As part of its commitment to recycling healthy materials for its carpet products, Desso has also worked with one of its key suppliers Aquafil, which developed the capability to recycle old Polyamide 6 yarn from used carpets and fish nets into new material known as ECONYL® yarn over and over again.
Today, over 90% of Desso's commercial carpet tile
collection is Cradle to
Cradle® certified and over
50%1) of Desso's carpet tiles contain
up to 100% ECONYL® yarn, made from
100% regenerated nylon including post-consumer yarn waste from
DESSO's Refinity® plant.
“Since 2010, we have been using ECONYL® yarn in many of our carpet products as part of our ongoing commitment to the circular economy powered by Cradle to Cradle® principles. We are delighted to combine our commitment to using recycled content such as ECONYL® with the critical task of helping to clean up the seas.”
Alexander Collot d’Escury, CEO Desso
Since 2008, Desso has followed Cradle to
Cradle® principles,
ensuring the materials you use are as healthy as possible as well
as being safely recyclable. Inspired by nature, the Cradle to
Cradle® concept calls on
Desso to rethink how it makes things and the materials it uses,
leading to less waste of precious natural resources and the phasing
out of any toxins in the materials that could pose significant
risks to human health and the environment. Cradle to
Cradle® encompasses five
key elements: Material health, material reutilization, renewable
energy, water stewardship and social fairness.
Transition to the restorative circular
economy
Cradle to Cradle®
is enabling Desso to make the transition to the restorative
circular economy away from the current 'take, make and waste'
linear model.
Desso's vision is to 'make the floor work for our
health and wellbeing', driven by its three pillared innovation
programme: creativity, functionality and Cradle to
Cradle®. The result of this combined
commitment to the environment, health and wellbeing has been the
creation of a number of product innovations including the DESSO
AirMaster® carpet -
engineered to help improve indoor air quality; it
has been proven to reduce the concentration of fine dust
indoors eight times more effectively than hard flooring, and four
times better than standard carpet2).
"The Cradle to Cradle® vision is to design products and services that make the world better than it was before. The way the oceans have been fished - leaving waste behind and harming sea life and the environment - is a very stark example of bad design. We are delighted to support the Healthy Seas initiative, which fits in with Desso's commitment to developing a business model that utilises waste in order to create healthy new materials and at the same time make a positive impact on the planet."
Alexander Collot d’Escury, CEO Desso
"We are delighted to have Desso's support for the Healthy Seas initiative. It is fitting that our largest customer of ECONYL® yarn in Europe and one of the companies that has been leading the way in terms of Cradle to Cradle® and the circular economy should be involved in this critical project to clean up the seas and turn waste into an economic benefit."
Giulio Bonazzi, CEO Aquafil & co-founder of the Healthy Seas initiative
Healthy Seas - a journey from waste to wear
According to a report from the Food and Agriculture Organization of the UN (FAO) and the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), there are approximately 640,000 tons of abandoned fishing nets in the oceans, accounting for one-tenth of all marine litter. These discarded nets can remain in the sea for centuries continuing to catch or injure marine life such as fish, dolphins, turtles and marine birds (known as ghost fishing). Healthy Seas aims to provide a solution by bringing together businesses, NGOs, divers, fishermen and other stakeholders to recover the fishing nets and recycle them into Desso carpets, amongst others.
Watch the video about Healthy Seas - a journey from waste to wear:
1) 50% relates to the 2012
sales volume of products available with ECONYL® yarn in the commercial carpet tile
collection. The total % of recycled content varies per product and
per colour. Whether a colour contains ECONYL® yarn and the exact % thereof can be
found on our website: www.desso.com
2) Based on tests performed by
GUI, with DESSO AirMaster® versus
standard PVC hardfloor and versus standard structured loop pile
carpet.
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