BANGKOK - Indorama Ventures has teamed up with Auping and TWE Group to deliver a fully circular initiative by closing the loop in mattress design, manufacturing and recycling across nonwoven applications.
On show at Techtextil, the collaboration and innovation presents a certified cradle to cradle process that includes the inclusion of safe raw materials within mattress manufacturing that allows the materials to be easily disassembled at the product’s end of use in order to be further reused as same components or recycled into new raw material at the same quality level.
The manufacturing process begins with design, where the mattress is constructed using only two different base materials, 100% PET polyester textiles and steel wire pocket springs connected with Niaga, a non toxic reversible adhesive, making the mattress easy to disassemble and recover.
Auping collects, sorts and separates the collected fabrics, which then go to IVL Mullagh for processing, melting and extrusion to form polyester staple fibre. These staple fibres are then converted by TWE Group into nonwovens for use in Auping’s Evolve mattress, the world’s first fully circular mattress. Following the end of mattress use, the material recovery process simply starts again.
Auping estimates that annually more than 40 million mattresses are disposed of in Europe alone, the majority of which are incinerated. Their take back system in the Netherlands ensures that when their new mattress is delivered, the old mattress is retrieved and recycled, irrespective of the brand, ensuring existing materials are continually optimized, diverted from landfill and kept in use to achieve a circular economy.
“We measure ourselves by our customers’ success," said Chris Kenneally, Executive President Fibers at IVL explains. "Through expert collaboration, unparalleled innovation and attention to quality we aim to exceed their expectations. Our strategy to strengthening our collaborations are aligned with our long-term sustainability objectives and we can further our commitment to increase recycled content as we advance circularity together in the sector.”
Geert Doorlag, Researcher on sustainability, sleep and ergonomics at Auping added: “The transformation from a linear to a circular production requires patience and dedication, but also a strong drive to make a difference. Partnerships are very important to us. We strongly believe in the importance of sharing knowledge and trying to translate insights – like in the field of sustainability - into relevant solutions, in cooperation with other parties.”