Aquafil is a textile company that opened its site in Trento in north-east Italy in 1969 and has been producing nylon ever since. The company’s special “nylon 6” can be de-polymerized and re-polymerized without any loss of quality. They have taken this one step further recently by producing nylon 6 from recycled waste, in particular from worn or abandoned fishing nets. In addition, the company has built an international collection network that allows it to infinitely regenerate this recyclable material all over the world.
“Imagination is infinite. So is ECONYL.” – Aquafil
The story behind this special nylon began in 2011 when the Italian company specializing in polymer manufacture decided to launch an ambitious project to recover and “regenerate” old nylon. The goal was to make the recycled nylon possess the same characteristics and qualities as virgin nylon. Aquafil achieved their goal resulting in the material Econyl, a textile fiber for use in sportswear, swimsuits and even floor coverings.
Econyl Reclaiming Program
Econyl is an “eternal” material, that is helping clean up our oceans. The recycling process they developed for the material itself is complex but it is able to maintain and even increase the quality of the nylon. It can be infinitely recyclable through Aquafil’s recovery program, “Econyl Reclaiming Program”. The program is in collaboration with client companies, institutions, NGOs, and public-private consortia. It is an international waste collection network that makes it possible for customers to return their end of life products, as well as provides the company with a large quantity and variety of nylon waste from all over the world: fabric scraps, clothing, old rugs and carpets, fishing nets, etc.
Equipment abandoned in the oceans – including nylon fishing nets – account for 10% of all marine waste, according to a report by the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) and the United Nations Environment Program. To free the oceans of this pollution, the company has established several partnerships to reduce the impact of these nets on marine life. For instance, it participates in the Net-Works initiative, which collects used fishing nets in the Philippines and Cameroon in cooperation with local fishing communities and transforms them into carpet tiles; and it created Healthy Seas, recovering abandoned nets from the North Sea, the Adriatic, and the Mediterranean.
Econyl And Designer Fashion
Many well-known and respected brands have taken a liking to Econyl’s regenerated yarn. One such company is Prada. They have introduced a sustainable line of their iconic Prada bag made with Econyl. The collection launched within Prada’s pioneering new project, Re-Nylon – the result of a partnership between Prada and Aquafil, which aims to ultimately convert all Prada virgin nylon into regenerated ECONYL® nylon by the end of 2021.
Lorenzo Bertelli, Prada Group Head of Marketing and Communication, said:
“I’m very excited to announce the launch of the Prada Re-Nylon collection. Our ultimate goal will be to convert all Prada virgin nylon into Re-Nylon by the end of 2021. This project highlights our continued efforts towards promoting a responsible business. This collection will allow us to make our contribution and create products without using new resources.”
Giulio Bonazzi, Aquafil Chairman, said:
“With this project Prada marks the step, taking on a leading role in environmental sustainability among Italian brands. We are happy to collaborate on their capsule collection, but above all, to support them as partners in the process of converting the entire nylon production.”
Econyl And The Environment
For every 10,000 tons of Econyl raw material, Aquafil is able to save 70,000 barrels of crude oil from having to be used and avoid 57,100 tons of CO2 eq. emissions from entering the atmosphere. Therefore, not only is the regenerated nylon a solution for the plastic waste crisis, but it’s also better when it comes to climate change! So much so that it reduces the global warming impact of nylon by up to 80% compared with the material from oil.
Although Econyl is made from nylon waste from landfills and oceans around the world, it is exactly the same as brand new nylon. It is a product that can help “close the loop” as it can be recycled, recreated and remolded, again and again, meaning you can create new products and buy new products without having to use new resources. This is all part of the brand’s vision to make the world a better place.
