From the Sector

Two Italian companies committed to the transition to an ecological industry and presented the results of their collaboration at the Blue of a Kind shop in Milan. A union of intent that has led to a partnership initially born remotely, in the middle of the difficulties of recent years, finally set off through the live painting performance by Erik Varusio. The artist from Vicenza, well-known in the world of fashion and illustration, has customized a selection of Blue of a kind’s t-shirts using the sustainable Officina+39's Recycrom™ dyestuff.

Revolution of existing
Blue of a kind is meant to be not just a fashion company, rather a community built around an idea: to combine uncompromised style, contemporary fit and products with a valuable heritage, and a sustainable production process. The products are made exclusively from vintage products handcrafted with the use of scrap fabrics and surplus, thanks to a network of suppliers all over Europe, which makes it possible to find the best vintage garments and stock, ultimately becoming the raw material to lead a luxury revolution, chic yet sustainable.

Fashion and sustainable chemicals
The mission of Blue of a kind perfectly matches with the technologies of Officina+39, a Biella-based company for which the word “waste” becomes synonymous with opportunity, a source for creating something new, encouraging circularity and reducing environmental impact. From this vision comes to be Recycrom™, a revolutionary and sustainable dyestuffs range, patented, which employs recycled used clothing, fibrous material, and textile scraps: its full range of pigment powders is obtained through a cutting-edge upcycling process that involves textile fibers from used clothing and manufacturing waste for dyeing and printing on cotton, wool, nylon or any cellulosic and natural fiber or blend.

Shared goals
Both companies firmly believe that the present and future of the fashion industry lies in circularity and upcycling without compromise. The sector has been hit hard in recent years by the pandemic and the difficulty in finding raw materials, but opportunities have been generated to think about new partnerships and initiatives, to focus on available resources and real needs, and to invest in sustainable technologies for change.
Being part of this change is the goal shared by Blue of a kind and Officina+39, starting with concrete contributions and more transparent, sustainable, durable and quality products.

• The leading denim ingredient brand joins lablaco’s virtual reality Circular Fashion Summit 2021 as an Innovation Partner

ISKO continues to reaffirm its commitment towards circularity by participating as an Innovation Partner in the Circular Fashion Summit 2021 by lablaco. The summit will bring together leaders of change across design, technology and sustainability to share knowledge and take action towards creating a circular future for fashion. The event will be held in a VR version of the Grand Palais Éphémère in Paris and will take place on 9-12 December.

ISKO’s approach to circularity is built on creating a future where no virgin resources are needed to produce beautiful durable and high performing woven fabrics To achieve this, the leading denim ingredient brand is working to remove its reliance on fossil fuels and virgin materials by employing only renewable energy and by setting the challenging target of using 100% recycled or reused materials.

This impressive goal is possible thanks to the cutting edge technologies ISKO is working with such as a one of a kind process which fully separates and recycles cotton and polyester blends at scale, and collaborative partnerships with MoRe Research that are aimed at discovering new possibilities for cellulose based materials. ISKO’s new generation of R TWO™50+ fabrics are also playing a role in moving towards this goal. E ngineered for nature’ they use a minimum of 50% pre and post consumer recycled blend reducing carbon and water footprints by 45% and 65% respectively, and are all GRS certified ISKO also believes that the transition to a circular economy cannot happen without addressing the impact on biodiversity and our ecology. Tackling the over-sourcing of raw materials is key, as the extraction of new natural resources and the impact on carbon emissions in processing them contributes to more than 90% of biodiversity loss.

On 21st October the Managing Director of Officina+39 Andrea Venier has joined a panel discussion in the prestigious arena of the Kingpins24 Digital Show. He contributed to the discussion with his and Officina+39’s point of view on “Water Conservation”, together with Emrah Özkorkmaz from Bregla and Taimur Malik from Stylers International, with Edward Hertzman from Sourcing Journal & Rivet as moderator.

Water crisis remains one of the top issues for humanity and 90% of the world's natural disasters are related to water. Officina+39 has been working hard to rethink the way water is used throughout the denim processes: Andrea's contribution emphasized the company’s practical and consolidated experience in this field, as in recent years their main objective has been to drastically reduce water use in line with UN SDG6.

Andrea pointed out how “fashion industry is still currently deeply rooted in a linear approach: make, use, dispose.” Accordingly to Andrea and Officina+39, the fashion world is becoming aware of this reality and is trying to reinvent itself in order to decrease the use of this precious resource and its negative impacts but there is still work to do in order to redesign a better sustainable model, where circularity should represent the new sustainability: circularity not only when it comes to the materials, but also to water.

In the textile industry water is used as the vehicle for colors and chemical auxiliaries but luckily today many technologies aim at significantly reducing water consumption. Officina+39 is really focused on this target: Andrea explained that “Officina+39 has developed the AQUALESS MISSION, a process suitable for conventional machines that leads to a 75% reduction of the water typically used in denim and garment laundry processes, using a waterless technology and saving costs for producers.”

Despite the start-up cost of investing in the development of sustainable technologies may discourage some in the industry, it is about time to realize that these actions cannot be delayed and that we will increasingly hear about water scarcity, water stress and water risk.

Andrea stated: “It is necessary to develop water management strategies and systems in any company: today there is ISO 14000 related to environmental management, but I believe that governments, brands and related organisations should think about an ISO related just to water management. In this way, every company can understand how much value can be generated in the medium-term and how much money could be saved by investing in this kind of technologies. To create new standards related to water management, we must change the approach.”

Renewcell and Kelheim Fibres Gmbh have signed a Letter of Intent for a long term commercial collaboration to add the crucial missing link for a circular economy for textiles in Europe. Together, the two technology leaders will collaborate on developing com mercial scale production of superior quality viscose fibers from up to 10 000 tonnes of Renewcell’s 100% textile recycled material Circulose® annually. The collaboration paves the way toward a fully European closed loop in which textile waste is collected, recycled and regenerated into new Circulose® fibers for people that want to reduce their fashion footprint significantly.

"European fashion consumption has great impact on climate and the environment globally. It also contributes to tremendous amounts of waste going into landfill and incinerators either in Europe or abroad after export. We will now work with Kelheim to prevent waste and reduce the need for virgin resources, while also enabling a fully regional supply of low impact circular fibers for text iles” comments Patrik Lundström, CEO of Renewcell. “We are thrilled for the opportunity to work closely with a partner like Kelheim, who is at the leading edge of innovation and sustainability in this industry” he adds.

Craig Barker, CEO at Kelheim Fibres adds: "We see an excellent fit between our two companies, not only on the technical side with Renewcell we have found a highly professional partner who shares our vision for future forward technologies that enable full circularity in the textile chain. Finding the answers to the challenges of our times is what drives us every day. Our recycled cellulose fibre solution made of Renewcell’s Circulose® and manufactured using environmentally sound processes at our Kelheim plant is an answer to the fashi on industries need for sustainable, resource and waste reducing solutions, and a more regional and reliable supply chain."

The Swiss group presents three creative inspirations to explore new shapes, colors, materials and define a new offer featuring a variety of solutions and ideas.
A tribute to health and to balance with nature, to the advanced goldsmith craftsmanship and to the effortless sophistication of industrial luxury: the FW 2022-23 collection by Riri Group is a true kaleidoscope of shapes, colors and materials, where three different creative inspirations meet – Biophilic, Stones&Gold and Industrial Luxe – for a high-end line of accessories.

All three paths are the result of state-of-the-art techniques, of an R&D effort and of the renowned expertise of the Swiss group. Part of the offer is also a selection of pieces by Cobrax Metal Hub, among which stand out buckles and locks with peculiar shapes and finishing.

Looking to the new season with a positive and enthusiastic attitude, the Group continues to work towards an increasing sustainability when it comes to products and processes. The collection, in fact, is a further step toward Riri’s path of green responsibility that the company has taken to bring actual improvement in its sustainable performance. This year, Riri Group published its first Sustainability Report, calculated in compliance with Global Reporting Initiative Standard (GRI), and adopted recycled polyester as production standard for zips’ tapes.

Biophilic
A way to honor love for life, this line emphasizes the importance of physical and mental wellbeing, answering the questions raised during the challenges faced in the last year. Balance with nature becomes a concrete product circularity operation resorting to manufacturing processes with a low environmental impact and to organic and biodegradable materials. Among them stands out recycled polyester for zips which is Global Recycled Standard (GRS) certified, Global Organic Textile Standard certified organic cotton and other alternative fibers, such as nettle, a natural resource that is a great alternative to synthetic fibers. Rivets, zips, buttons and metal components are made of stainless steel, which guarantees durability and resistance, 100% recycled copper and aluminum – light, ductile and resistant to oxidation. Among the most interesting solutions are rice peel powder – used on buttons’ overseals – and eco-sustainable thermoplastic polyurethane, obtained from renewable raw sources.

Stones & Gold
Sophistication and advanced craftsmanship mark the pieces of this creative path which, inspired by goldsmith and glyptic craft tradition, reveals a delicate sense of positivity and richness. Gems, lapis lazuli, marble, and mother-of-pearl are protagonists of a refined selection of accessories designed to amaze and catch the eye, resembling actual jewels. Essential the use of gold, especially in its liquid form: dominating zips and buttons’ finishes, this precious and versatile metal becomes a decorative feature on printed tape.

Industrial luxe
The third proposal embodies the unique style and timeless elegance that have always defined Riri’s products, embellishing them with new engineering details which makes them very relevant. The accessories come with golden and black finishes, both glossy and matt, and explore shapes developed to bring life to a range of luxury accessories with a sophisticated industrial aesthetics. A dominating role goes to stainless steel, along with a selection of impactful and elegant tapes which includes jacquard options, for a retro-futuristic look that is revealed also through the use of mechanical elements, such as screws and etched metal sheets, and in the clean and boxy shapes of pullers and buttons.

The 11^th edition of RISE®, Research, Innovation & Science for Engineered Fabrics Conference will be presented virtually on Sept. 28-30 with more than 150 professionals in product development, materials science, and new technologies.

The conference will culminate on Sept. 30 with the presentation of the 2021 RISE® Innovation Award recognizing problem-solving innovations that advance the nonwovens industry.

The program includes presentations from industry leaders, round-table discussions and question-and-answer sessions on the key themes of material science developments for sustainable nonwovens, sustainability, increasing circularity in nonwovens, and promising innovations in nonwovens, processes and materials:

• Promising Materials Development Using PLA
  presented by Behnam Pourdeyhimi, Ph.D., William A. Klopman Distinguished Professor and Executive Director, North Carolina State University, The Nonwovens Institute
• Phantom Platform: The Polyolefin-cellulose Coformed Substrates Technology at Its Best, featuring insights from Fabio Zampollo, CEO, Teknoweb Materials S.r.l.
• Biotransformation Technology in Polyolefin Fibers and Nonwoven Fabrics, Focus on Fugitive Used Articles
  with speakers, DeeAnn Nelson, Ph.D., Development Program Manager, and Nick Carter, Vice-President of Marketing and Business Intelligence, both from Avgol Nonwovens
• High-Loft, Ultra-Soft Hygiene Solutions,
  presented by Paul Rollin, Ph.D., Global Team Lead – Nonwovens, ExxonMobil Chemical Company
• Innovating a Sustainable Future for Nonwovens; A European Perspective
  given by Matthew Tipper, Ph.D., Operations Director, Nonwovens Innovation & Research Institute Ltd., (NIRI), UK
• Filtration Media Functionalized with Zinc Oxide
  by Wai-shing Yung, Ph.D., Technical Director, Ascend Performance Materials

Outdoor apparel company Patagonia and circular fashion and textile technology group Infinited Fiber Company have signed a multiyear sales agreement for Infinited Fiber Company’s unique, premium-quality regenerated textile fiber Infinna™, which is created out of textile waste. The move marks a major milestone for both companies towards making textile circularity an everyday reality: The deal guarantees Patagonia access to the limited-supply fiber over the coming years and secures future sales income for Infinited Fiber Company as it ramps up production.

Infinna is a unique, virgin-quality regenerated textile fiber with the soft and natural look and feel of cotton. It is created from cotton-rich textile waste that is broken down at the molecular level and reborn as new fibers. Because it’s made of cellulose – a building block of all plants – Infinna is biodegradable and contains no microplastics to clog our seas. Clothes made with it can be recycled again in the same process together with other textile waste.

In April, Infinited Fiber Company announced plans to build a flagship factory in Finland to meet the growing demand for Infinna from global fashion brands. It is currently supplying customers from its R&D and pilot facilities in Espoo and Valkeakoski, Finland. The planned flagship factory will have an annual production capacity of 30,000 metric tons, which is enough fiber for roughly 100 million T-shirts made with 100% Infinna. Infinited Fiber Company expects to have sold the new factory’s entire output for several years during 2021.

More than 92 million metric tons of textile waste is produced globally every year and most of this ends up in landfills or incinerators. At the same time, textile fiber demand is increasing, with Textile Exchange estimating the global textile fiber market to grow 30% to 146 million metric tons by 2030 from 111 million metric tons in 2019. Infinited Fiber Company’s fiber regeneration technology, which uses cellulose-rich waste streams as its raw material, offers a solution both to stop waste from being wasted and to reduce the burden of the textile industry on the planet’s limited natural resources.

• Successful measures to fight against the COVID-19 pandemic with a focus on the safety and health of employees, customers and partners and securing sustainable business development
• Implementation of strategic investment projects and climate targets progressing on schedule – launch of first TENCEL™ branded carbon-zero fibers
• New level of transparency in the textile industry: introduction of blockchain technology
• Target setting: Lenzing raises the bar even higher and sets new sustainability goals

The Lenzing Group presented its Sustainability Report 2020 on April 22, 2021, World Earth Day. Featuring the title “Stand up for future generations”, Lenzing once again emphasized its commitment to taking responsibility beyond the products it makes. The non-financial report, prepared in accordance with the reporting standards of the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) and the Austrian Sustainability and Diversity Improvement Act (NaDiVeG) and reviewed by KPMG Austria GmbH Wirtschaftsprüfungs- und Steuerberatungsgesellschaft, illustrates how the company is responding to the global challenges of our time.

The 2020 financial year of the Lenzing Group was largely dominated by the COVID-19 pandemic. Lenzing took short-term measures to safeguard its business operations and mitigate the effects of fiber prices and fiber demand which came under increasing pressure. The priority was to protect employees and strengthen long-term partnerships with suppliers and customers. Following the current fight against the coronavirus and its consequences, the company continues to move ahead determinedly to achieve its sustainability targets, also against the backdrop of such a difficult market environment.

With the implementation of its science-based targets, the Lenzing Group actively contributes to mastering the problems caused by climate change. In 2019, Lenzing made a strategic commitment to reducing its greenhouse gas emissions by 50 percent per ton of product by 2030. The overriding target is to be climate-neutral by 2050.*

The launch of the first carbon-zero TENCEL™ fibers certified as CarbonNeutral® products in accordance with The CarbonNeutral Protocol – the leading global framework for carbon neutrality – represents another important milestone from the reporting year. As of June 2021, Lenzing will also market the first VEOCEL™ branded lyocell fibers as certified CarbonNeutral® products.

Promoting the circular economy
Lenzing also sets standards for the entire fiber, textile and clothing industry with respect to the circular economy which is of such crucial importance in climate and resource protection. In order to enhance resource efficiency and offer a solution for the global problem of textile waste, the company developed the REFIBRA™ recycling technology. REFIBRA™ is the only technology in the world enabling the production of new lyocell fibers on a commercial scale from cotton scraps derived from manufacturing cotton clothing as well as from used garments. In this way, an important contribution is made to promoting circularity in the textile industry.*

New level of transparency in the textile industry
In addition to environmental protection, the issue of transparency along the supply chain poses a major challenge to the textile industry. Working in cooperation with TextileGenesis™, Lenzing offers an innovative solution to ensure greater transparency on the basis of blockchain technology. Following several successful pilot projects with renowned fashion brands, this digital platform was ultimately launched in 2020 to enable the traceability of textiles, from the fiber to all stages of production and distribution. Thanks to the innovative Fibercoin™ technology of the TextileGenesis™ platform, Lenzing and its partners are able to issue so-called “blockchain assets” in direct proportion to the physical fiber deliveries of the brands TENCEL™ and LENZING™ ECOVERO™. These digital assets function like a “fingerprint” and thus prevent adulteration.*

Target setting: Lenzing raises the bar even higher
The Lenzing Group operates in line with three strategic principles within the context of its “Naturally positive” sustainability strategy: partnering for change, advancing circularity and greening the value chain.*

*See attached document for more information..

Intelligently designed clothes made with the latest manufacturing technology are the results of the partnership between on of the leading denim innovators ISKO and the Italian brand HIGH. A project, part of the SS2021 HIGH collection, is the start of collaboration in the pursuit of sustainable fashion.

Aimed at bringing a positive change both for the planet and its people, the project presents two pieces – jacket and pants – which embody HIGH’s approach to creativity and production: a wellbalanced mix of specialists’ expertise and a tireless investigation on the latest and most responsible fabric technologies. HIGH identified the R-TWO™ program as the right fabric ingredient, ideal to level up sustainability in its looks.

Relying on a blend of reused and recycled materials, this revolutionary platform works by embedding material circularity into the production process, designing waste out of the system and minimizing impact at scale. With fully traced reused cotton coming from ISKO’s production loss, which is prevented from becoming waste by adding it back into the spinning process, and an efficient use of polyester materials which are spun into newly recycled fibers, the program can provide certified to Textile Exchange environmental credentials. According to the percentage of material contained, these can be either the Content Claim Standard, Global Recycled Standard, Organic Content Standard or Recycled Claim Standard, ensuring better use of raw materials and resource efficiency while providing advanced concepts that don’t compromise on their look and performance.

Additionally, to meet HIGH’s performance needs, ISKO has brought to the table one of its most popular technologies, of course in its R-TWO™ version: Jeggings™, super-stretch denim technology. Soft and lightweight as leggings, it provides comfort with the look of authentic denim and provides the perfect, responsible solution to usher the partnership.

• Monforts customer Kipaş has been selected as the sole denim manufacturing partner in the €6.7 million European Union-funded New Cotton Project, involving the brands adidas and H&M, working in a consortium with suppliers, innovators and research institutes.

Kipaş, based in Kahramanmaraş, Turkey, is currently installing its third Monforts Montex stenter along with a third Monfortex compressive shrinkage system in a combined configuration dedicated to denim production.

This follows the successful installation and commissioning of the second Montex and Monfortex lines at the Kahramanmaraş plant in 2018, which Kipaş Vice Chairman of the Board Ahmet Öksüz said had immediately exceeded expectations.

“We performed a very thorough technical investigation based on the latest Industry 4.0 analysis before the purchase, to determine what we needed, and the Monforts technology met all our requirements,” he said, in an interview with Textilegence magazine. “The Monfortex is equipped with a variety of features not found on classical shrinkage machines and the production can be monitored from beginning to end. It also exceeded our expectations in energy cost savings.”

Kipaş subsequently received a special certificate from Monforts in recognition of its exceptional utilisation of the technology to its full potential.

The latest Montex stenter now being installed at Kipaş is a 12-chamber unit with a working width of 2 metres featuring all of the latest automation features. The Monfortex unit, also with a working width of 2 metres, is in a ‘double rubber’ configuration, comprising two compressive shrinkage units and two felt calenders in line. This allows the heat setting of elastane fibres and the residual shrinkage of the denim to be carried out simultaneously, for a significant increase in production speeds.

“Around 90-95% of denim fabric production now contains elastane fibres and the Monforts system has allowed us to simultaneously increase our production and quality in this respect,” Mr Öksüz said.

Regenerated cotton
For the next three years within the New Cotton Project, Kipaş will manufacture denim fabrics based on the cellulose-based fibres of Infinited Fiber Company of Finland, made from post-consumer textile waste that has been collected, sorted and regenerated.

The patented technology of Infinited, which is leading the consortium of 12 companies, turns cellulose-rich textile waste into fibres that look and feel like cotton.

“We are very excited and proud to lead this project which is breaking new ground when it comes to making circularity in the textile industry a reality,” said Infinited co-founder and CEO Petri Alava. “The enthusiasm and commitment with which the entire consortium has come together to work towards a cleaner, more sustainable future for fashion is truly inspiring.”

Take-back programmes
Adidas and H&M will establish take-back programmes to collect the clothing that is produced, to determine the next phase in their lifecycle. Clothing that can no longer be worn will be returned to Infinited, for regeneration into new fibres, further contributing to a circular economy in which textiles never go to waste, but instead are reused, recycled or turned into new garments.

The aim is to prove that circular, sustainable fashion can be achieved today, and to act as an inspiration and stepping stone to further, even bigger circular initiatives by the industry going forward.

The EU has identified the high potential for circularity within the textile industry, while simultaneously highlighting the urgent need for the development of technologies to produce and design sustainable and circular bio-based materials. Making sustainable products commonplace, reducing waste and leading global efforts on circularity are outlined in the European Commission’s Circular Economy Action Plan.

Fashion brands produce nearly twice as many clothes today as they did 20 years ago and demand is expected to continue growing. At the same time, the equivalent of one garbage truck of textiles is landfilled or burned every second. Most of the textile industry’s environmental problems relate to the raw materials used by the industry – cotton, fossil-based fibres such as polyester, and viscose as the most common man-made cellulosic fibre, are all associated with serious environmental concerns.