New circular nonwoven offers better sustainability

Nonwoven created from recycled raw materials are in high demand from customers. A new climate -friendly nonwoven is now available, made of recycled polypropylene – the raw material most often used in nonwovens. It is more cost-effective and easier to enter the manufacturing process compared to previous sustainable nonwoven alternatives.

Many of our customers are working hard to improve in order to become increasingly sustainable. Nonwoven from recycled raw material is a good way for these companies to reduce their burden on the climate while creating market advantages in, for example, branding. In many industries, well-developed sustainability work is a complete must.

In addition, many customers cannot use organic alternatives to nonwoven as their products must offer a long life and withstand extremely tough and humid conditions. We see this in healthcare, construction, absorbents and filtration, to name a few.

Replacing original nonwoven

Many of our customers are looking for alternatives that are more sustainable than the nonwoven materials they are using today. The challenge has for long been that the sustainable alternatives have not been able to replace the nonwoven already in use. The properties of the original nonwoven have been difficult or impossible to imitate with sustainable alternatives. In many cases, even the raw material used when producing the nonwoven has been impossible to recycle and/or reuse.

Climate-improved option

For a long time, we have seen that the trend has increased with recycled polyester from, for example, used PET bottles. Scandinavian Nonwoven has for several years offered both needle felt and spunbond based on r-PET.

The big news is that we also offer recycled polypropylene, which is a sought-after and common raw material, also called r-PP. The interest in this raw material is great because the use is so widespread, while the prices are significantly lower than, for example, bio-polymers such as PLA.

Check PIR and PCR

It is also worth mentioning that if you look at recycled nonwovens, it is important to distinguish between PCR (Post Consumer Recycling) and PIR (Post Industry Recycling). Often, PCR is considered to give the most lasting sustainable effect.

In the case of nonwovens created from raw materials classified as PIR, it may be a good idea to ensure how that recycling has taken place. In some cases, it is waste from own production that is reused. Normally, waste is recycled continuously during the production process, but here it is instead collected on pile and then only "recycled" material is run. This makes the environmental benefit limited because it means that the raw material in the real sense has no longer history than other nonwovens used in the same manufacturing process.

Raw material labeled PCR is material that previously has been in other products and has thus been out at the consumer level. The raw material could, for example, have been used for packaging before being recycled, sorted and turned into PP granules that are used in the manufacturing of spunbond or fibers. Using this type of recycled nonwoven often produces a more impactful climate effect.

We offer Scandinavia's largest range of nonwovens and in many cases we help our customers develop tailor-made materials adapted to their specific needs. If you want help finding more sustainable and climate-friendly alternatives to your current nonwoven, contact us via info@nonwoven.se. You can also visit our website.