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Upfront
Upfront with Freudenberg
Needle's Eye Senior International Correspondent Yvonne Heinen-Foudeh‘s Interviews Andreas Fellenz, European Sales Director for the Apparel Sector of Freudenberg Performance Materials.
As the world’s leading manufacturer of nonwovens, including interlinings and thermal insulation for the apparel industry and an extensive range of technical fabrics with different performance characteristics, Freudenberg Performance Materials sets high standards for itself.
Together with international customers, the global development departments work in teams with different focuses on innovation and product development for a wide range of industrial sectors, including not just the apparel industry but also the construction, energy, medical and mobility sectors.
Needle’s Eye Yvonne Heinen-Foudeh (YH-F): We live in a period of uncertainty – the consumer market has been shaken like never before, the global supply chain has never seemed so unstable. From your perspective Andreas, what share of the fashion industry’s current challenges originated with the pandemic, and what percentage were pre-existing problems that the industry now had to confront quickly?
Andreas Fellenz (AF): Overall, almost all current challenges in the textile industry existed before the pandemic. But the global response to the pandemic has made some of the challenges more obvious and has accelerated the shift towards new solutions.
Specific to the pandemic was, however, the fast and almost immediate decline in demand due to the lockdowns in almost all relevant markets. The related immediate liquidity problems sent a shockwave through the industry and are still affecting many players, while others did not survive. With many people working from home and few events, the shift from business wear towards casual clothing was strongly fostered. Also associated with the pandemic are the supply chain issues that are still imminent today as we have yet to emerge from the crisis measures around the globe. The instability of global supply chains, with congested ports, long lead times, and incredible cost increases for transportation, are still affecting the industry.
However, the most fundamental issues existed before the pandemic and have only become more obvious, and attempts to resolve them accelerated. The pressing need for the textile industry to become more eco-friendly is one example. Other existing issues to be addressed are the need for efficiency increases through digitization, including the shift from retail towards hybrid and pure online business models, as well as a need to address pre-existing supply chain inefficiencies.
YH-F: What do you consider as the most important trends influencing the near and longer-term future of fashion – in design, manufacturing, and elsewhere - and what is Freudenberg working on that you think is emblematic of where the industry as a whole is heading?
AF: Overall, we see three very important trends affecting the fashion industry in the immediate and long-term future: digitization, sustainability, and re-thinking the global supply chain.
Within digitization, the main fields are: first, the shift from retail towards hybrid or pure online business; second, improved efficiencies along the value-chain (e.g. 3-D design is one important technology with huge potential as it begins to mature), and third, communication with customers and consumers (including data-driven marketing). We support our customers in digitizing their businesses by providing the right data and supporting industry efforts (for instance the Global Textile Scheme) in developing a relevant standard. Furthermore, we are currently testing a B2B web-shop (https://shop.freudenberg-apparel.com) and just recently in October 2021 launched our new online showroom, featuring among other topics our solutions concerning sustainability.
Sustainability is moving from a “nice-to-have” towards a “must-have” for all players in the textile industry. Given the breadth of the field, we will see multiple efforts by many companies and market pressures will contribute to revealing what is greenwashing and what will be a real contribution towards a better environment. At Freudenberg, we are now focusing most of our product innovations on this topic and are fully committed to making a massive impact on sustainability. Our full program reaches far beyond pure product development and is gathered together in one place under our “House of Sustainability” (see separate article in this issue).
Regarding the global supply chain, we will see some significant changes in the near and distant future to stabilize supply chain processes and performance. Many producers will move away from single sourcing to at least dual sourcing wherever possible. We will also see a strong shift towards moving some production in Asia back to Europe (specifically to Turkey, but also Eastern Europe, North Africa, and Portugal). This trend is currently mainly driven by fast fashion producers but also other players will think again about producing closer to their markets due to a better overall ecological footprint and increased flexibility and speed-to-market.
YH-F: Given the volume on a big scale re-using textile raw materials to most probably be the only conceivable solution. Tackling, in particular, household textile waste becomes a political priority throughout Europe. The call from all kinds of social groups for the fashion industry to reinvent itself is getting much louder and of course, requires infrastructure and technologies to implement circularity. Producers have the responsibility and charge to pay for better clothing collection and to keep recycling on the agenda. From your perspective, what does Freudenberg see as a realistic scenario in terms of targets, and how long it will take to put apparel recycling on a broad, relevant basis in terms of sustainability?
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What is Freudenberg’s focus today?
“Contribution towards a better environment for most of our product innovations,” explains European Sales Director Andreas Fellenz.
Fellenz keeps his finger on the pulse of the apparel industry, day in and day out. As European Sales Director in the Apparel segment at Freudenberg Performance Materials, his knowledge and feedback on market needs and feasibility also flow into product development.
He is also involved in the board of the IACDE (International Association of Technical Apparel Designers and Patternmakers), which gives him additional insights into where the textile journey could be heading.
AF: Waste is a huge issue in the textile industry, and we at Freudenberg recognize that the more sustainable we make our own products, the more sustainable our customers’ products can be. Freudenberg Performance Materials Apparel now makes more than 500 different apparel interlinings and thermal insulation using recycled fibers, diverting approximately 45 million PET bottles from landfills each year and giving our customers a wide choice of sustainable options. On top of that, we have devoted serious resources to the development of interlinings that help prolong the lifespan of garments.
In addition to reduced consumption, more recycling, and increasing the quality of garments to ensure that they can be worn for longer, innovative ecological solutions are urgently needed for the end of the garment life cycle. Freudenberg is a pioneer in this field and in 2020 they launched comfortemp® TencelTM padding, the world’s first 100% biodegradable padding. It is completely biodegradable within 57 days without polluting the soil. Zero waste – the aim is clear. YH-F: The EU plans to implement household collections of textiles by 2025. At present, there is no clear idea of what to do with these textiles after they are collected. There are numerous examples of mechanical processing to recover fibers, which can then be fabricated into new products – such as felts to absorb sound and to provide insulation. There are also the very first examples of commercial garments that are made fully or partly incorporate recycled fibers. What can be a useful contribution by global market leaders like yourself, the organization you represent to make change happen also in that respect?
AF: Another important topic when it comes to sustainability indeed is the traceability and transparency of the entire manufacturing chain. All components must be produced in a resource-efficient manner and must be either degradable or reusable. Besides that, we support the Global Recycling Standard and are fully GRS certified. This underpins our strategy of sustainability, our long-term goals of reducing waste in the apparel industry, and our commitment to the circular economy. We also provide products that enable some of our customers to produce and offer products fulfilling the Cradle-to-Cradle standard.
Apart from a focus on products, our efforts at Freudenberg involve production energy monitoring, energy efficiency audits, ongoing CO2 reductions, and reclaiming waste as a raw material in itself, to name just a few. It is a continuous process that requires focus, perseverance, and a strong commitment from all stakeholders – including customers.
Moving consistently towards greater sustainability is a journey – and there is no single strategy that will work for all companies. Ultimately, the sum of many improvements and initiatives along the entire value chain will make a company and its products more sustainable and contribute to a more eco-friendly textile industry overall. About Freudenberg Performance MaterialsFreudenberg Performance Materials is a leading global supplier of innovative technical textiles for a broad range of markets and applications such as apparel, automotive, building interiors, building materials, healthcare, energy, filter media, shoe, and leather goods as well as specialties. In 2020, the company generated sales of more than €1 billion, had 33 production sites in 14 countries around the world and had some 5,000 employees. Freudenberg Performance Materials attaches great importance to social and ecological responsibility as the basis for its business success. www.freudenberg-pm.com The company is part of Freudenberg Group, which employed more than 48,000 people during 2020 in some 60 countries worldwide and generated sales of more than €8.8 billion. –NE–
In addition to reduced consumption, more recycling, and increasing the quality of garments to ensure that they can be worn for longer, innovative ecological solutions are urgently needed for the end of the garment life cycle. Freudenberg is a pioneer in this field and in 2020 they launched comfortemp® TencelTM padding, the world’s first 100% biodegradable padding. It is completely biodegradable within 57 days without polluting the soil. Zero waste – the aim is clear. YH-F: The EU plans to implement household collections of textiles by 2025. At present, there is no clear idea of what to do with these textiles after they are collected. There are numerous examples of mechanical processing to recover fibers, which can then be fabricated into new products – such as felts to absorb sound and to provide insulation. There are also the very first examples of commercial garments that are made fully or partly incorporate recycled fibers. What can be a useful contribution by global market leaders like yourself, the organization you represent to make change happen also in that respect?
AF: Another important topic when it comes to sustainability indeed is the traceability and transparency of the entire manufacturing chain. All components must be produced in a resource-efficient manner and must be either degradable or reusable. Besides that, we support the Global Recycling Standard and are fully GRS certified. This underpins our strategy of sustainability, our long-term goals of reducing waste in the apparel industry, and our commitment to the circular economy. We also provide products that enable some of our customers to produce and offer products fulfilling the Cradle-to-Cradle standard.
Apart from a focus on products, our efforts at Freudenberg involve production energy monitoring, energy efficiency audits, ongoing CO2 reductions, and reclaiming waste as a raw material in itself, to name just a few. It is a continuous process that requires focus, perseverance, and a strong commitment from all stakeholders – including customers.
Moving consistently towards greater sustainability is a journey – and there is no single strategy that will work for all companies. Ultimately, the sum of many improvements and initiatives along the entire value chain will make a company and its products more sustainable and contribute to a more eco-friendly textile industry overall. About Freudenberg Performance MaterialsFreudenberg Performance Materials is a leading global supplier of innovative technical textiles for a broad range of markets and applications such as apparel, automotive, building interiors, building materials, healthcare, energy, filter media, shoe, and leather goods as well as specialties. In 2020, the company generated sales of more than €1 billion, had 33 production sites in 14 countries around the world and had some 5,000 employees. Freudenberg Performance Materials attaches great importance to social and ecological responsibility as the basis for its business success. www.freudenberg-pm.com The company is part of Freudenberg Group, which employed more than 48,000 people during 2020 in some 60 countries worldwide and generated sales of more than €8.8 billion. –NE–
