Spinning solutions for sustainability today

Kurt Haselwander

Going green is a phenomenon taking hold in industries across many supply chains today. Growers of natural fibre including Wool, Alpaca, and Cashmere have been embracing ecologically responsible practices for some time. Processors and manufacturers using these fibres are being swept up in this ground swell.

‘The process of developing a very specific yarn for a very specific application, with a certification level nominated by the customer, requires the entire chain to work together. This is why we believe that spinning together yields the best solutions. The superior natural credentials of the natural fibres we use and the methods of process we use provide a firm focus on good sustainable outcomes,’ says Kurt Haselwander, CEO at the Schoeller the Spinning Group. The company can offer yarn that achieves a number of levels in certification including Bluesign® GOTS, EU Ecolabel, IVN, ISO, Nativa, RWS, Eco-Tex

Smart solutions for sustainability today

Standard and Global Recycled Standards. ‘We are committed to sustainable development goals and subscribe to the 17 Sustainable Development Goals (DSDG) set out be the United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs’, he says. ‘We offer four main product types in their wool yarn selection, providing certification at levels selected by each client for our yarns that include Pure Wool (GOTS); Pure Wool (Nativa); Merino-Tencel (EXP chlorine free processing); Alpaca-Merino (Zero 100)’. Schoeller’s Alpaca Nature brand is a yarn that is blended using undyed merino and fine undyed alpaca.The untreated fibres are sorted based on their colour. This allows melange colours to be created that do not require dyes or quantities of water for dyeing. The program got off to a successful start in the sustainable fashion sector and has been adopted with surprisingly good results in the upholstery and automotive sectors. Natural colours are a huge advantage for sustainability, or as many people say, “a new level of sustainability (NLS)”. The high level of interest from the market in the Schoeller NLS products is supported by the use in the automotive industry. This natural alpaca NLS thread yarn is used in seating fabric. This is a further step in sustainability

Smart solutions for sustainability today

in interiors for the automotive sector. ‘We provide a stock service for flat knitting, upholstery and automotive use’, says Kurt Haselwander. ‘Some European brands are also using our Alpaca Nature for alpaca garments at the high end of the fashion industry. Thanks to these sustainable arguments, Alpaca Nature won the Sustainability Award at the Performance Days Fair in Munich ‘. ‘The functional qualities of our ACTIVE and PROGRESS yarn brands make them some of our most popular products, working very well for SEAMLESS use. Superfine Merino is blended with polyamide or Tencel using Superwash or EXP according to client specification’, says Kurt Haselwander. It feels dry even when saturated, keeps the wearer warm even when wet, and is odour-retardant. It is the most natural and functional of fibres. Thanks to the smart blend, Progress is fully degradable within a period of around one year. Active, in its most sustainable variant, has a proportion of degradable polyamide and can therefore also degrade without leaving any negative residue in the environment’.

Schoeller’s patented EXP wool treatment has been developed to produce washable wool without chlorine. Tumble drying is also possible. EXP completely avoids the use of chlorine, using natural salts as an oxidization agent. ‘It is a truly all-round sustainable innovation that we use for our yarn that is recognised by EU Ecolabel, Bluesign, GOTS, RWS, and Oeko-Tex,’ says Kurt Haselwander.

‘For us, sustainability does not end with the end product’, Kurt Haselwander continues. Schoeller is working on various projects that deals with production- and post-consumer waste. Concrete products are already available from processed wool waste for the automotive and upholstery sectors. A process for which Schoeller has applied for a patent, for example, in which leather or degradable composites can be produced from wool waste, still looks innovative and new. ‘Sustainability is an important feature to all of our product lines. This applies to sourcing the most appropriate wool, to the technical design, yarn manufacture, and final garment production. A well thought out process of expertise and collaboration creates the perfect combination of sustainable fashion and function‘.