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São Paulo, Brazil, August 23, 2022 - Solvay is launching its first textile fiber with accelerated decomposition in marine environments. The new textile polyamide, which will be produced at the company's industrial unit in Brazil, will reduce impacts on the oceans by approximately 40 times compared to traditional fiber. The development of the new product follows the global trend of increasing demand and market movement for more sustainable textile products.
For the creation of this textile fiber, Solvay's research and innovation teams worked on a project that took three years. With the innovation of the fiber, microplastics generated in the washing of clothes that end up in the oceans reach 90% decomposition in about 4 years, approximately 40 times faster than regular fiber. The new Amni Soul Eco® also maintains its original characteristic that made it successful in the market as the world's first accelerated decomposition polyamide in landfills.
With the launch of Amni Soul Eco®, Solvay's sustainable textile fibers reach 30% of the company's product portfolio. The company's expectation is to reach 50% within three years.
In the past year, the company launched Bio Amni®, the first partially renewable source textile fiber in Latin America, a result of two years of research and development, in addition to a R$20 million investment.
"Brands and our customers are increasingly seeking to create products that add value and reduce environmental impact. Now Amni Soul Eco® brings a sustainable footprint not only in its production process and disposal, as in the first version, but also minimizing impact during its use by consumers," explains Antônio Leite, Global Vice President of Phenol and Derivatives, Oxygenated Solvents, Polyamide, and Fibers at Solvay.
The textile sector faces three main challenges regarding the environment and sustainability: resources, production process, and disposal. Solvay already has sustainable alternatives in the production process, using cleaner energy sources, closed circuits, and zero emission of effluents into the environment at its industrial unit in Santo André (SP).
"Our pursuit of a more sustainable textile chain is ongoing. In addition to this launch, we have been fostering the chain with a project for ecodesign of uniforms to enable post-consumer recycling," Leite concludes.
Sustainability at Solvay in Brazil:
Solvay aims to advance further in terms of sustainability in the textile production chain. In Paulínia (SP), where raw materials used in the production of textile yarns and fibers are produced, the company has already achieved 95% neutralization of its CO2 emissions, thanks to a series of initiatives and the installation of a greenhouse gas abatement unit, which removes a total of five million tons of CO2 equivalent from the atmosphere annually. This corresponds to taking an annual fleet of 1.3 million vehicles out of circulation. The company's goal is to achieve 100% CO2 neutralization in the coming years, following practices approved by the Solvay One Planet program.
In Santo André (SP), the company's textile base, Solvay operates its industrial facilities through closed-loop systems, where there is no water waste or emission of effluents into the environment from the factory. Effluents are treated and recovered in special units for this operation. The company only purchases potable water from the public supply to meet the needs of its employees and collaborators and for the activities of the unit's cafeteria.
Over the past few years, Solvay has also adopted other initiatives to increase sustainability in Santo André. One of them was the installation of a chemical recycling unit for the so-called 'production scraps' of textile polymers, which are recovered and returned to manufacturing lines to become new products. An example is Amni® Soul Cycle, the first functional recycled polyamide textile fiber (pre-consumer), which the company launched at the end of 2019. Another initiative related to the circular economy was the decision to remove logos from the packaging of yarn coils sent to customers, allowing them to be used more times.
