Pontetorto wins award for wood-based polyester fleece

Italian textile manufacturer Pontetorto has received the Performance Days Eco Award for its Fleece 6140/Biobased, a polyester microfleece incorporating wood-derived feedstock from Finnish company UPM through a mass-balance system. The material demonstrates an approach to incorporating renewable raw materials into polyester production.

According to Pontetorto, the biobased polyester uses feedstock derived from wood-industry residues, including small branches, leaves and sawmill byproducts. The company states that the wood comes from forests certified under Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) and Programme for the Endorsement of Forest Certification (PEFC) standards.

Under the mass-balance approach, renewable and fossil-based raw materials can be processed together, with a corresponding share of the finished material attributed to renewable feedstock through an accounting system rather than physical separation throughout production.

Pontetorto says Fleece 6140/Biobased has a lower carbon footprint than conventional polyester while maintaining comparable comfort and performance. UPM began commercial production at its biorefinery in Leuna, Germany, in late 2025, manufacturing renewable glycols used in polyester production as alternatives to ingredients typically derived from fossil fuels.