Milestone in Sustainable Textile Production
BASF has officially started operations at the world’s first commercial loopamid® plant. Located at the Caojing site in Shanghai, China, this facility has an annual production capacity of 500 metric tons. This development marks a significant step in providing sustainable solutions for the textile industry.
“The startup of this plant once again demonstrates BASF’s innovative strength,” said Stephan Kothrade, a member of the Board of Executive Directors and Chief Technology Officer (CTO) of BASF SE. “As a key part of our Winning Ways strategy, we use our chemistry to develop solutions for major global challenges. loopamid transforms textile waste into a valuable resource, conserves raw materials, and closes the textile loop.”
loopamid: Advancing Textile Recycling
loopamid is a fully recycled polyamide 6 made entirely from textile waste. This new facility supports the increasing demand for sustainable polyamide 6 fibers in the textile industry.
“I am incredibly proud of our team, which has worked with passion and dedication to commercialize loopamid,” said Ramkumar Dhruva, President of BASF’s Monomers division. “The technology behind loopamid enables textile-to-textile recycling for polyamide 6 in various fabric blends, including those with elastane. I am confident that loopamid makes a meaningful contribution to the textile circular economy and helps our customers achieve their sustainability goals.”
GRS Certification: Ensuring Sustainable Practices
As per the BASF press release, the new plant and all loopamid production are certified under the Global Recycled Standard (GRS). This certification assures consumers and textile manufacturers that BASF makes loopamid from recycled materials and adheres to strict environmental and social standards in its production. Several yarn manufacturers have already started using loopamid successfully.
Utilizing Textile Waste for loopamid Production
BASF currently uses industrial textile waste from manufacturing processes as the primary raw material for loopamid. The company plans to gradually increase the proportion of post-consumer waste.
This feedstock includes cutting scraps, defective cuts, offcuts, and other textile production waste collected from customers and partners. Additionally, BASF can recycle end-of-life garments made from polyamide 6 and other textile products into loopamid. These materials pose recycling challenges as they often contain a mix of fibers, dyes, and additives. Post-consumer waste also requires pre-treatment, such as the removal of buttons, zippers, and accessories.
To overcome these challenges, BASF collaborates with partners and customers to enhance collection and sorting systems. This collaboration accelerates the development of textile circularity.
