
30 Sep 2020
SABIC and Fibertex Personal Care to bring world’s first nonwoven made with certified circular polypropylene
- Collaboration based on SABIC’s TRUCIRCLE™ portfolio and Fibertex Personal Care’s extensive expertise within nonwovens addresses need for sustainable solutions for hygiene products.
- Use of high-purity recycled material in nonwovens can be adopted in downstream processes with no compromise in production efficiency and product performance.
SITTARD, THE NETHERLANDS, September 30, 2020 - SABIC, a global leader in the chemicals industry, is collaborating with Fibertex Personal Care, one of the world’s largest manufacturers of spunbond nonwovens for the hygiene industry, to create a range of nonwovens using high-purity recycled plastics from SABIC’s TRUCIRCLE™ portfolio and services. This will be the world’s first nonwovens range based on recycled plastics in the hygiene industry. The initiative is seen by the two partners as an exciting step towards a more sustainable supply chain and greater recyclability for nonwovens.
The new nonwovens will be made from SABIC’s circular polypropylene, using feedstock derived from previously used plastics, certified under the ISCC PLUS (International Sustainability & Carbon Certification) system. The material is part of the SABIC PURECARES™ portfolio of polypropylene for Personal Hygiene applications that was introduced at the beginning of this year. The certified circular PP material produced by SABIC 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 material can be used as a drop-in solution while meeting the brand owner’s requirements for purity and consumer safety for the hygiene industry applications.
SABIC applies the “mass balance” approach to polymers offered as part of its TRUCIRCLE portfolio and services which spans design for recyclability, mechanically recycled products, certified circular products from feedstock recycling of used plastics, and certified renewables products from bio-based feedstock.
The widely 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. Fibertex Personal Care’s recent attainment of the ISCC PLUS certification is a result of an extensive experience and focus on sustainability. Fibertex Personal Care will provide certified circular nonwovens to its customers with their Comfort, Elite, Dual and Loft product range. These certified nonwovens can be adopted in downstream processes, without compromising convertibility, product properties or performance of the final product.
Mikael Staal Axelsen, Group CEO, Fibertex Personal Care, said: “This is an important step forward in supporting our sustainable strategy and important step in development and expansion of a supply chain for bio-based and circular polymers. SABIC’s TRUCIRCLE initiative makes this possible. We are proud to cooperate with SABIC in developing the first circular nonwovens for the hygiene market.”
Sergi Monros, Vice President of Performance Polymers & Industry Solutions for Petrochemicals at SABIC, said: “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 hygiene applications. We are working together to find further solutions to drive forward the circularity in the hygiene industry.”
The solution supports a mutual wish to gradually replace fossil resources and thereby help reduce carbon emissions. SABIC and Fibertex Personal Care look forward to engaging further with the hygiene industry.
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ABOUT SABIC
SABIC is a global diversified chemicals company, headquartered in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. SABIC manufactures on a global scale in the Americas, Europe, Middle East and Asia Pacific, making distinctly different kinds of products: chemicals, commodity and high performance plastics, agri-nutrients and metals.
SABIC supports its customers by identifying and developing opportunities in key end-use applications such as construction, medical devices, packaging, agri-nutrients, electrical and electronics, transportation and clean energy. Production in 2019 was 72.6 million metric tons.
SABIC has more than 33,000 employees worldwide and operates in around 50 countries. Fostering innovation and a spirit of ingenuity, SABIC has 12,540 global patent filings, and has significant research resources with innovation hubs in five key geographies – USA, Europe, Middle East, South Asia and North Asia.
ABOUT FIBERTEX PERSONAL CARE
Fibertex Personal Care is one of the world’s largest manufacturers of spunbond/spunmelt nonwoven and print on nonwovens for the hygiene industry. The group consists of the two business units Fibertex Personal Care and Innowo Print and both units are supplying key components for baby diapers, sanitary napkins and adult incontinence care products.
Fibertex Personal Care has more than 750 people globally - headquarters are in Aalborg, Denmark and production sites in Denmark, Germany, Malaysia and USA.
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