By
Greentech Lead Team:
The Teijin Group has partnered with two Asahi Group Holdings subsidiaries to
launch a program for collecting and recycling used uniforms in China.
Asahi
Group’s subsidiaries Shandong Asahi Green Source Hi-Tech Farm and Shandong
Asahi Green Source Milk Products will be part of this program.
The
recycling process utilizes Teijin fibers’ Eco Circle, an environmentally
friendly closed-loop system incorporating the world’s first technology for the
chemical recycling of polyester to recycle the uniforms.
Repeated
recycling with the Eco Circle system reduces both energy consumption and carbon
dioxide emissions compared to conventional petroleum-based processes for
polyester production.
The used
uniforms will be recycled at Teijin Fibers’ Matsuyama plant in
Japan. After chemical decomposition, they will be converted into polyester
raw material, offering purity comparable to polyester derived directly from
petroleum. The raw material will then be turned into high-quality polyester for
the manufacture of new recyclable products.
This month,
high-warmth uniforms made with the recyclable textile were distributed to some
200 employees of the two companies based in Shandong Province, also on the east
coast, which produce and sell vegetables, fruits and milk.
Teijin is working with more
than 150 apparel and sportswear manufacturers worldwide to develop and
manufacture products made from recyclable materials, as well as to collect and
recycle these products at the end of their useful lives.
Nantong
Teijin, which has been steadily strengthening its presence in China’s
sportswear and apparel markets, is now expanding into the growing field for
uniforms.
“With
environmental consciousness steadily rising in China, Teijin is witnessing a
growing interest in its Eco Circle program. We will continue to pursue and
expand our environmental initiatives in this fast-growing market,” said
Hirotaka Nakagawa, president of Nantong Teijin.
Recently,
Teijin donated a highly compact,
efficient and energy-saving municipal sewage-processing system, based on the
company’s Multi-Stage Activated Biological Process (MSABP) technology, to the
city of Kesennuma, Miyagi Prefecture as a temporary replacement for the sewage
treatment system devastated by the March 11 earthquake and tsunami.