Tèxtils.CAT, along with the Packaging Cluster and in collaboration with the LEITAT Technological Center, concludes the TEXSOSPACK project, co-financed by the Waste Agency of Catalonia under the Circular Economy Promotion program.
The project aims to promote the implementation of sustainable packaging in the advanced textile materials sector. TEXSOSPACK first conducted an analysis of the state of the art of sustainable packaging across various sectors and generated a compilation of different options available for adopting sustainable packaging measures.
With this information, an inter-cluster session was held between companies in the advanced textile materials sector and packaging companies to define the daily challenges they face and propose solutions through a working dynamic. From the solutions proposed by companies in the Packaging Cluster, the most relevant ones were selected and studied through a Life Cycle Analysis (LCA).
The results obtained (primarily focused on calculating the carbon footprint) for the proposed situations are as follows:
- The use of recycled low-density polyethylene film instead of virgin material is estimated to reduce the carbon footprint by 55%, while avoiding the consumption of virgin material and final disposal of that material.
- Reusable cardboard boxes can be used instead of single-use boxes. Considering transport, it has been shown that, over short distances, a box that is reused six times represents an 80% reduction in carbon footprint compared to a single-use box.
- A cardboard tube, or mandrel, is typically made of 100% recycled cardboard and uses non-hazardous adhesives, but usually has only a single use. The project proposes the use of more durable plastic mandrels and compares their environmental impact with that of cardboard ones.
All this information can be found detailed in a guide to facilitate the implementation of sustainable packaging for companies in the advanced textile materials sector, which could also be extrapolated to other companies in the textile sector and even to other sectors. This guide will soon be available on the project’s website.
TEXSOSPACK aims to facilitate the green transition for the advanced textile materials and packaging sectors in Catalonia, both predominantly made up of SMEs, by generating new business opportunities to increase their competitiveness, based on close collaboration and reducing the environmental impact of their services and products.
