“Closed loop meets textile industry 4.0”: Sympatex to present ultimate “functional jacket 4.0” at OutDoor 2017
David Bacci, extreme mountaineer and Greenpeace activist, develops the must-have criteria for the first prototype together with bloggers and influencers during a two-day design hackathon*.
Friedrichshafen / Munich, 23 May 2017 “How do you imagine the ultimate functional jacket 4.0?” Sympatex Technologies investigated this question during a two-day design hackathon together with a group of 20 outdoor bloggers and influencers at Mittenwald Hut on 18 and 19 May. The answer: attractive style and individual colouring as well as numerous design gadgets are combined with functional materials meeting the highest ecological requirements. David Bacci, extreme mountaineer and Greenpeace activist, as well as Joe Stocker, clothing designer, supported the “closed loop meets textile industry 4.0” project as mentors and experts. Just in time for OutDoor 2017 (18 – 21 June) in Friedrichshafen, the “functional jacket 4.0” will be presented to a broad audience at the Sympatex booth (hall A3, booth 208) as well as at the official outdoor blogger breakfast on 20 June.
End customers can directly purchase the functional jacket on the www.closingtheloop.de landing page from 18 June onwards, which has been especially created for this purpose. They have the opportunity to configure their personal favourite jacket from different colour samples and design elements. All options were jointly developed at the Sympatex design hackathon.
The material basis of the jacket is a 100% recycled laminate from the current Sympatex portfolio. The membrane whose production waste is completely reused via the Sympatex pre-consumer recycling consists of 100% polyether-ester and is produced in a completely climate neutral way just like the textiles as well. The 100% recycled outer fabrics and linings consist of polyester fibres certified by GRS (global recycled standard) and bluesign®. Compared to 1 kg of oil-based polyester fibres, the production of 1 kg of recycled polyester fibres guarantees an excellent life cycle assessment: 32% CO2 reduction, 60% energy savings and 94% less water consumption. Instead of 60 litres, only about 3 litres of this rare resource are needed here.
Due to the colouring by means of digital print, no traditional wet colouring is required, i.e. Sympatex achieves reduced water consumption — with at the same time sheer unlimited opportunities for individual design. And the functional jacket is 100% recyclable and can thus be spun out to new fibres at the end of its wear time with the help of an upcycling procedure. For this reason, you will find an integrated return print with the Sympatex company address inside of the jacket. It is directly sent to a plastic recycler which allows for spinning out the PES fibres and consequently closing the loop with a constant reusable material level at the same time.
“Our closed loop meets textile industry 4.0 lighthouse project deals with the development of a customizable, recycled and in turn recyclable functional jacket 4.0. We are not going to produce an own collection in the future, but we want to give an example of all already available opportunities that can be implemented already today in terms of ecology”, explains Dr. Rüdiger Fox, CEO of Sympatex Technologies. “This project combines highest clothing performance and fashion style with at the same time optimised sustainability and we invite the entire industry to replicate these technological opportunities unscrupulously that are available already today”, adds Fox.
*Hackathon = neologism from“hack” and “marathon”, the term originally stems from software development. The goal of a hackathon is to jointly produce useful, creative or entertaining (software) products during this event. See also https://en.wkipedia.org/wiki/Hackathon
Sonja Zajontz
Head of PR
Sympatex Technologies GmbH
Feringastraße 7A
85774 Unterföhring
Mail sonja.zajontz@sympatex.com
T +49 89 940058 300
www.sympatex.com
About Sympatex
Guaranteed Green – The Sympatex recyclable membrane
As one of the worldwide leading producers, Sympatex® Technologies has been a synonym for high-tech functional materials in clothing, footwear, accessories and technical fields of application since 1986. Together with selected partners, Sympatex develops, produces and distributes membranes, laminates and functional textiles as well as finished products worldwide. The Sympatex membrane is highly breathable, 100% wind- and waterproof and regulates the climate. It is 100% recyclable, bluesign® certified, and it received the 'Oeko-Tex-Standard 100' certificate. It is also PTFE-free and PFC-free. The technologies and procedures are based on the principles of ecological responsibility and sustainability with a special focus on the optimal carbon footprint. Sympatex is represented worldwide with sales offices and branches. www.sympatex.com
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