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Germany's Freudenberg develops more sustainable Evolon RE

06 Jul '21

3 min read

Pic: Freudenberg

Freudenberg has developed Evolon RE - an even more sustainable version of its high-performance microfilament textiles. Evolon RE is manufactured from an average of 70 per cent recycled polyester, which the company makes by recycling post-consumer PET bottles in-house. It can be used for various purposes including high-tech wiping and technical packaging.

Evolon RE is available in weights currently ranging from 80g/sqm to 300g/sqm. It offers the same high and constant quality as all other Evolon textiles. This applies to mechanical and textile properties as well as to filtration, cleaning and protection properties. The use of recycled materials in production of Evolon textiles without sacrificing product performance underlines Freudenberg´s technological know-how.

Jean-Francois Kerhault, business segment manager Evolon, says: “We have more than 20 years of experience with Evolon technology. Our technical teams are real experts in this demanding process, and it is thanks to their knowledge that we were able to overcome the challenge of integrating recycled PET from post-consumer bottles into our products."

Evolon fabrics are very durable in most applications. The products are washable and re-usable and a very good substitute for disposable solutions. For example, high-tech Evolon cleaning cloths offer an unrivalled cleaning performance even after hundreds of washings. Technical packaging materials can be reused throughout the entire production programme of a car model. Evolon fabrics are also lightweight, which saves raw materials compared to most existing conventional products.

Since Evolon was launched in 1999, Freudenberg has continuously increased the sustainability of both the product and its production process. For example, no solvents or chemical binders are used during the manufacture of Evolon. In 2003, the company set up an internal reprocessing system for hydroentanglement water and was an early adopter of ISO 50001 in 2012. Thanks to its certified energy management system, Freudenberg is also able to continuously reduce its CO2 emissions. The production of Evolon from post-consumer recycled polyester represents a new milestone in the efforts to increase sustainability.

Freudenberg was one of the first companies in Europe to recycle used PET bottles, beginning in the early 1990s. Today, the company utilises around 7 million PET bottles a day in the manufacture of polyester nonwovens.

By recycling PET bottles, Freudenberg is utilising waste as a raw material. On the one hand, this helps to reduce the burden of landfilling and incineration. On the other, replacing primary raw materials by recycled polyester of the same quality saves natural resources. It also reduces energy consumption, resulting in less CO2 emissions, waste and waste water.

Fibre2Fashion News Desk (SV)