Teijin Cordley, WR Supply collaborate to enhance artificial leather industry

Teijin Cordley Limited and WR Supply Inc. have announced a partnership to develop a new way of recycling release paper from making artificial leather. This process will use recycled paper materials to create the base paper for this release paper. This means that the used release paper can also be recycled into new base paper and other paper products. This collaboration will help reduce carbon emissions and promote recycling, which is a significant step for Japan.

Teijin Cordley is a part of the Teijin Frontier Group and focuses on creating high-quality artificial leather. WR Supply is a company that specializes in environmentally-friendly products and environmental consulting. Teijin Cordley has been working on producing environmentally-friendly products like artificial leather base fabrics from recycled materials and using water-based polyurethane without harmful chemicals. Teijin Cordley and WR Supply will start recycling used release paper with Rengo Co., Ltd., which specializes in corrugated board, paperboard, and packaging. This will begin at the end of 2023. Both companies aim to contribute to a society that focuses on recycling and sustainability.

The release paper used in making artificial leather consists of a base paper and a resin coating. This resin helps create patterns and textures on the artificial leather. In this collaboration, Teijin Cordley will gather used release paper from its artificial leather production. Rengo will then recycle and process this used release paper and make EB Series base paper using WR Supply’s patent. This recycled release paper will be used for different types of paperboard. WR Supply will sell the EB Series base paper to companies that make release papers. Teijin Cordley will then buy release paper made with EB Series base paper for its artificial leather production.

WR Supply has a special process that allows recycled paper to dissolve in water, avoiding the need for heat and chemicals. This method reduces carbon emissions by around 60 percent during manufacturing, and it doesn’t require cutting down more trees. This process is especially significant because it can help save trees. For example, replacing 10,000 meters of regular base paper with EB Series base paper can save about 100 acacia trees. By recycling the base paper part of used release paper from artificial leather, Teijin Cordley will reduce carbon emissions from burning by about 100 tons every year and decrease the amount of industrial waste from used release paper by 80 percent annually. Despite being made from recycled paper, EB Series base paper maintains the same quality as regular base paper.