'Plastic-free' elastics development from Lenzing
German brand Charle Berlin and Austria-based fibre producer Lenzing have introduced a line of “plastic-free” textile tapes that they say are fully compostable elastics made from Tencel Lyocell, Tencel Luxe filament yarn and natural rubber.
The range is complemented by non-elastic variants made from pure Tencel Lyocell, and debuted at Future Fabrics Expo in London this week.
“We were looking for a way to avoid elastane and create compostable options,” Nicole Shram, Lenzing’s business development manager, told Sportstextiles. “It works across so many applications, fashion, underwear and even footwear, with different thicknesses and levels of stretch.”
Charle Berlin was founded in 2010 by Mandy Geddert, originally as a children's fashion label. Driven by her commitment to using sustainable materials, she developed her first natural rubber elastic band in 2011, sourcing the rubber from Malaysia, then expanded to supply to other companies.
The companies worked on the development for around a year, with the product now available commercially.
“There are so many brands asking whether we have options for circularity,” added Ms Shram. “Options like this which have an end-of-life solution are attractive.”
