manager_1 New Zealand’s Icebreaker has teamed up with Spinnova, a material tech company, to develop fully circular mid-layer products made of merino wool or Spinnova fibre.
Spinnova is a VF-owned, ethically and sustainable natural performance apparel company. Together they are embarking on a joint sustainability adventure to create a mid-layer product that has a low environmental footprint but still offers high performance.
This product is made from merino wool which is a natural, renewable, and biodegradable fiber. Spinnova is added to create a fully circular fibre. The yarn can be separated and re-used without the need to add any new raw material. Spinnova fibre is a great companion to merino. It also has excellent insulation properties.
The blend Spinnova/Icebreaker is now being tested for mid-layer products. It is comfortable, sustainable, and completely circular. The yarn can be separated after use by consumers and reused. This is according to both companies in a statement.
Spinnova uses 99.5 percent less water than cotton and emits 65 percent less CO2 than cotton from cradle-to-gate. Spinnova’s mechanical process of obtaining its raw material, wood pulp allows for the fibers to be easily remade mechanically without any quality loss or harmful chemicals.
Spinnova and VF-brand Icebreaker team up to create circular mid-layer performance products
Janne Poranen (Spinnova chief executive officer and co-founder) said that he was proud of the collaboration and is excited to continue experimenting with how Spinnova can combat climate change as both an environmentally friendly new material and a disruptively circular material that can be made over and over.
This partnership also shows the versatility of Spinnova fibre, which can be used to replace or complement many materials, from outdoor wear to high fashion and everyday wear. Spinnova was previously blended with cotton. KT Trading, Spinnova’s partner, is currently producing Spinnova fibre from leather waste.
Alistair Smith, global product design director at Icebreaker, said: “Nature, our hero and our source for inspiration – we were thrilled to discover about Spinnova’s approach towards fibre spinning that mimics the natural processes of nature.”
“In addition, this shared source is of inspiration, there’s the possibility to recycle Spinnova again and again into a new fiber making this disruptively circular. This partnership allows us to develop circular business models and promote sustainable design.”
Icebreaker is the second VF Corp company to partner with Spinnova. The Finnish sustainable textile company Icebreaker signed an agreement with The North Face earlier this year to develop high-performance, durable textiles for outdoor apparel.
