‘Closer to real circularity’: Rudolf launches Cycle-Logic
Geretsried, Bavaria-based Rudolf Group recently launched three chemical auxiliaries for textiles from post-consumer recycled polyethylene terephthalate (rPET) bottle flakes, named Cycle-Logic after the words “recycle” and “logic”.
Around three years in the making, the new products - created as a result of the chemical depolymerisation of waste PET into feedstock - make up part of the company’s Aspirational Chemistry offering.
Notably, Rudolf’s new Rucogen Upcycle RNB was introduced during a press conference as an “advanced” anti-backstaining dispersing agent for indigo washing, intended to help the denim industry progress “closer to real circularity”, as head of the company’s marketing and fashion division, Alberto De Conti, described it.
According to a fact sheet later published by the company online, product performance highlights include high (“highest”, according to Rudolf) dispersing power for unfixed indigo dyestuff, a stable and easy-to-dose formulation and comfortable handling due to low viscosity.
The “upcycle” aspect of the product’s name refers to the elevation of waste PET into something “more noble” than its starting point, Mr De Conti said, referring to PET’s poor biodegradability properties. All PET collected by Rudolf has been sourced exclusively from within the European Union, he added.
Following “extensive” testing in Turkey and Milan, the group found that its Rucogen Upcycle RNB, in particular, fared “the same or better” than similar products in the market, with no “significant” difference in pricing, Mr De Conti further explained. Use of the new rPET-derived dispersing agent would support the denim industry in seeing “significant environmental improvement” at the washing stage, he said.
Managing director at Rudolf, Dr Gunther Duschek, concluded the call by saying that while the company does not claim that the new products are free from hazardous chemicals, they represent a “good” 1% of its offering, which he hopes the industry will embrace with open arms in order to work with Rudolf to innovate further.
The two other products introduced during the press conference were Feran Upcycle ICT, an “intelligent” moisture management technology for performance textiles, plus Rucolin Upcycle SDS, which a press release described as an “all-in-one, multi-functional, high-affinity” polymer dyeing auxiliary for polyester.
Image: Unsplash. Credit: Michael Held
