#Textiles & Apparel / Garment

2024-11-14

YKK unveils innovative zipper to boost garment recycling

YKK Corporation (Headquarters: Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo; President: Hiroaki Otani; hereafter, YKK) has developed NATULON Plus® with Recycled PET Open Parts, as part of its efforts to promote garment recycling. This innovative product will be showcased at the Functional Fabric Fair in Portland, Oregon, USA, from November 19 to November 21, 2024.

In the fashion industry there is an increasing demand for products that are designed to be easily recyclable at the end of their lifecycle. YKK is pleased to announce the new NATULON Plus® with Recycled PET Open Parts, a zipper maximizing the use of PET materials, which was conceived as a more easily recyclable YKK® product. The chain and the open parts are made of recycled PET, and the PET materials for the injection molding of the open parts were developed by YKK in-house. The slider is made of metal for ease of sorting and durability. This product simplifies the garment processing stage of textile recycling by reducing the need to remove the zipper.

Product Introduction: NATULON Plus® with Recycled PET Open Parts

Terry Tsukumo, Vice President, Product Strategy Division, Global Sales Headquarters, YKK Corporation, comments:“A large amount of apparel products is thrown away each year. We need to extend the service life of products while simultaneously designing them to be easily recyclable after use. We believe that incorporating YKK’s NATULON Plus® with recycled PET open parts into garments will simplify the garment processing stage and enable more of them to be recycled along with the garments. YKK has previously developed products that help to enable a circular economy such as VISLON® NATULON® made with ECONYL® Regenerated Nylon, a recyclable product which is intended for nylon garments, as well as revived replacement elements for VISLON® zippers which can replace broken elements to keep garments functioning longer. YKK will continue enhancing its products designed for circularity such as those that are easily recyclable and repairable, while aggressively working to tackle environmental problems in the apparel industry across the entire supply chain.”

Other products that aim to bring about a circular economy

+ VISLON® NATULON® made with ECONYL® Regenerated Nylon

Made of ECONYL® regenerated nylon, this zipper for nylon garments has been developed so that it can be recycled back into raw materials after use.

+ ADVANCEN® Made with ECONYL® Regenerated Nylon

This snap button is made of a single plastic material, using more than 98% recycled nylon ECONYL®.

+ Revived Replacement Elements for VISLON® zippers

This allows users to replace only the damaged element, without replacing the entire zipper.

+ DynaPel®

This zipper features a water-repellent function that does not rely on polyurethane (PU) films or coatings, which are often incompatible with many recycling systems.

+ TouchLink®

The zipper slider is equipped with an NFC chip, allowing customers and recyclers to easily access detailed information about the product with TouchLink® technology. This includes production date and location, material composition, care instructions, repair information, and more.

YKK to exhibit at Textile Exchange Conference 2025 in Lisbon

YKK Corporation (Headquarters: Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo; President: Koichi Matsushima; hereafter, YKK) will exhibit at the Textile Exchange Conference 2025 in Portugal, held from Monday, October 13 to Friday, October 17, to showcase its products and initiatives that contribute to the realization of a circular economy in the fashion industry.

Providing zippers dyed with ECO-DYE® technology for the World Expo

YKK Corporation (Headquarters: Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo; President: Koichi Matsushima; hereafter, YKK) will provide zippers to the University of Fukui’s Fukumira Design Factory for its booth at the “Science: Connecting You to the Future” exhibit (sponsored by the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology), which will take place at the Expo 2025 Osaka, Kansai, Japan from August 14 (Thursday) to August 19 (Tuesday).

Freudenberg accelerates local production for apparel market by expanding its site in India

Freudenberg Performance Materials Apparel (Freudenberg Apparel) celebrates the grand opening of a major expansion at its manufacturing facility in Chennai, India, on October 14, adding 20,000 square feet of production space and introducing new production lines tailored to the Indian apparel market. This strategic investment is aimed at significantly reducing lead times and enhancing the availability of high-quality, locally produced interlinings for the fast-evolving apparel sector in India and South Asia.

KARL MAYER develops seersucker WARP KNITS with even more character and style

Seersucker fabrics are icons of the clothing industry and assure their manufacturers' success. Just in time for ITMA ASIA + CITME 2025, the textile product developers at KARL MAYER have succeeded in creating brand new variants of this material. These fancy newcomers feature unique bubble effects and, with their new dimensionality, inject extra dynamism into the textile surface – and into the market.

Heimtextil 2026 strengthens the global home textile industry with trends, designs and AI technologies

With an optimised hall layout, progressive design collaborations, inspiring trends and AI-driven innovations, Heimtextil 2026 reacts to the current market situation – and offers the industry a reliable constant in challenging times. Under the motto ‘Lead the Change’, the leading trade fair for home and contract textiles and textile design shows how challenges can be turned into opportunities. From 13 to 16 January, more than 3,100 exhibitors from 65 countries will provide a comprehensive market overview with new collections and textile solutions. As a knowledge hub, Heimtextil delivers new strategies and concrete solutions for future business success.

A circular European value chain turns post-consumer textile waste into new garments for Dutch retailer Zeeman

A closed-loop recycling project has successfully transformed 24 tons of post-consumer textiles into nearly 50,000 garments for Dutch retailer Zeeman, with each product containing a high-rate of 70% recycled content. This achievement represents a major milestone in accelerating textile-to-textile recycling in Europe.

Eastman Naia™ launches Sustainability Progress Report and 2025-2030 Sustainability Goals at Textile Exchange Conference, reaffirming commitment to circular innovation

At the Textile Exchange Conference 2025, Eastman Naia™ released its 2025 Sustainability Progress Report and announced its 2025–2030 Sustainability Goals, presenting a record of genuine progress and outlining a renewed roadmap for the years ahead. This announcement demonstrates Naia™’s long-standing commitment to driving an industry-wide shift toward sustainability through scalable, commercially viable material solutions.