Freudenberg – a global technology group dedicated to excellence in technical solutions – has launched the apparel industry’s first product range that uses a biodegradable adhesive in cotton interlinings.
The adhesive in this advanced and new product range allows for the interlinings to be biodegradable and represents a major advance for the apparel industry and for environmental sustainability more generally.
According to the company, growing concerns about sustainability in the apparel industry have led to major shifts in the cultivation, manufacturing and end-of-life management for textiles and apparel.
Therefore, the interlining range offers excellent biodegradability and does not harm plants or animals.
Approved by the highly-respected Hohenstein Laboratories (based on soil burial test using parts of DIN EN ISO 11721-2:2003 and EN ISO 846), these fusible interlinings have an expected 90 per cent degradation in approximately 15-20 months (based on different weights of cotton base materials) – results of laboratory tests from June 2021 to June 2022.
Additional tests by Hohenstein showed no negative effect on the germination of garden cress and no negative effect in the acute toxicity test with earthworms. These results suggest that the new biodegradable fusible cotton shirt interlinings can be broken down after use without causing harm to plants or animals, a major advancement for environmental sustainability and land use.
Beyond biodegradability and non-toxicity, these new interlinings are also energy-saving, as they can be fused at 127°C rather than the standard 143°C. Despite a lower fusing temperature, these STANDARD 100 by OEKO-TEX® certified interlinings retain washability at up to 40°C, are dry cleaner safe and are applicable to a wide range of garment parts (such as collars, cuffs and plackets for men’s shirts and ladies’ blouses).
All these benefits are found in a product fully and exclusively produced in Freudenberg facilities (not third party manufacturing sites), further ensuring quality and better lead time targets.
With a lower fusing temperature, garments can be made with lower energy expenditure while still offering excellent quality and reliability that the industry expects from Freudenberg.
It’s worth noting here that since the Group’s establishment over 170 years ago, sustainability has been dominantly integrated into its business practices. Freudenberg Performance Materials (Freudenberg), a business group of Freudenberg, is a leading global supplier of innovative technical materials, with deep expertise in the development of sustainable textiles.
“In this decade, Freudenberg’s Apparel Division is taking even greater steps to minimise its environmental impact and support customers in achieving their own sustainability goals. These efforts have culminated in the Freudenberg Apparel House of Sustainability, comprising of more than 500 sustainable solutions across seven different pillars, including Recycled General Interlinings, Recyclable, Energy-saving, Biodegradable, Sustainable Cotton, Nature-based and Recycled Thermal Insulations and Linings. These pillars are all anchored on quality, visibility and transparency,” mentioned Freudenberg.
