SUSTAFIT project aims to boost sustainable nonwovens

Fibres are randomly distributed in nonwovens and are bound chemically, mechanically or thermally, making their production process faster and simpler than those of traditional woven and knitted fabrics.

Many nonwovens are single-use products that are disposed of after use and may end up in the environment. It is important to have a holistic understanding of sustainability issues in the nonwoven industry. Senior Lecturer Virpi R m from the leading partner TAMK says there is a need for more public research to increase the use of biobased and recycled materials.

SUSTAFIT will support global industrial and societal goals of replacing unsustainable processes and petroleum-based materials with more environmentally friendly solutions.

The project aims to add knowledge and boost businesses.

The project addresses the sustainability of nonwovens from different perspectives to improve the raw-material base, processing pathways, circularity, and business approach.

The aims are to increase the share of sustainable nonwovens and possibly identify new sustainable nonwoven application areas R m outlines.

The project intends to support stakeholders in the value chain to develop sustainable nonwovens, their raw materials and production technologies.

The industry partners are helping the project go in the right and concrete direction. UPM, the Fortum, SharpCell, Kemira, Fiber-X, Spinnova, Lixea, Valmet, Nordic Bioproducts Group, Rester, Sulzer, Anpap, NordShield, Lounais-Suomen J tehuolto, Paptic, JedX Medcare and Mirka are participating in the project.

R m emphasizes that it is essential for the industry to learn about sustainability strategies for nonwovens and the relation of raw materials, processing, and products to make justified decisions for their future sustainable businesses. Consumers will be able to make conscious and sustainable choices because of the new information.

The SUSTAFIT project will develop water-repellent and antimicrobial, bio-based nonwovens to support the industry. Insufficient hydrophobicity and antimicrobial performance are two major limitation factors for nonwovens made of man-made cellulose fibres.

TAMK, the SUSTAFIT project coordinator, leads the research on sustainable business models and value chains for nonwovens. The organisation will study the raw material and end-of-life options of sustainable nonwovens.

VTT will study the segment-wise sustainability strategies and demonstrate the production of different types of nonwoven webs. VTT will create novel concepts and structures to improve their performance.

Aalto University will bring its expertise in producing man-made cellulose fibres MMCFs from different raw materials, adding functional properties to fibres and nonwovens, recycling functionalized textiles into new MMCFs and exploiting the results.

Business Finland, research organisations and industry partners will be funding the project for two years starting October 2022.