Toray to sell recycled products made from fishing net

Toray Industries, Inc. announced that starting in March 2023, it will start selling yarns, fabrics, and other items made from nylon 6 chemically recycled fiber (N6CR) in Japan. These products will utilize Refineverse Group, Inc.’s recycled plastics and other materials, which are made from salvaged fishing nets, along with Toray’s depolymerization and repolymerization technology.

Toray anticipates that sales of N6CR products will increase from roughly 800 million yen on March 31, 2023, to 1.2 billion yen on March 31, 2025.

At its Nagoya Plant, Toray installed a new production system this year that can recognize virgin raw materials derived from fossil sources. This system includes a facility for recycling lactam storage tanks and resin made from recovered fishing nets. This setup will speed efforts to build a sophisticated fiber-to-fiber recycling business and contribute to a circular economy by recycling nylon 6 fiber products.

Environmental, social, and governance issues are of growing interest to people all around the world. Eco-friendly clothing products and materials are becoming more and more popular. Demand for moving away from petrochemical feedstocks and for resource conservation is growing rapidly in industrial applications.

With the help of its new N6CR plant, Toray will be able to overcome technological obstacles and expand its selection of nylon fibers for clothing that are high-performing and valuable. The company aims to increase sales of eco-friendly, lightweight materials for legwear, innerwear, and sports and outdoor wear.

Automotive components, ropes, fishing nets, carpets, and other materials used in general industry are typical uses for industrial nylon fiber. Toray’s initiative will encourage the use of sustainable resources and reduce environmental impacts across a range of industrial industries.

By working with clients on projects to sell goods containing its N6CR materials, Toray will grow its advanced fiber to fiber recycling business. These initiatives will be in line with the business’s dedication to developing concepts, tools, and goods that provide value.

To assist the world manage resources sustainably by 2050 is one of the objectives of the Toray Group Sustainability Vision. Toray will therefore continue to pursue that objective to assist in eradicating resource depletion and marine pollution caused by vast volumes of waste, reduce carbon dioxide emissions, and take on other issues.