative circularity that helps to close the loop. Auping collects, sorts and separates the collected fabrics, which then go to IVL Mullagh for processing, melting and extrusion to form polyester staple fiber. These staple fibers are then converted by TWE Group into nonwovens for use in Auping’s Evolve mattress, a fully circular mattress. Following the end of mattress use, the material recovery process simply starts again.

Auping estimates that annually more than 40 million mattresses are disposed of in Europe alone, the majority of which are incinerated. Their take back system in the Netherlands ensures that when their new mattress is delivered, the old mattress is retrieved and recycled, irrespective of the brand, ensuring existing materials are continually optimized, diverted from landfill and kept in use to achieve a circular economy.

Five players in the textile service industry announce the establishment of Cibutex (Circular Business Textiles). This new cooperative is dedicated to the recycling and recovery of fibres from discarded textiles. Cibutex wants to contribute to a circular textile chain through cooperation in the whole sector.

The textile service has been implementing key Circular Economy solutions for some time: rental, care, repair and reuse of textiles for professional use. "As an industry, we are in a position to delve even deeper into the world of the circular economy. Every linen rental company has many of the same products, which go through the same process every time: the textiles are washed, sorted and collected again after the period of use. After many washes, the textiles are rejected. With this rejected textile, we see a unique opportunity to finally put the idea of a closed textile chain into practice. The used textiles that have reached the end of their useful life can be recycled on an industrial scale and the fibre raw materials can be recovered to make new textiles. We want to exploit this potential to the full by founding Cibutex, a cooperative for all textile service providers in Europe," says Cibutex director Jan Lamme, explaining the background of the unique project.

Cross-competitive goal
The founders of Cibutex are four well-known, competing textile service companies and one supply partner: Blycolin Textile Services (Zaltbommel, NL), Dibella (Aalten), Edelweiss Groep (The Hague), Lamme Textile Management (Amsterdam, NL) and Nedlin (Elsloo, NL). The companies have deliberately joined forces in order to implement sustainability in textiles and clothing by means of closed material cycles throughout the sector.

"Important resources are hidden in our B2B used textiles. We want to recover these in cooperation with relevant recycling companies and thus promote textile recycling as demanded by the EU Commission. We have come together to achieve sufficient critical mass to determine the final recycling of our discarded laundry, with the goal of moving from textiles to textiles," says co-founder Luuk de Win (Nedlin).

Sustainable eco-balance
"By recycling the raw materials of our used textiles, we contribute to reducing the social, environmental and climate impacts of the textile industry related to cultivation and production, and this leads to a long-term improvement of the ecological footprint of our industry," adds co-founder Marc van Boekholt (Blycolin).

Increasing value
To make the final transformation step of the circular economic model "textile service" a success, any European textile service company can become a member of Cibutex. The cooperative takes care of the collection, transport to the recycling partners and remuneration for the old textiles, which are now limited to bed linen, table linen and bath linen. In the future, however, the group wants to develop solutions for other textiles as well. For example, the recycling of workwear is also on the agenda. The founders of Cibutex agree that this too is a treasure trove of resources that must be addressed.

• JEC Group announces theme for JEC World 2022 and reaffirms global leadership in composites innovation, business and networking

JEC World, the leading global trade show dedicated to composite materials, their manufacturing technologies and application markets, will take place in Paris from March 8-10, 2022, under the theme Composites for a Sustainable World. JEC World 2022 will be the industry’s most awaited international face to face event after the long pandemic period. Exhibition space is already 98% booked, a clear demonstration of the industry’s commitment to meet and resume business. Those unable to join in person will be able to experience the show via the JEC World Connect digital platform.

“We are looking forward to welcoming our exhibitors, partners and visitors back to Paris to resume business and promote innovation,” comments Thomas Lepretre, VP Events, Sales and Operations of JEC Group. “JEC World will bring the composites industry together to showcase the sustainability benefits of composite materials to a global audience, and to provide a stimulating meeting-place for the industry to pursue its sustainability ambitions by exchanging knowledge, forging collaborations, and imagining new concepts to protect our environment.”

• JEC World a unique get-together on sustainability throughout the product lifecycle
• JEC World a real composites “think tank”
• JEC World 2022 will demonstrate how sustainable thinking is at the heart of the innovative designs, technologies and business models driving the development of the next generation of composites applications.

Four conferences will be held over the three days, focusing on:

• Sustainability of Raw Materials for Composites: Fueling the Circular Revolution
• Rethinking Composite Materials Production: The Path to Sustainable Manufacturing
• Design for Circular Composite Products: Turning Waste, Recycling & Reuse into Opportunities
• Applications of Composite Materials for Circularity: Towards a Net-Zero World

Innovation is in JEC World’s DNA
One of JEC World’s objective’s is to promote the composites sector’s most innovative projects. More than 600 product launches are expected to be announced over the three days of the show, which will also feature JEC’s high-regarded innovation challenges and awards ceremonies :

• The JEC Composites Innovation Awards celebrate innovative global composite projects, as well as fruitful collaborations between different players in the value chain. Over more than 15 years, the JEC Composites Innovation Awards have highlighted collaborations between some 1,900 companies and recognized 203 creative projects. The winners will be announced on March 7th during a dedicated ceremony and their successful technologies will be on display throughout the show.

• The JEC Composites Startup Booster is the leading startup competition in the world of composites. In 2022, this competition will celebrate its fifth anniversary, with a special event to be organized onsite and the launch of a new “sustainability” award. And, with 20 finalists for 2022, it will recognize innovations with the greatest potential market impact and promote them to an influential audience of decision-makers. The finalists’ innovations will be displayed at JEC World’s “Startup Village.”

• For the first time, JEC World will host the 3rd edition of the SMC BMC Design Award organized by the European Alliance for SMC BMC. This international competition recognizes and promotes design excellence in the use of SMC and BMC materials. The theme of this edition is Sustainable Living, and the award is opento design students and young design professionals (less than 3 years of experience) living in Europe.

The acoustic performance of components for the vehicle interior such as inner dashes or carpets depends on the noise-reducing quality as well as the geometrical adaptability and fill power of their material. With Flexi-Loft, Autoneum offers a new felt-based technology that thanks to a unique blend of recycled cotton and functional fibers reduces product weight and allows for accurate adaptation even to complex shapes. The textile material therefore provides a versatile and more sustainable alternative to foam.

In order to achieve high acoustic performance at minimum weight and maximum sustainability, Autoneum is continuously advancing its textile product portfolio. When it comes to components for the vehicle interior, for example, standard thermoplastic felts excel through their acoustic absorption, robustness and environmental friendliness. However, since felt-based materials are generally less voluminous and moldable as foam components, they require more weight to thoroughly fill the areas of varying thickness between the surface of the component and the vehicle’s body-in-white. In contrast, Autoneum’s Flexi-Loft technology is significantly lighter, more flexible and more adaptable than standard felts. In addition, the fiber-based material is versatile and clearly outperforms current foam products in terms of sustainability.

Thanks to its blend of recycled cotton and polyester fibers, Flexi-Loft substantially reduces component weight while improving geometrical adaptability and acoustic performance, especially in areas of low thickness. Thanks to the specific properties of the fibers, Flexi-Loft enables a precise adaptation to a wide variety of vehicle bodies, thereby improving the noise-insulating qualities of the respective product. Even at low weight, Flexi-Loft covers a wide range of material thicknesses, thus proving to be an ideal decoupling material for interior components with complex shapes such as inner dashes and automotive carpets. As a lightweight, flexible and sustainable alternative to both standard felts and foam, Flexi-Loft distinguishes itself by its versatile application in combination with existing Autoneum technologies such as Hybrid-Acoustics and Prime-Light. Moreover, the material helps to reduce odor and dust inside the vehicle.

Flexi-Loft consists of at least 50% recycled cotton fibers, and cut-offs generated during the manufacturing process are reclaimed, processed and then reused in the production of new felt blanks.

Autoneum is already using Flexi-Loft worldwide as an insulator for various carpets, inner dashes and other acoustic components based on its Prime-Light technology. The application of the material as an effective decoupler in inner dashes made of Hybrid-Acoustics will be launched on the European market in 2023.

ISKO presents 2022 Collection Vol. 2, a forward-thinking collection with responsibility, creativity, authenticity and comfort engrained into every fiber of every fabric to provide solutions for all denim lovers’ dreams and needs across the world.

2022 Collection Vol. 2 has been created using the company’s principles of Responsible Innovation™ and is made entirely with ISKO’s revolutionary R-TWO™ technology. Certified to Textile Exchange credentials, the R-TWO™ fabrics in 2022 Collection Vol. 2 ensure complete traceability of raw materials from field to final product. Using a blend of reused and recycled materials, they help decrease the usage of raw materials and improve sourcing efficiency, while preserving all the properties and benefits of each product. R-TWO offers a simple way for companies to switch from virgin to reused and recycled materials for all products in ISKO’s collection.

The 2022 Collection Vol. 2 further explores the four lifestyles introduced in ISKO’s Vol. 1 collection -Denim Lovers, Simplify, ISKO™ Comfy and Euphoria – building on a collection to provide further inspiration for designers and brands to suit different vibes and moods.

• Riri’s SS 2022 collection explores the mind of the future.
• Bright colors, vintage themes as well as timeless designs and attention to detail, combined with concepts that highlight history and processes.

Riri Group’s gaze looks to the future once more, offering a line of accessories where creativity meets cutting-edge technology. This is the scenario spawning the new SS 2022 collection; a range of innovative proposals each representing a different emotional response to the pandemic, an attempt to interpret the emotions, needs and desires of consumers in the coming years.

The Italian-Swiss group, that for almost a century has committed to creating zips and buttons for the world’s most important fashion brands, doubles down on its forward-looking vision. The result is SS 2022 collection, featuring three different aspirational paths to read into the emerging feelings of the “new normal” that is our time and that may characterize the near future.

REJOICE
Inspired by sensations of euphoria and breaking free from melancholy through evasion and exuberance, Rejoice is the line that sees in positivity and joy of re-living the answer to the months of pandemic and negativity. The optimism that is to come takes the form of a creative and extrovert style, even when it comes to accessories. The inspiration, a triumph of bright colors and timeless styles, comes straight from the streets of Boca, one of Buenos Aires’ most popular neighborhoods thanks to its combination of colors and creative scene. Thus, the Eloxal rio zip is presented once again: with its aluminum chain and colored teeth, matched with a multi-color effect puller. In the range, we can also find the Nylon zip, featuring changing colors matched with buttons that echo their color variations, or the Filmetal 14 zip, big and with eye-catching writings, embossed on the tape.

REBIRTH
Going back to the future, in a more respectful and responsible way, through a rebirth that comes to be thanks to a closer relationship with nature. In this line history and processes through which the product is made are pivotal to tell a new way to approach the world. The range comprises zips and buttons developed with natural material and processed manually. A return to the basics as well as the constant research to reduce resources use respecting the planet are foundation of this line. Part of the Rebirth line are the copper jeans buttons, with a special water-based paint finishing, transparent and protective, or the hemp-derived bio-plastic eyelets, as well as the galalite buttons, a particular bio-degradable plastic, derived from processed milk proteins. A major innovation are our tapes entirely made of recycled polyester, evidence of the commitment by Riri Group to reuse resources.

TIMELESS
Timeless elegance, essential luxury mixed with the highest quality standards for top-of-therange products. Design, materials and colors featuring in this line break away from seasonal trends to become timeless must-haves, essential yet elegant. Every piece is cared for in every detail, created specifically to leave a lasting mark. Buttons, chains and pullers are either made of gold and silver, or they feature the clean and elegant tone of stainless steel. Among the zips, stand out Metal and Simmetrical with luxury finishings, whilst tapes are made with refined materials, such as leather and satin. Essential yet researched, this range comes with square and oval cuts, with geometry being functional and complementary to a timeless elegance.

• ISKO Vital™+ Premium community face cover receives the NEN certification in the Netherlands.

The responsible face cover brand is the first to be awarded the Dutch standard, recently established by The Royal Netherlands Standardization Institute. The mark of conformity was issued on January 19, when ISKO Vital+ completed the certification process.

Supported by parent company ISKO’s 100-years of experience and know-how in the textile industry, ISKO Vital+’s range of Premium face covers has exceeded the requirements set out by NEN for community face covers. The recently established Dutch standard, NEN-spec 1- 2 requires manufacturers to pass rigorous testing for bacterial filtration efficiency, breathing resistance, fit and ease of use and sustainability.
With a bacterial filtration efficiency (BFE) of ≥95% that exceeds the NEN’s minimum requirement of ≥70%, the ISKO Vital+ Premium face cover is a patented 4-fold design made from ISKO Vital™ fabric, a groundbreaking textile solution created by ISKO’s in-house research and development experts. It is fluid repellent and very easy to breathe through thanks to a single layer of organic cotton which is dermatologically tested, OEKO-TEX Standard 100 certified and gentle on the skin, providing a superior level of comfort as assessed by an independent panel.

Available in different sizes and colors, the Premium face covers surpass the minimum NEN requirement for breathing resistance of <70 Pa/cm2 too, with a respiratory resistance lower than 40 Pa/cm2 – making the face covers very comfortable to wear. In addition, they are much more sustainable than disposable masks as they can be reused and hand or machine-washed up to 15 times without loss of quality. “Current circumstances are expected to last in the foreseeable future, so it is extremely important to wear proper community face covers”, explained Edgar van der Linden, ISKO Vital™ Medical Business Lead. “Thanks to the mark of conformity, it is now clear that face cover must have the highest possible filtration efficiency and must also be comfortable, expressed in the lowest possible breathing resistance. Environmental aspects are also addressed. As a supplier of washable face covers made from one innovative layer of organic cotton we consider that very important. A good community face cover offers a combination of high filtration efficiency, comfort, ease of use and minimizes the burden on the environment”.

• Miles Johnson and ISKO’s Creative Room present the new responsible collection.

The second edition of this partnership tells the story of a unique combination of creativity and expertise brought to the table by ISKO’s style and design center, Creative Room Italy, and the innovative designer Miles Johnson, resulting in a collection featuring responsible R-TWO™ fabrics and a selection of sustainable accessories and details.

An act of care for the planet and its people, Light on the Land 2.0 is the new capsule designed by Miles Johnson and ISKO. Former Design Director at Levi Strauss & Co. and Senior Creative Director of Product Design and Development at Patagonia, Inc., Miles joined forces with Creative Room and Iskoteca, ISKO’s Italian style and washing research hubs, to develop a collection that brings responsibility in the fashion industry to the next level.

The project includes 32 unique pieces, each of them realized with seasonless designs and sustainably-minded details. All the fabrics used in the collection were carefully selected from ISKO’s R-TWO™ platform. Using a mixture of reused cotton and recycled fibers, the technique embeds material circularity into the production processes, designing waste out of the system and minimizing impact at scale. Certified to Textile Exchange environmental credentials according to the percentage of materials contained, R-TWO™ ensures better use of raw materials and resource efficiency. ISKO’s Environmental Product Declarations (EPD®s), available for all its +25,000 products, offer a unique opportunity to measure the impact of R-TWO™’s savings in the Lifecycle Assessments (LCAs) framework, where resource savings can be seen in carbon impact, water-use reductions and many other impact KPIs.

Light on the Land 2.0 incorporates responsible design principles such as Cadica’s new and innovative trims, made of vegan apple “leather”, and has been developed using ecoconscious finishing techniques. The collection also features many additional sustainable facets such as efficient low-waste pattern cutting and design, efficient sewing methods, removeable rivets for end-of-life and biodegradable thread which can be removed at high heats.

“When we first started working on this project, we knew it was going to be amazing,” explained Massimo Munari, Manager and Art director Creative Room, ISKO. “To design a collection like this, you need to begin with the right mindset and of course, the right materials. R-TWO was the perfect ingredient, thanks to the re-used and re-cycled content. We then aimed to minimize impact at all stages: incorporating sustainable design ideas, washing processes and trims. We are proud to have created such an inspiring, and sustainable collection, and to bring our collective vision to light.”

Due to the unprecedented challenges of this time, the collection was entirely developed through remote working and creative solutions to ensure the safety and health of all parties involved. To this end, everyone was kept safe thanks to ISKO Vital™+ reusable and eco-friendly face covers, created with organic cotton to cater for comfort and sustainability.

• An introspective and emotional journey of transformation
• The global leading jersey manufacturer launches a brand-new collection deliberately “raw”, a back to matter, materials and origins as individuals that are able to change and evolve.
   

Another big step of TINTEX Naturally Advanced Evolution

TINTEX has over time established itself as a global leader in smart innovation with its high quality, natural based responsible jersey fabrics using the latest and best sustainable high-tech dyeing and finishing processes, implementing expertly controlled processing to drive material innovation and manufacture a full range of natural based smart materials, optimizing superior and responsible fashion solutions.

The new collection confirms the Naturally Advanced Evolution vision as the right approach:  to work together in a deeper way - textile producers and fashion brands - to develop solutions, innovations with a strong environment-driven approach and cutting-edge technology able to offer contemporary consumer a brand new smart and performing choice.  As result, Raw is a true Naturally Advanced Evolution of the modern human being, explaining a story with no more genders and races, just focused on contemporary values.

The concept behind the AW 21/22 Raw Collection is turning back to nature and to our origins, a journey through emotional, spiritual and physical changes. Thinking about what’s happening around us as planet and individuals in an era of unpredictable challenges, we need to be creative reinventing us every day in different ways, aware of a new society and way of consuming where environment and human needs count.  A unique collection with three different approaches to mix together through a colour palette that goes from raw, dirty beige to a warm pinkish red and a false black-bluish gray.

fluidity, human, natural reconnection. An introspective journey where it’s all about ourselves and who we are. Through light and translucent fabrics, touches of peach and waxes in warm reds and burgundy, we find delicate, natural and extra light fabrics that flow on the skin to symbolically represent the inner fight from who we are and who we want to be. Organic cotton and Tencel™ Modal Micro processed in a special way, are at the center of this stage.
 
raw beauty, reuse, less is more. With this line, the company gives new life to existing articles, showing all the beauty of the raw material and the transformation they went through. This re-transformation of materials reflects the inner transformation; reborn of human beings, of time, of challenges through a new perspective where we reinvent ourselves, home, habits and planet. Our capability, skills to give new life to things it is not something we forgot through time. Organic cotton, Tencel™ Modal Micro, European hemp, Q-Nova® recycled polyamide and ROICA™ EF premium sustainable recycled stretch fiber are the materials boosting th experience.
 
timeless, versatile utility, urban. In a history of deep blues, with clean and dense touches, we come to acceptance, to a future where we relearn to live with what we already had. Organic cotton, Tencel™ Modal Micro and Texloop™ guarantee timeless performed articles, where the high-performance pairs to sustainable process especially at yarn level.

Freedom for ourselves, comfort, flexibility, movement are the concepts the company explores looking not only to sportswear market, but to all the markets where the most comfortable yet performing and responsible materials - from recycled synthetics to organic cotton - are the “right value choice”.

Anker, Devan and Shark Solutions teamed up to create the world’s first flame retardant aviation carpet using a recycled binder. Inspired by the knowledge and the needs of the aviation market, Anker motivated to achieve this new goal together. The PVB binder reuses laminated glass, from windshields and architectural/building glass, that otherwise would go to landfill.

German carpet manufacturer Anker is the first company to offer flame retardant carpets for aviation that are made with a recycled binder. In the search for a more sustainable binder, Anker discovered the PVB from Shark Solutions, a Danish cleantech company focused on giving a new life to post-consumer PVB. Properties of the aviation carpet with PVB as binder are the same as those of traditional non-sustainable carpets. The market has been looking for this type of solutions for a long time and market introduction has already started. Anker will introduce well known and special developed styles of aviation carpets with PVB and plan to take out traditional non-sustainable aviation carpets stepwise as soon as possible.

Shark’s PVB reuses laminated glass, from windshields and architectural/building glass, that otherwise would go to landfill. The non-toxic binder (no chlorine or phthalates) is fully recyclable and thus lives up to the future standards of the industry.

Textile innovator Devan Chemicals, known for its tailor-made flame retardant solutions, was called in to develop the flame retardant back coating, which is compliant with the Airbus and Boeing safety standards. “Based on many years of experience and competences in customer related developments, improving recycling rates is getting more and more important”, says Dirk Vanpachtenbeke, R&D manager Flame Retardants at Devan. “We are very proud that, together with Anker and Shark Solutions, we can contribute to this rising demand for products that meet the standards of a circular economy solution.”

In other news, Anker and Devan are already working on a new project, which includes Devan’s antimicrobial/viral-reducing technology. Recently, Devan published test results on the activity of their technology (BI-OME®) against SARS-CoV-2 and other viruses. According to independent testing, BI-OME is proven to achieve 99% and higher virus reduction, including of SARS-COV-2, on samples before washing and retains 98.5% even after 25 wash cycles. This technology has been recognized with the 2020 European Technology Innovation Leadership Award by Frost & Sullivan.