Thanks to the great impulse and the high demand that fashion consumers have begun to make for more sustainable solutions and committed to the good use of natural resources, there’s been an impressive emergence of new sustainable and recycled materials.
New fibers among which we find from vegan leather solutions based on mushroom mycelia or pineapple waste to fibers made from the banana plant, and to which we now add the fibers of S.Café. The company specializes in the development of circular solutions from coffee grounds with applications in the fields of textile and cosmetics, whose fibers are already used by well-known fashion companies such as Timberland, Hugo Boss, and The North Face.
Coffee is an important raw material that can be reused. Singtex's Taiwanese textile technology combines post-patented processed coffee powder with polymer to create master batches before converting it into yarn. The resulting yarn is multifunctional and can be used in a variety of products, from outdoor products to sports equipment to everyday household items.
Deodorizing and UV-Resistant Fibers
Thanks to research carried out by S. Café, financed and sponsored by Singtex, the textile company currently offers a total of seven textile solutions, all made from coffee grounds:
P4DRY technical fiber, Mylithe synthetic fiber imitating cotton, Airnest sustainable bio foam, fiber made from recycled plastic bottles and Eco Sy coffee grounds, fiber made from coffee grounds and Sefía biodegradable wood pulp; AEx Technology high-strength technical fiber, and then Airmen, a waterproof fiber made with a membrane containing 25 percent post-consumer coffee oil, with which the company seeks to replace petroleum-based materials with a much more sustainable alternative.
Singtex successfully developed the first ecological thread based on coffee S.Café in 2008", a circular material made from recycled plastic bottles and coffee grounds" which has qualities such as deodorizing, fast drying as well as being resistant to UV rays, as explains the Taiwanese multinational. It has since gone on to develop a plethora of applications, which is slowly but surely gaining ground in the fashion industry.
North Face’s Sustainable Collection
Adding to the circular commitment of Singtex and S.Café, The North Face presented "Glacier Pack" in its 2021 summer collection. A collection of women's clothing specially designed for hiking during the summer season, with which, in addition to providing that value as sustainable pieces, the outdoor firm pays tribute to three iconic women who were the first to climb the Alps.
S.Café’s coffee fiber is particularly ideal for athletic wear because caffeine grounds have a unique deodorizing function. In the case of the T-shirts, North Face added small perforations under the arms and across the back to allow the skin to breathe, making them perfect for hiking in warm climates.
North Face commented on the collaboration with S.Café, having used recycled coffee grounds to create a fabric that is not only eco-friendly, but also highly functional. The North Face was created in 1966 in San Francisco by Douglas Tompkins and Dick Klopp, who named their outdoor gear business after the North Face, which is the coldest side of a mountain, as well as the one with the harshest weather conditions for climbing, especially in winter.
In addition to betting on new innovative materials, North Face’s factories in the supply chain are Bluesign certified, and it also sources feathers that come from ethically-run farms.