Partnership aims to inspire fashion brands to move away from fossil materials and accelerates change for more sustainability in the industry: joint development of a fleece jacket made of bio-based polyester from forest biomass
UPM Biochemicals and VAUDE, a sustainable and innovative outdoor clothing supplier, will produce outerwear from bio-based chemicals and demonstrate that the textile industry can shift to renewable materials today.
The textile and footwear industry is facing a major challenge to find more sustainable solutions to petroleum-based polyester and polyurethane production. Currently, about 60% of all materials used in the fashion industry are made from fossil polymers. That is why UPM is working with strong partners to develop new, climate-neutral materials made from sustainably sourced forest biomass.
In close cooperation, UPM and VAUDE will now produce the first fleece jacket made from wood-based polyester. A small step with a big impact to close the gap between recycled fibres and sustainable newly sourced fibres and develop performance fashion beyond fossils.
The resin used to make polyester contains 30% monoethylene glycol (MEG), traditionally derived from petroleum. In UPM and VAUDE's process, this ingredient is now completely replaced by a new bio-monoethylene glycol (BioMEG), BioPura™ from UPM. BioPura™ is a drop-in solution: it can be easily integrated into existing polyester production as it is molecularly identical to its fossil-based counterpart.
Partnerships along the entire value chain are a prerequisite for promoting sustainable innovations in various industries. As part of the process, Indorama Ventures, one of the world's leading chemical companies, will polymerise and spin a polyester yarn containing UPM's BioPuraTM BioMEG at its German site in Guben. In a second step, Pontetorto, a leading textile manufacturer based in Prato, Italy, will then process this yarn into a novel bio-based polyester fabric that VAUDE will use to make the garment.
"This partnership shows that transformative steps in the chemical industry towards renewable materials are now possible," says Michael Duetsch, Vice President Biochemicals at UPM.
"With VAUDE, we are prototyping a world beyond fossils and proving that the next level of sustainable textiles is possible now. VAUDE is an example of moving away from petroleum-based textiles and reducing emissions that the entire industry needs to follow."
Polyester is the most widely used textile fibre in the world, but only 14.8 % of the material is currently obtained from recycled raw materials such as PET bottles. And even less than one percent of the material used to make clothing is recycled into new clothing. Choosing a sustainable raw material is therefore a great opportunity.
"Sustainability and product longevity go hand in hand: VAUDE products are characterised by a timeless design, robust materials and easy reparability. However, a product only becomes truly sustainable when it is used for as long as possible," says René Bethmann, Senior Innovation Manager at VAUDE.
"By integrating UPM's bio-based materials, we can further explore and use the possibilities of the circular economy. This means using less, sourcing raw materials from the most renewable sources possible and ensuring that the product can remain in the value chain after its useful life."
UPM BioPura™ is produced in Leuna, where UPM has invested EUR 750 million in the construction of the world's first industrial-scale biorefinery. There, sustainably sourced, certified biomass will be converted into next-generation biochemicals that enable the switch from fossil to renewable materials in a wide range of industries. The biorefinery is expected to produce a total of 220 000 tonnes per year and be operational by the end of 2023.
