Vaude and UPM Biochemicals in Joint Venture for Bio-based Polyester
Hoping to set an example for the textile industry as it inches toward sustainability, UPM Biochemicals and Vaude, a German supplier of outdoor apparel, will launch a line of outerwear made from bio-based chemicals.
First up will be a fleece jacket made from wood-based polyester, a small step meant to begin closing the gap between recycled fibers and sustainable virgin ones.
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It will be made from a new bio-monoethylene glycol (BioMEG) called BioPura, formulated by UPM to replace the traditional monoethylene glycol in polyester that is made from crude oil. BioPura has the same molecular structure as the MEG being used currently so is therefore easily added to existing polyester manufacturing processes.
BioPura will be a component in a polyester yarn that will be polymerized and spun by chemical company Indorama Ventures at its German facility in Guben. The yarn will then be woven into a new kind of bio-based polyester fabric by Pontetorto, a textile weaver in Prato, Italy. That fabric will go into the making of the new fleece jackets by Vaude, which has always been an active in moving the textile sector into sustainability and circularity.
To Michael Duetsch, vice president of biochemical at UPM, this will advance the shift away from petroleum-based textiles.
“We are prototyping a world beyond fossils with Vaude, proving that the next level of sustainable textiles is possible,” he said. “Vaude sets an example in breaking away from oil-based textiles and reducing emissions that the whole world must follow.”
René Bethmann, Vaude’s senior innovation manager, noted how making polyester from recycled feedstock is key to sustainability and adds to the life of a garment.
“Sustainability and product longevity go hand in hand,” he said. “By incorporating UPM’s bio-based materials, we are able to further explore and unlock the power of renewable circularity—to use less, source from renewable sources, and ensure the product can remain in the value chain after its useful life.”
Polyester is the world’s most widely used fiber, yet only 14.8 percent is derived from recycled feedstock. UPM is further trying to rectify that with the investment of $822.4 million into an industrial scale biorefinery in Leuna, Germany, where it will convert sustainably sourced, certified hardwood into next-generation biochemicals. The target date for the start-up of the new refinery is the end of 2023. It is expected to produce 220,000 tons of the wood-based product annually.
