Renowned Austrian brand Wolford unveiled its first prototype of biodegradable tights and lingerie last Monday in Paris. “Sustainability has been part of the overall responsibility that we have actively embraced for over 60 years,” said Andreas Roehrich, Director Product Development/Textile Sourcing, “It was time to extend the brand’s long lasting ecological commitment outside our production facilities, and we are very proud to present the first prototype of tights and lingerie that are safe for biological cycles.”
“As members of the smart-textiles industry network, we have been focusing all our ingenuity to rethink and redesign our core business collections with the Cradle to Cradle® approach that could help generate nutrients in multiple biological or technical cycles,” he adds. “With this innovation, we are strongly committed to develop products using healthy raw materials, chemicals and dyes that are safe for the consumer, the society and the environment.”
Wolford is working with a consortium of fifteen companies, each producing Cradle to Cradle® individual components needed in the lingerie and hosiery industry, and the brand aims to bring out the products by Autumn/Winter 2018. For the biological cycles both the lingerie set and the tights will be made out of Modal (a cellulosic fibre derived from sustainable forestry), together with a specially modified oil-based biodegradable Polymer, infinito®, and a biodegradable elastomer, all of which are safe for biological cycles. “It may seem that the path is still long and full of technical challenges, but we are positive we have reached the tipping point, things are going to move faster from now on, change is just around the corner,” Andreas Roehrich said closing his presentation.
