COMPANY NAME Revoltech
COUNTRY Germany
SECTOR Textile
CIRCULAR BUSINESS MODEL Circular product design
CHALLENGE
The leather industry has come under increasing criticism for environmental issues such as high CO2 emissions and the massive use of chemicals in leather tanning in countries with weak environmental regulation. Synthetic leather, on the other hand, is usually a multi-layer composite consisting of a backing layer and a PU or PVC top layer. This bonded material mix is petroleum-based, not recyclable and causes problems with microplastic abrasion.
SOLUTION
Seafoam does not need to be tanned, contains no toxic chemicals and is petroleum-free. The backing and coating adhere to each other without glue and because Seafoam is made exclusively from natural ingredients, it is biodegradable. Revoltech develops sustainable surface materials (i.e., based on hemp fibres or fast-growing algae (Seafoam)) with the aim of replacing conventional, petroleum-based materials and animal leather. The challenge is to achieve comparable usage properties and production costs to conventional materials such as leather, artificial leather and microfibre fabrics using only renewable raw materials. The goal of this Up2Circ project is to further develop the quality and production of algae-bsed material. The material is vegan, petroleum-free, and consists of a plant-based carrier material and a 1 – 2 mm thick foam coating. Due to its high flexibility and softness, it has the potential to replace conventional leather and artificial leather in applications in the fashion, furniture and automotive industries.
CIRCULAR ECONOMY STRATEGIES/BUSINESS MODEL IMPLEMENTED
With its product, the company tackles the problem at its root – product design. The material is to be designed to be recyclable before it is processed into various products in subsequent production stages and by other business partners. There are various hurdles to overcome in order to achieve this recyclable product design. The material, which consists of Seafoam and a back layer, must adhere to itself without the use of adhesives wherever possible. Furthermore, this natural product must consistently maintain the same high quality, thickness and visual appeal as synthetic competitors, whilst also being producible on an industrial scale. Finally, there is the requirement that the product must have no adverse environmental impact and must be biodegradable. All these aspects were tested and successfully implemented as part of the Up2Circ funding programme.
IMPACT
Environmental Impact
It was possible to evaluate that the product leaves no waste after use and is biodegradable. Compared to genuine leather the material has 96% less CO2e.
The consumption of energy and water could be reduced.
Economical Impact
The project enabled the production of samples for potential customers, which were partly monetized and will lead to more revenues from sample sales in the future. In addition cost savings were achieved, because production scraps were recycled and re-used within the production process and water and energy consumption was reduced. The largest revenue however comes from sucessfully pushing the production to industrial scale.
KEY TAKE AWAY
These results already enabled the production of seafoam material samples that are comparable to genuine and artificial leather in their appearance and the shipment of these samples to interested potential customers. Based on the results, the product’s circular characteristics were included into Revoltech’s communication strategy and the upscaling from laboratory to industrial level has been accomplished.
