Texon has released its second annual sustainability report, reinforcing its ambition to become a zero-waste organisation by 2025, and documenting the results of its environmental efforts in an unprecedented year in business. The 2020 Texon sustainability report highlights the company’s key achievements in a year dominated by the COVID-19 pandemic.
The report highlights development of innovative materials, developing closed-loop projects with customers, and reducing high-energy production processes to progress towards Texon’s four sustainability goals for 2025, which includes reducing its carbon footprint by 50 per cent, cutting the use of virgin materials by 50 per cent, ensuring 90 per cent of waste is recyclable or reusable, and reducing water usage and water waste by 20 per cent, the company said in a media statement.Texon has released its second annual sustainability report, reinforcing its ambition to become a zero-waste organisation by 2025, and documenting the results of its environmental efforts in an unprecedented year in business. The 2020 Texon sustainability report highlights the company's key achievements in a year dominated by the COVID-19 pandemic.#
With the emergence of COVID-19, protecting employees and their families was a key priority for Texon in 2020. The organisation quickly incorporated safe working practices for shop floor workers, as well as flexible working options and health-related information programmes. In parallel, the business continued to drive forward its zero footprint sustainability programme with a focus on innovation to reduce environmental impact and meet customers’ sustainability needs. Faced with fresh logistical and operational challenges created by the pandemic, Texon still managed to cut its group average water usage intensity (m3/net tonne) by almost 10 per cent since 2019; with its site in China reducing water consumption by 48 per cent. The company opened a new production facility in Vietnam, which has sustainability designed into its very fabric, with solar panels generating up to 45 per cent of the site’s energy needs; energy efficient LED lighting fitted throughout; and closed loop water cycles on the factory floor to cool down machinery. The company also developed four new sustainable products, Sportflex Eco, Sportflex Bio, X8S, and Bioform and increased its use of secondary fibres, according to Texon.
Throughout 2020, Texon actively explored unconventional, bio-based and recycled content as alternatives to virgin materials, in line with its policy that all developments across new and heritage lines must have a minimum of 50 per cent sustainable content. A key area of focus is increasing recycled materials in many hero products with secondary fibres. In line with this commitment, Texon started using post-industrial waste such as ‘ghost nets’, plastic bottles, toilet roll ends and sugar cane waste. The business also reduced the amount of latex in many of its products, Texon said.
Texon works closely with customers to embed circular design and address the global plastic waste issue with closed-loop projects that upcycle waste streams into new, value-added products. In 2020, the team developed the revolutionary material Texon Ecoline, using 85 per cent recycled polyester (rPET), for a customer seeking to close the loop. Ecoline insoles can be returned and re-cut at Texon’s factory, which uses the waste to make more of the same product. In addition, Texon offers recycling initiatives such as a take-back service retrieving paper scraps from customers to recycle into new materials.
In parallel, Texon has streamlined production processes to adapt to new materials, leading to improved efficiencies. Production of Texon Ecoline requires 50 per cent less energy than other processes and uses less water and fewer chemicals. Meanwhile, Texon Vogue, a 100 per cent FSC (Forest Stewardship Council) cellulose alternative to leather, emits 93 per cent less carbon during manufacture than leather. By 2020, Texon had reduced its greenhouse gas emissions by 15 per cent when compared with 2015. Furthermore, Texon continues to limit its water usage, treating, reusing and recycling wastewater as much as possible, and has developed cleaning processes that return water to water systems cleaner than when sourced. Since 2015, Texon has reduced water use intensity by 15 per cent.
ALCHEMPro News Desk (GK)
marketing@alchempro.com
