#Sustainability

2019-09-19

Clothing made from recycled down and fabric made with polyester fibres from recycled plastic bottles

On the occasion of the LifeWear Day consumer exhibition taking place this year in London, Japanese global apparel retailer UNIQLO and Toray Industries today announce the joint development of down clothing employing reclaimed down and DRY-EX apparel incorporating fabric from polyester fibres made with recycled PET bottles. This new initiative, part of a longstanding strategic partnership between the two companies, will contribute to sustainability by giving consumers access to merchandise that optimises the use of valuable resources.

New Joint Initiative from UNIQLO and Toray Optimises use of Valuable Resources

Commenting on today’s announcement, Tadashi Yanai, UNIQLO Founder and Chairman, President & CEO of Fast Retailing, said, “UNIQLO is committed to improving the sustainability of society. To this end, we will soon begin our new initiative with Toray that promotes the use of recycled materials. Through such an important partnership, we can continue to offer high-performance, high-quality, and sustainable clothing to all customers around the world.”

Akihiro Nikkaku, President of Toray Industries, Inc., said, “At Toray we challenge ourselves to find solutions to global social issues with our belief that “materials can change our lives”. By promoting businesses that contribute to sustainability together with our strategic partner UNIQLO, we aim to create new value and realise a prosperous society through LifeWear.”

New items made from recycled down

UNIQLO stores will collect used Ultra Light Down items from customers. A new Toray-developed system will extract material from Ultra Light Down pieces, to be cleansed for use in new down merchandise. Collections* will start later in September this year initially only in Japan, and some down products from the 2020 Fall/Winter season will employ this recycled material.

Conventionally, the stuffing in duvets and other objects incorporating down is manually removed. Such processes are arduous with Ultra Light Down items because of their thin shells and complex construction. By developing special extraction machinery, Toray has fully automated cutting, stirring and separating, and recovery, for 50-fold the process capacity of manual processes, thus greatly alleviating workloads.

New DRY-EX pieces incorporating polyester from recycled PET bottles

DRY-EX is a revolutionary material that quickly wicks away sweat and moisture. From 2020 Spring/Summer UNIQLO will begin to introduce DRY-EX items of clothing that incorporate high-value-added polyester fibres derived from reclaimed PET bottles.

This is a milestone because, while fibres made from reclaimed plastic bottles have been commercially available for some time, it has been hard to produce fibres featuring special cross-sections and fine fibres, owing to contaminants in PET bottles. Another challenge to address has been that plastic bottles yellow as they age.

Toray’s contaminant filtering technology overcomes these issues, making it possible to manufacture fibres whose features are commensurate with those of fibres from plastic made directly from petrochemical feedstock, including those with special cross-sections. Another advance is Toray’s Recycling Identification System, which enhances reliability by ensuring that fibres derived from plastic bottles are traceable.

UNIQLO and Toray will keep leveraging their strengths to foster sustainable social progress.

*Such collections will differ from donations made at UNIQLO stores of lightly used clothing that is distributed to needy people around the world.

Toray Industries and MAS Holdings announce Joint Venture in Odisha, India

Toray Industries (H.K.) Ltd., has officially entered a joint venture with South Asia’s largest apparel manufacturer MAS Holdings, marking a unique opportunity to enhance the two companies’ supply chain capabilities and pursue product manufacturing within and for the fast-growing Indian market. The joint venture, operating under the name Toray MAS Apparel India, will see the establishment of a new manufacturing facility at the MAS Apparel Park Bhuinpur in Odisha, India, which is currently under development.

Updated supply chain taxonomy advances apparel alignment

The apparel alliance (Apparel Impact Institute, Cascale, Textile Exchange, and ZDHC Foundation) today announced the launch of Version 2 of the Supply Chain Taxonomy, an updated harmonized framework designed to improve consistency, transparency, and collaboration across the textile, clothing, leather, and footwear (TCLF) sectors of the broader apparel industry.

SHIMA SEIKI brings new flat knitting technologies to FEBRATEX 2026

Leading flat knitting solutions provider SHIMA SEIKI MFG., LTD. of Wakayama, Japan, together with its Brazilian representative BRASTEMA TECNOLOGIA TEXTIL LTDA., will exhibit at the Brazilian Textile Industry Fair (FEBRATEX 2026) this month. On display will be a roundup of SHIMA SEIKI computerized flat knitting technology, represented by WHOLEGARMENT® knitting machines, computerized flat knitting machines featuring a brand-new model with high productivity and excellent cost performance, a glove knitting machine and the latest digital solutions.

Lenzing reports improved half-year results and advances strategic transformation

Despite a persistently challenging market environment in the first half of 2026, characterized by volatile energy and raw material prices, subdued global consumer demand and intensified competition from Asia, the Lenzing Group significantly improved its financial performance. Net result after tax more than doubled to EUR 35.6 million, compared with EUR 15.2 million in the first half of 2025. Free cash flow increased to EUR 45.8 million, while EBITDA amounted to EUR 239.2 million. Revenue totaled EUR 1.27 billion, compared with EUR 1.34 billion in the previous year.

Trützschler’s latest spinning and card clothing innovations at CAITME 2026

From September 8 to 10, 2026, Trützschler will present its latest innovations in spinning and card clothing for state-of-the-art fiber processing at CAITME in Tashkent, Uzbekistan. Visitors are invited to meet the experts at Pavilion 2, Booth D50 and explore solutions designed to increase productivity, streamline processes, and ensure consistently high yarn quality. Key topics include the next-generation card TC 30i, the integrated draw frame IDF 3, the high-performance comber TCO 21XL as well as Trützschler Card Clothing’s new flat top series STEELTOP®.