Raising the Bar on Sustainability

20%

of nonwovens materials are generated from renewable sources

66%

of surveyed EDANA members have established partnerships dedicated to improving waste management

 

Raising the Bar on Sustainability

As the trusted voice of the nonwoven industry, EDANA is committed to supporting our industry’s adoption of best practices in sustainability - a commitment that’s already seeing results. For example, most nonwoven companies now routinely monitor and report on their sustainability performance. Not only is such monitoring and reporting often required by various supply chain actors, it’s also supported by supplier codes of conducts and several audit and certification schemes.

Furthermore, a survey revealed that 89% of our members communicate about their sustainability performance publicly through their websites and dedicated sustainability reports. Of those that publish sustainability reports, 90% include quantitative results and future commitments.

Several EDANA members actively use Environmental Product Declarations (EPD) to communicate about the environmental performance of their products.

 

We Walk the Walk Too

But make no mistake, the nonwoven industry doesn’t just talk the sustainability talk. We walk the walk too.
According to an EDANA survey, 90% of respondents say that sustainability is a key consideration in the development of nonwoven-based products. This widespread consideration has led to a number of important environmental achievements, including:

 

A decoupling of raw materials used and square metres produced

The average weight of nonwovens has decreased by 7 grams per square metre (gsm) since 2005. Therefore, even as the amount (square metres) of nonwovens being produced has increased over the last ten years, total tonnage has not.

A clear increase in the use of materials from a natural and recycled origin

The nonwoven industry used 3 million tonnes of fibres, polymers, and binders in 2019. More than 20% of these materials originated from natural resources, i.e. roughly 16% from wood pulp (cellulose and viscose fibres) and 5% from other natural fibres. The industry also continues to increase its use of bio-based or renewable materials as biopolymers.

A significant increase in the use of recycled PET (rPET) by
nonwoven producers

Acting on behalf of nonwoven producers, EDANA took a pledge to increase the industry’s use of recycled PET. Now, over 200,000 metric tonnes of rPET are used in producing nonwovens - a number we fully expect to reach over 300,000 tonnes by 2025. These rPET-based nonwovens are already being used in roofing, automotive, and hygiene products.

Uptake of circular raw materials in the nonwoven value
chain

By working together, the nonwoven industry has created solutions that facilitate the uptake of circular raw materials across our value chain. These approaches solutions for the responsible handling, efficient production, and post-consumer waste disposal of the raw materials used to produce nonwovens In fact, 66% of surveyed members have established partnerships dedicated to improving waste management, creating closed-loop processes, and innovating circular systems.

 

More Work Ahead

Although we are proud that these efforts drive the creation of new sustainable products and solutions, we know that there’s more work to be done. That’s why as an industry, we continue to strive to improve our environmental performances and further raise the bar in sustainable best practices.

One way we are doing this is by constantly analysing the environmental impact our product systems have, starting from the acquisition of raw material and all the way through to production, transport, use, end-of-life treatment, recycling, and disposal. We also released our Sustainability Vision 2030…

a2 
Nonwovens

 

Our Sustainability Vision 2030

EDANA is committed to promoting:

  • Fair and safe working conditions and green procurement in the supply chain
  • Efficient resource use for low carbon production and products
  • Increased transparency and safeguarding quality to consumers
  • Engagement with all stakeholders to develop optimal waste and circular economy solutions