SABIC and Fibertex Create Sustainable Nonwovens from Circular Polypropylene

Oct 19th, 2020

Michele Behrens

Mikael Staal Axelsen, group CEO Fibertex Personal Care and Innowo Print and Mette Due Søgaard, QA and sustainability director of Fibertex Personal Care, at the Aalborg site exploring ISCC Plus certified nonwovens.

SABIC

SABIC is collaborating with Fibertex Personal Care to create a range of nonwovens using high purity recycled plastics from SABIC’s Trucircle portfolio and services.

The materials will be made from SABIC’s circular polypropylene using feedstock derived from previously used plastics and certified under the International Sustainability & Carbon Certification (ISCC) PLUS system. The initiative is seen by the two partners as a step toward a more sustainable supply chain and greater recyclability for nonwovens in hygiene products. In the future, the technologies may also be integrated into eco-friendly packaging for skin care and topical products.

The polypropylene (PP) material is part of SABIC’s Purecares portfolio for personal hygiene applications that was introduced at the beginning of 2020. The certified circular PP is created from post-consumer mixed plastics that have been broken down into their molecular building blocks and then re-polymerized to create virgin plastics. The new materials can be used as drop-in solutions while meeting the brand’s requirements for purity and consumer safety for industry applications.

SABIC applies the “mass balance” approach to polymers offered as part of its Trucircle portfolio and services, which are designed for recyclability; mechanically recycled products; certified circular products from the feedstock recycling of used plastics; and certified renewables products from bio-based feedstock. According to the company, the recognized ISCC PLUS certification verifies that mass balance accounting follows predefined and transparent rules. In addition, it provides traceability along the supply chain, from the feedstock to the final product.

In relation, Fibertex Personal Care recently attained the ISCC PLUS certification as a result of extensive experience and focus on sustainability. Under the new partnership, Fibertex will provide certified circular nonwovens through its Comfort, Elite, Dual and Loft product ranges. These certified nonwovens can reportedly be adopted into downstream processes without compromising convertibility, product properties or performance of the final product.

“With Fibertex Personal Care’s expertise in nonwovens, brand owners can take full advantage of our innovative Trucircle solutions and Purecares product portfolio and integrate them into their applications,” said Sergi Monros, vice president of performance polymers and industry solutions for petrochemicals at SABIC. “We are working together to find further solutions to drive forward circularity in the hygiene industry.”