Vaude to use sustainable chemicals

Through a new partnership with UPM Biochemicals, VAUDE hopes to push its ranges towards an ever more sustainable level by using bio-based chemicals. VAUDE has established a reputation as an apparel company seeking to decrease its environmental impact.

UPM is aware of how difficult it is for the textile and footwear sectors to find alternatives to the polyester and polyurethane they use in their products. According to reports, the fashion industry today uses materials consisting of about 60% of fossil-based polymers. As part of the effort to replace fossil raw materials in the textile value chain, UPM will create new, climate-neutral materials from biomass derived from sustainably managed forests.

UPM and VAUDE will work closely together to create what they claim is the first fleece jacket ever created from wood-based polyester. The fleece jacket will “help close the gap between recycled fibers and sustainable virgin fibers and take performance fashion beyond fossil fuels,” according to its marketing copy, which calls it “a small step with big impact.”

Monoethylene glycol (MEG), which is usually derived from crude oil, makes up 30% of the resin required to create polyester. This chemical will be totally replaced in the UPM and VAUDE process by a new bio-monoethylene glycol (BioMEG), UPM’s BioPuraTM. Given that it is molecularly identical to the MEG presently in use, BioPuraTM is a drop-in solution that is simple to integrate into current polyester manufacturing processes.

According to the duo, fostering sustainable ideas across multiple industries requires partnerships across the entire value chain. At its German facility in Guben, chemical company Indorama Ventures will in this instance polymerize and spin a polyester yarn containing UPM’s BioPuraTM BioMEG. Then, this yarn will be transformed by Pontetorto, a renowned textile producer in Prato, Italy, into a cutting-edge, bio-based polyester fabric that VAUDE will utilize to create the finished garment.

Michael Duetsch, Vice President Biochemicals at UPM said, “This partnership shows that transformative steps in the chemical industry towards renewable materials are possible now.”

The most extensively used fiber worldwide is polyester. However, only 14.8% of current production comes from recycled feedstocks like PET bottles. And only 1% of the fabric used to make apparel is recycled to make new clothing. A fantastic chance is to select a sustainable feedstock.

The world’s first industrial scale biorefinery will be built in Leuna, Germany, thanks to a 750 million euro investment from UPM. In Leuna, UPM will transform hardwood that has been sustainably harvested and certified into next-generation biochemicals that will facilitate the critical transition from fossil-based to renewable materials across a variety of industries. With a target start-up date of the end of 2023, the biorefinery plans to generate 220,000 tons annually in total.