From the Sector

• Elleti Group partners with Wiser Wash for Europe and the Mediterranean area, with Portugal being the only exception, for a more sustainable fashion.
• The enterprise based in Verona joins Wiser Wash’s international network and adopts the innovative patented process for the treatment of denim that has the market’s lowest environmental impact.

Tradition and innovation: this combination has always characterized Elleti Group, a historic company based in San Bonifacio and an important point of reference for the denim industry and beyond. Now it is also the exclusive partner of Wiser Wash for Europe and the Mediterranean area, with Portugal being the only exception. Specializing in laundry, dyeing and garment making services, the company is led by the steady hand and ambitious vision of Luigi Lovato, who was recently recognized by Rivet50 as one of 2020's fifty most influential people in the denim ecosystem. The partnership with Wiser Wash is a fitting continuation of Elleti Group's tireless pursuit of excellence, development of cutting-edge solutions and commitment to environmental sustainability, which has always projected the proud Made in Italy tradition towards the future.

With the introduction of Wiser Wash's technology, Elleti Group has significantly reduced the amount of resources used in traditional garment treatment. This patented washing method eliminates the use of pumice stone and all harmful chemicals, while drastically reducing water consumption throughout the process. In addition, the efficiency of the process lowers chemical and mechanical stress on fabric fibers as compared to traditional treatment, guaranteeing greater garment robustness and longevity.

This important milestone is the latest and more relevant result of a commitment that has been integral to Elleti Group's approach since its foundation. This was already present in the Earthkeepers collection – a line of low environmental impact treatments which marked the culmination of research and experimentation journey, aimed at developing an authentic look whilst looking out for the safeguard of the environment, its resources and its people. Record of the company's evolution is kept in the "Stadium", an impressive archive of Elleti Group collections. There displayed are some 15,000 garments, direct evidence of the stylistic and technological developments that have made Elleti Group an international benchmark for creativity and high quality.

"Nothing is more important to us than satisfying our clients' needs. We put all our expertise and experience at the service of their creative ideas," said Luigi Lovato, Founder and CEO of Elleti Group. "The partnership with Wiser Wash is definitely another reason to be proud, and it will set our bar even higher in guaranteeing quality, authenticity and an ever-increasing respect for the environment and our employees."

• 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.

Archroma, a global leader in specialty chemicals towards sustainable solutions, has been recently ranked number 1 in the “industrial chemicals” list published by the Institute of Public & Environmental Affairs (IPE) for driving transparency in their supply chain.

Archroma also entered the Top 50 of companies in IPE’s Green Supply Chain CITI Evaluation, at the 47th position. The evaluation dynamically assesses brands on the environmental management of their supply chains in China.

With a wide array of products used every day, everywhere, the company is committed to operate along the principles of “The Archroma Way to a Sustainable World: Safe, efficient, enhanced, it’s our nature”. The Archroma team is therefore committed to sourcing safe and sustainable raw materials and intermediates from like-minded partners.

Heike van de Kerkhof, CEO of Archroma, recently delivered a message at the IPE 2020 Green Supply Chain Forum online, and commented: “As industry leader, we have the responsibility to keep on addressing the climate challenge, and to do everything we can together to reduce our impact on the environment. This is where the approach of the Institute of Public & Environmental Affairs supports us. They encourage us to challenge our suppliers in terms of safety, health and environment, and to go even beyond our own strict policies and processes.”

• ECOSENSOR™ 100% recycled polyamide fabric
• New fabric collection imbued with the brand’s sustainable story-making, at the Digital Edition of Performance Days

ECOSENSOR™’s new references combine high-performance and innovation to empower people with the possibility to live life naturally both for mind and body. The new range is woven from certified ingredients, a completely traceable production process and highly certified suppliers

“A New Eco high-tech force of Nature”, a bold claim, a daring attitude and true facts. ECOSENSOR™ by Asahi Kasei has concentrated all its key values into a Nature-driven and high-tech fabric collection that respects the environment and human being. Sustainability, active climate control, exquisite touch and extreme performance co-habit the textiles: the collection is made of wovens and knits where the main technology is represented by GRS - Global Recycled Standard certified polyamide and polyesters, sometime combined with ROICA™ recycled stretch yarns and dyed and finished with Oekotex Standard 100 certified processes and/or by BlueSign® partners’ companies.

But there is much more than it meets the eye. Behind the new collection is a great story of sustainability.

“Our international team strives to innovate with a human-based approach to research and develop solutions that meet high-performance standards as well as the transparency and traceability of both the ingredients and the supply chain”, says Mr. Hashimoto, Senior Managing Director of Asahi Kasei Advance, the global materials innovator and manufacturer. Indeed, the company has set the high bar all its suppliers and partners must match. Such criteria include: thoroughly transparency and traceability of both materials and production, corporate responsibility at all levels and a strategic commitment granted by influential certifications such as GRS - Global Recycle Standard for recycled ingredients and processes, as well as Bluesign® and OekoTex Standard 100 certifications, which focus on environmental-friendly impact of the dyeing and finishing processes.

The human, environmentally-friendly and cutting-edge imprint of ECOSENSOR™ ultimate collection reflects a vision for a more responsible way of fabric manufacturing. A new force of nature, because story-telling truly must match the story-making.

• Royal DSM, a global science-based company in Nutrition, Health and Sustainable Living, today announced that, for the first time, Dyneema® Composite Fabrics are used by Moncler in the Fall/Winter 2020 Grenoble collection, which fuses form and function into high performance skiwear.

Moncler Grenoble is born of a passion for research and implements cutting-edge technology to push the limits of its potential. The design team identified Dyneema® as an innovative fabric it could use to push the level of its performance to the next peak, incorporating the material into the new collection as a departure from the conventional use of cotton and polyester.

Sandro Mandrino, the Head of Design for Moncler Grenoble, was the first designer of the luxury fashion brand to incorporate Dyneema® into one of his creations through the Moncler Genius project. The Moncler Genius project advocates radical co-creation where multiple designers create their own signature collections in collaboration with the house. Together, these collections translate into one vision of the future and, as one of the nine designers, Mandrino’s interpretation of the future of fashion features Dyneema® Composite Fabric.

Using variations of the fabric in both white and black allowed Mandrino to bring his vision to life by merging skiwear, space suits and technology all in one. “ 3 Moncler Grenoble is first and foremost about performance,” states Mandrino, who integrated constructive solutions with fabric technology to develop a line that was meant to perform both on and off the ski slopes.

Dyneema®, the world’s strongest and lightest fiber, is 15 times stronger than steel yet light enough to float on water. The unmatched performance and protection of products made with Dyneema® have made it the material of choice in critical applications where failure is not an option for more than 30 years. In fabric form, Dyneema® is available in composites, denim, knits, wovens and hybrids for composite reinforcements. And because Dyneema® fabrics are made using Dyneema® fiber, they intrinsically provide high strength, low weight, waterproof and breathable properties – allowing designers to fuse the technical performance of ultra-light products with aesthetic design that doesn’t sacrifice strength or durability.

The Moncler team used the Grenoble collection as an opportunity to experiment and further understand the nature and behavior of Dyneema® fabrics, while simultaneously incorporating material performance with practical design. “Future collections will focus on expanding to new designs and fabric options in collaboration with DSM,” adds Mandrino.

“We are very excited to be working with the Moncler team to launch a collection of wonderful garments that allow people to explore the outdoors more safely and for longer periods of time,” states Marcio Manique, Global Business Director, Consumer & Professional Protection, DSM Protective Materials. “We look forward to further supporting Moncler as they develop innovative, high-tech garments that are also sustainably sourced through the introduction of bio-based Dyneema® fabrics.”

In line with DSM’s commitment to protect people and the environment they live in, the world’s first-ever bio-based ultra-high molecular weight polyethylene fiber was introduced in May 2020. Bio-based Dyneema® boasts the same exact performance as conventional Dyneema® with a carbon footprint that is 90 percent lower than generic HMPE. DSM and Moncler’s continued partnership will not only provide high performance, light weight garments for outdoor enthusiasts but also environmentally sustainable alternatives that contribute to a more circular economy.

Archroma, a global leader in specialty chemicals towards sustainable solutions, today announced an increase of up to 20% in the selling prices of its Nuva^® N and Fluowet^® fluorocarbon polymers.

Fluorocarbon polymers are typically used in essential applications where a water and/or oil barrier is needed, such as personal protective equipment (PPE) for health professionals, or other technical textiles.

As a global leader in the area of repellency treatments, we have the responsibility to develop and produce products with the highest level of sustainability – economically and ecologically.

The price increase has become necessary to support the increasing regulatory and other costs, as well as ongoing investments that Archroma continuously makes in its own manufacturing technology and process, to produce fluorochemicals in the safest possible way for the consumer and the environment.

The price increase will be effective from November 16, 2020, in all regions and markets, for all new orders and as contracts allow.

® Trademarks of Archroma registered in many countries

Penn Textile Solutions/Penn Italia - international company producing and developing innovative fabrics through warp and weft knitting technologies, Tessitura Colombo Antonio, famous for the processing of lace and ribbons dedicated to the world of corsetry, Elastici Besana specialized in the production of narrow elastic for corsetry and underwear, have been working together to expand the frontiers of sustainable manufacture practices and to offer an innovative collection, a new set of eco high tech innovations delivering a responsibility concept including also the end of life: ECONNECTION.

The responsible ECONNECTION collection, in which the words ECO and CONNECTION mixed to underline the importance of connect and come together for a sustainable project, features:

• 7 advanced knitted stretch fabrics by Penn Textile Solutions/Penn Italia,
• 3 precious laces by Tessitura Colombo Antonio
• 3 functional bands by Elastici Besana

The project opened up the door to new generation of ingredients such as:

• ROICA™ V550 made by leading fiber manufacturer Asahi Kasei, a premium sustainable stretch yarn that at the end of his life smartly breaks down without releasing harmful substances in the environment according to Hohenstein Environment Compatibility Certification and also boasting the Gold Level Material Health Certificate by Cradle-to-Cradle Product Innovation Institute** as it has been evaluated for impact on human and environmental health.
• Amni Soul Eco®, the world’s first biodegradable in anaerobic conditions polyamide 6.6 yarn that degrades in around 5 years* after disposing in landfill, developed by SOLVAY and produced and distributed in Italy by FULGAR.

• The stunning niLuu collection by former professional volleyball player Nilufer Bracco features smart Bemberg™ fabrics by Ipeker
• Wonderful kimonos for women and men, sleep and face masks are the key pieces of the PETA certified and cruelty-free collection, 100% Bemberg™ and vegan

Former professional volleyball player Nilufer Bracco recently launched niLuu, a PETA approved cruelty-free loungewear brand using 100% Bemberg™ by Asahi Kasei that combines the iconic elegance of traditional silk with a socially and environmentally ethical production process.

Bemberg™ is a fiber made from the smart-tech transformation of cotton linters bio-utility materials that are converted through a traceable and transparent closed loop process; the Bemberg™ Ipeker Textile  fabric’s uniqueness comes from the exceptional quality characteristics achieved in design. The end result is a luxurious fabric so soft and smooth that it is almost like a second skin, breathes like cotton, drapes beautifully like silk, and reflects the cultural tradition of luxury textiles from founder Nilufer Bracco’s native country, Turkey. The first collection released by Miami based niLuu features premium quality kimono robes, sleep masks, face masks, and pillowcases that are available in a variety of deep and vibrant colors, and with a soft-brushed finish typical of premium sand-washed silk.

Designed to not only feel and look amazing but the entire niLuu collection is sustainable, biodegradable and 100% vegan.  Ipeker Textile, one of the major Bemberg™ fabric producers in Europe, proudly holds the title as the first vegan fabric producer in the world, receiving Vegan V-Label certificate on around 150 different products that adhere to the guidelines of the European Vegetarian Label, most of them developed with Bemberg™ yarn.

niLuu’s innovative Bemberg™ collection is hypoallergenic, antistatic, easy to care for, and it is also known to have several benefits for the skin. The breathability of the fabric helps to maintain body temperature; excellent moisture control means the fabric doesn’t dry out the skin or hair in the ways that cotton would and minimal friction against the skin means it is also known to have anti-aging benefits.  Speaking of niLuu’s high-quality Bemberg™ fabric, Founder, Nilufer Bracco adds, “Our innovative Bemberg™ vegan silk delivers the best of both worlds. Not only does our luxury fabric feel amazing when you use it, but you can also feel good knowing that it caused minimum harm to the planet when it was produced and that it will leave only the slightest trace when it reaches the end of its lifecycle.”

The luxury textiles brand has also shown its commitment to responsible practices, by partnering with 1% for the Planet pledging to donate 1% of their annual revenue to environmental organizations that work hard to protect our planet.

• On October, 20th, 2020, the State Prize for Innovation was awarded to the Lenzing Group for their LENZING™ Web Technology.
• Lenzing thus received the highest award for particularly innovative achievements in Austria.

Lenzing – On Tuesday, October 20, 2020, the Lenzing Group was awarded the coveted “State Prize for Innovation”. Lenzing emerged as the winner with its project LENZING™ Web Technology and thus received the highest recognition for particularly innovative achievements in Austria. The novel process combines fiber and nonwovens production in only one step, setting new standards in terms of efficiency, circularity and ecological sustainability. Margarete Schramböck, Federal Minister for Digital and Economic Affairs, presented the award to Gert Kroner, Vice President Global Research & Development.

“This award is a great recognition of our work. Our goal is to grow continuously with sustainable innovations and to look beyond our fibers, to the needs of our customers and partners and to the needs of consumers worldwide. With the LENZING™ Web Technology we have created an exciting and promising solution for eco-friendly products in line with our corporate strategy sCore TEN and support consumers in their daily needs in a sustainable way”, says Stefan Doboczky, Chief Executive Officer of the Lenzing Group.

Biodegradable nonwovens for a clean environment

The pollution of the environment by plastics is one of the most urgent problems of our time. Every day, millions of hygiene products and wipes around the globe end up in garbage and sewage. Most of them consist of up to 80 percent polyester or other fossil, non-biodegradable materials and therefore pollute the environment. With the LENZING™ Web Technology, Lenzing has developed a patented technology to counter this problem: Sustainable and eco-friendly nonwovens are produced from the renewable raw material wood. These are not only plastic-free, they also score points for their particularly high environmental friendliness. “Thanks to a unique self-bonding mechanism, in which the filaments bond with each other during the spinning process, binders, which are found in many nonwovens, are no longer needed. As a result, the nonwovens produced with LENZING™ Web Technology are 100 percent biodegradable and do not pollute either humans or the environment”, says Gert Kroner, Vice President Global Research & Development of the Lenzing Group.

The Austrian State Prize for Innovation is awarded annually by the Federal Ministry for Digital and Economic Affairs to the most innovative Austrian company. In 2020, the competition took place for the 40th time.

Leading suppliers of hotel textiles in Europe, the Danish company Beirholms Væverier and the German/Dutch company Dibella, begin circular collaboration with Swedish Reused Remade, known for its climate-smart textile bags made of reused hotel bedlinen. Together, they will extend the life cycle of hotel textiles and contribute to the circular economy by upcycling discarded textiles from laundries turning them into new textile bags for the retail market.

In Europe, millions of tons of hotel bed linen are discarded each year and can no longer be used in the hotel’s operations due to wear and tear. Thanks to Reused Remade's patent-pending method of up-cycling hotel bed linen into climate-smart textile bags, enormous amounts of natural resources are saved. Because the textiles are reused, as opposed to being downcycled, as is usually the case today, this partnership offers a climate-friendly alternative to today’s disposal of discarded textiles.

By 2025, all EU member states will have introduced an extended producer responsibility for textiles (EPR for textiles). This will place demands on the industries concerned to jointly find smart solutions and contribute to the transition to a circular economy. Beirholm and Dibella both have a strong focus on sustainability and are constantly looking for new and smart solutions for their customers' discarded textiles. The purpose of this partnership is to enable more laundries in Europe to join Reused Remade's circular solution with climate - smart textile bags made of reused hotel bed linen.

With an impressive growth journey since its inception in 2016, Reused Remade’s climate-smart textile bags for everyday use can now be found at prominent Nordic and European retailers such as Edeka, Clas Ohlson, Ica, and Systembolaget.

"The goal for 2021 is to collect 300 tones of hotel bed linen in order to meet our customers demand. It feels fantastic to be able to collaborate with Beirholm and Dibella, whose values about sustainability we share. We see that together we can make a big difference to our environment, our climate and our common future", say Pia Walter and Josephine Alhanko, founders of Reused Remade.

Please read the attached document for more information