TWSpecial Report
more and more customers are also paying attention to sustainability when it comes to fashion and clothing. But garments are more than fabric — after all, there are also yarns, fibers and applications such as zippers. All the better if they are also made from the same biobased solutions: from biobased VESTAMID® Terra.
“The zipper is a rather complicated product,” said Gabriele Mosso, suspecting that his comments will probably surprise some people. This everyday object, that’s so familiar to us all, which we have relied upon for so long to close jackets, bags or bed linen — undoubtedly an ingenious concept, but: complicated, really?
“It’s a fascinating object,” Mosso affirmed. As head of the Italy-based zipper manufacturer Nyguard for 15 years, he calls himself a “zipper maniac” with a wink and knows what he’s talking about. For a zipper to function smoothly a lot of detailed work is required, the right material, the exact shape. The teeth must mesh smoothly, must not get stuck, must not falter. And the fastener must literally integrate seamlessly into the tape. The idea for the zipper was born 125 years ago, at that time using sliding metal clasps. But the first versions all failed because they were cumbersome or quickly snagged. “In recent decades not much has changed about the basic idea for zips,” Mosso said. But the details have. Today, the clasp is mostly made of plastic and the strap is also synthetic.
循环是目标
This is where material development meets sustainability. More and more consumers feel a lot more comfortable when they feel that their consumption is not contributing to growing mountains of waste. So what could sustainable fashion look like? Recycling garments would be one variant: “Recycling materials is generally difficult when different materials are firmly bonded together,” Mosso said. That’s as true for composite packaging as it is in this case for pants with zippers. Different types of synthetic textiles and accessories are difficult to properly separate.
The same applies for certificates of origin for these various individual parts. The apparel industry is well-known for sourcing numerous components from completely different countries and production locations — from yarn, to buttons and zippers. “The latest challenge in textile is to achieve a complete traceability and circularity in value-chain. A process in which all the synthetic textiles and accessories could be recycled together” said Alan Garosi, head of Marketing at Fulgar, the Italy-based manufacturer from which Nyguard obtains the yarn for its zipper tapes.
莫索（Mosso）意识到这一点，“为什么不将拉链从与附加胶带相同的材料中取出呢？当然可以从塑料中使用，但是为什么不从更可持续的生物基塑料中来。甚至更好：从适合制作完整服装的材料中？”这至少将使我们更接近回收服装的可能性。即使在实现这一愿景之前还有很长的路要走，因为仍然必须发明服装回收的一些细节 - 将创建制造商的先决条件。
Striking The Nerve Of The Times
正是这样的订单,户外and luxury clothing, that Fulgar also sees the close cooperation with Nyguard’s zipper manufacturers as a real benefit: “After all, we also have to think about the end of life of our products,” Garosi said. “If it becomes easier to recycle a garment, then that’s a meaningful thing for all sides.” That, in turn, pays into the larger issue of sustainability.
“A few years ago, companies were interested in sustainable zippers but not yet willing to pay for them,” Mosso added — an experience that matches that of Fulgar. But now, that has changed, and in 2020 in particular, demand has increased significantly. For Mosso, this is proof that his decision to fully focus on biobased plastics was the right one.
In the meantime, he is increasingly approaching customers with custom-made model designs of combinations of zipper and yarn, both of which are made using VESTAMID Terra. “We’re sort of doubling our sales strength there,” Mosso said. “It’s true co-marketing. And it’s highly successful because it hits just the right nerve.” Especially since, to his knowledge, he remains the only supplier currently offering zippers made from biobased materials. “That’s because we were early adopters of it, and our production process is already very well set up for it.” He winks. The zipper — that is, after all, a thoroughly complicated product in some details.
创建目标利基市场
经过一些市场研究，加布里埃尔·莫索（Gabriele Mosso）在埃文克（Evonik）找到了他想要的东西。该专业化学公司的Vestamid Terra是完全由生物基材料制成的尼龙，确切地说是蓖麻油。这是许多动物不可食用的原材料，因此不被用作食物来源或动物饲料。此外，由于被称为“奇迹树”的植物可容忍干燥的土壤和干旱，因此可再生原材料的种植不会与用于种植食物的土地竞争。这使其成为用于生物基溶液中的理想植物。在Nyguard，大约四年前做出了朝这个方向持续发展的决定。莫索说：“无论如何，我们都无法与真正的大公司竞争 - 因此我们故意为自己创造了一个利基市场。”Nyguard偶尔仍会用塑料产生拉链，而不是生物生物的：“但是可再生原材料的比例正向100％转向100％。”
Cooperation With Yarn Producer Fulgar
Another special idea of Mosso’s, also contributes to this successful conversion: He has sought cooperation with textile manufacturers in order to help convince his customers of using only products that are made of just one material. In this case, with Fulgar.
“赢创的塑料是一个极好的垫ch for the polyamide we had been using,” Alan Garosi said. That’s because spinning a yarn from plastic requires detailed knowledge and expert experience. “Especially for high-quality textiles, plastic yarns need a high level of quality and purity,” he adds. Fulgar entered into a close exchange with Evonik, and both sides learned from each other as he describes: ”After a whole series of trials, we had found the formulation that worked best for us.” As a marketing executive with twelve years of experience at Fulgar and a long-term commitment to sustainability in textiles, he adds, “I’m watching the market and noticing a significant shift toward sustainability in the fashion and apparel industry in recent years.”
Textiles Made Using Bio-Based Fibers: Is It Possible?
最初，这只是Fulgar客户的奇怪兴趣：由生物基础解决方案制成的纺织品 - 这是可能的，它会是什么样？加洛西指出：“但是大约三年来，这个话题一直在广泛地掌握。”在高级部分中尤其如此。Fulgar每年生产3600万公斤的纱线，在这里，它在高科技纱线领域以及可持续材料中都取名了，即使这些材料仍然占相对较小的份额。Fulgar从Vestamid Terra生产的纱线以品牌名称“Evo®by Fulgar”销售，这是对Evonik的优雅，艺术的点头。
“ Fulgar是第一家认识到由Vestamid Terra制成的纺织品机会的公司，” Filaments经理Johannes Krampe在Evonik的高性能聚合物业务系列中说。反过来，埃文克（Evonik）是市场上第一家对生物基塑料（例如vestamid Terra）可能应用领域进行更广泛思考的公司：“我们确实注意到该行业中的可持续性主题现在有多少，” Krampe，”说。正如Krampe所说的那样，越来越多的公司“不要成为丢弃社会的一部分”。
工厂的植物产品
“Particularly among customers, the term polyamide is still anchored in their minds as something artificial,” Garosi noted. After all, the term “plastic” already expresses that. “For many, it’s not very easy to understand that something made in a factory is actually a thoroughly plant-based thing.” In this regard, Fulgar was particularly excited about the fact that VESTAMID Terra is a 100 percent biobased material — and that its cultivation is not in competition with food production. “Many other fibers are made from sugar cane or similar materials that do place demands on the land. That’s one of the really central strengths and advantages of VESTAMID Terra,” Garosi said.
但是对于纱线生产商来说，Vestamid Terra提供了更多优势。Garosi阐述说：“合成纤维在水分管理和覆盖范围方面也非常出色。”凭借由其制成的相对轻巧的织物，佩戴者感觉更好地保护了风和寒冷。此外，与可比的基于石化的尼龙相比，湿润底层的水分蒸发更好。这使Vestamid Terra成为运动和户外服装以及内衣的有趣替代品。Garosi说：“但是我们现在也从夜间服装和豪华时尚的制片人那里进行了询问。”在这一细分市场中，Fulgar由于其高质量的生产而连接得很好。两年前，Fulgar甚至将其EVO纱提供给了鞋类制造商。
2021年6月15日
