Best Wool and Niaga partner towards circular economy

Towards developing waste-free carpets

Circular Economy

Best Wool and Niaga® share the ambition to protect the valuable materials used in woollen carpets and rugs. Their goal is to ensure eventually nothing ends up as waste. Innovative Niaga® technology enables a vastly more energy efficient production process than currently used in conventional carpet manufacturing. What’s more, the Niaga® click-unclick polyester adhesive, that will be used, allows separation of the woollen top layer from its polyester backing at the end of a carpet’s lifecycle. At the same time, Best Wool and Niaga® continue to collaborate closely in optimising the separation and reuse of the wool and polyester.

Cutting back energy usage by 90%

One of the biggest milestones of the partnership between Best Wool and Niaga® is the introduction of an energy efficient production process never seen in carpet manufacturing. This new carpet production technology with Niaga® click-unclick polyester adhesive does not use any gas or water. In addition, it consumes only 10% of the energy required by conventional carpet backing methods, thereby also significantly cutting back on carbon emissions in the production of carpet. This breakthrough in the carpet industry comes at a time when energy costs and the cost of reducing carbon emissions are affecting producers around the world.

Best Wool’s unique 5-meter-wide production line with innovative carpet manufacturing technology will be set up at its production location in Best, the Netherlands. Concurrently, Best Wool and Niaga® are collaborating on the development of technology for separation, recycling and re-use of wool and other materials. The recycling line is expected to be up and running within 3 years. The new production facility, as well as the joint development on material separation technology for wool and polyester has been made possible with the support of the Dutch Ministry of Economic Affairs (RVO). 

Retaining each material’s value

Due to the complex combination of materials glued together for eternity, materials used inside a conventional carpet are hard to re-use at the end of life. By joining forces, Best Wool and Niaga® aim to minimise waste and protect the value of materials in woollen carpets and rugs.

The Niaga® click-unclick adhesive allows for separation of the woollen top layer of a carpet from its polyester backing at the end of the carpet’s lifecycle. It’s no longer required to use binders and fillers that make materials inseparable and hinder recycling. Once the material separation technology has been developed, it will become possible to create a stream of wool and a stream of polyester materials that can be repurposed: each material in the best way.

 

“At Best Wool we consider the creation of a closed loop carpet as a journey which takes time. Designing woollen carpets and rugs for material re-use starts with the end in mind. We’re collaborating closely with Niaga® to see how products need to be designed for circularity. What’s more, ingredient transparency is needed to enable return and reuse of materials” explains Yvar Monasch, CEO of Best Wool.

He adds: “Even with this work requiring more time and effort, we firmly believe that today’s linear economic model is not sustainable. The industry needs frontrunners who show the way and make first steps. We’re proud to be taking these important and essential steps towards a circular future. Because we consider sustainable production methods as the way forward. This is extremely important for the wellbeing of our employees, the surroundings in which we operate and the global climate challenge facing our generation.”

Chris Reutelingsperger, founder of Niaga® comments: “We need to start treating materials as treasure instead of trash. Best Wool shares our vision. Our partnership will show the carpet industry it is possible to make the radical shift that is required to make carpets and rugs in a way that all materials retain their intrinsic qualities, so that nothing is wasted in the end.”

 

Source: press release

 

Ocean activists fight ineffective conservation policies by launching docuseries

Sustainability

The United Nations has named the period of 2021-2030 as the ‘ocean decade,’ but governments have not yet taken adequate measures to conserve marine life. In response to their inaction, Ocean Collective, a global network of filmmakers, will be launching a documentary series to bring awareness to the deteriorating conditions of sea dwellers and urge people to act.

In March of this year, legal action was taken against the EU by a green law group for unsustainable fishing quotas. After a decade of negotiations and three conferences, the fourth round of U.N. talks also failed to finalize a treaty to manage and protect parts of the high seas. As such, marine life continues to be exploited.

A report by the Environmental Justice Foundation revealed that China’s distant-water fleet, which operates beyond the state’s exclusive economic zone, continues to plunder the oceans for resources. Government subsidies of around 1.8 billion EUR have allowed vessels to exploit waterways vital to the food security of underdeveloped countries.

Furthermore, a Stanford University study published in early April identified the areas most vulnerable to illicit, unreported, and unregulated fishing (IUU). The authors were able to simulate IUU hazards at sea by integrating the findings of expert surveys with “big data” on 8.7 million fishing trips and 5.800 transshipment incidents.

Docuseries captures unique efforts to conserve oceans

In response to the declining state of marine life, Ocean Collective will be creating a documentary series titled “Rise of the Ocean Tribe”. It will star Madison Stewart, a.k.a. “shark girl Madison,” Australian filmmaker and fierce ocean activist who aims to record the devastation of oceans while focusing on the individuals, communities, and technology that are helping to turn a positive tide. Madison Stewart was previously featured in Rob Stewart’s “Sharkwater Extinction”

“We cannot depend on governments to solve these issues; we must also accept responsibility for our own actions. Because the film can impact people emotionally as well as inspire and educate, I feel empowered as a filmmaker to fuel the ocean conservation movement,” said Stewart.

“I genuinely think that each and every one of us can make a difference. We all have skills that we can put to good use in order to protect the ocean,” she continued.

Madison describes herself as a tech diver, filmmaker, and misfit, having been a fierce activist since the age of 14. She started Project Hiu, a non-profit organization that helps shark fishermen convert to workers within the eco-tourism industry. According to her, this transition provides them with a new (and higher) source of income while also conserving the shark population.

“The documentary series aims to capture the beauty and fragility of the ocean while also amplifying the stories of hope. Madison’s approach to conservation is a great example of that,” explained Bob van de Gronde, director of  Ocean Collective.

Blockchain technology — a new way to crowdfund

“Rise of the Ocean Tribe” is the first environmental docuseries to use blockchain technology in funding the endeavor. Ocean Collective will sell a collection of digital art (NFTs) on Polygon blockchain to help raise money for the documentary.

“We predict that the value of the digital artworks will rise as our film production progresses. The way this approach differs from standard crowdfunding methods is that we allow a decentralized community to profit financially as the project grows in popularity,” noted van de Gronde.

The collection of NFts titled The Museum of Extinction displays ten marine species from the IUCN ‘red list’ of endangered species. The project, made by digital artist Melodysheep, is an artistic visualization of the irreversible damage to marine ecosystems that could become a reality within our lifetime. The artworks will be for sale on Open Sea starting April 19th, 16:00 CET..

Some of the artwork is one-of-a-kind, while others have several duplicates. The number of copies corresponds to the real-life conservation status of the depicted animals.

With every artwork sold, Ocean Collective will donate 20% of the proceeds to projects that are cleaning the ocean from plastics, sequestering carbon from the atmosphere and saving sharks.

Source: press release
Photo: Ocean Collective