Innovative material: “CORK-A-TEX” yarn
Frankfurt, Germany. May 14, 2019.
The jury of the “Techtextil Innovation Award” decided to award the product “Cork-A-Tex YARN”, yarn with high cork incorporation, with the TECHTEXTIL INNOVATION AWARD 2019 in the category” new material “, one of the 7 categories in competition, and considered the most important award.
For the first time in history, a Portuguese project wins this prestigious global award. Techtextil is the leading international trade fair for technical textiles and nonwovens, the largest and most recognized international event in this field, and its awards are sought after by all who do Research and Innovation in this area.
International Jury Appreciation:
“Cork is a renewable bio-based material used to seal wine bottles, as we all know. To be even more sustainable, the cork industry was looking for a new solution for its waste that is now burned. Researchers discovered that this cork waste can be coated in a textile thread to form a cork yarn. The jury appreciated Sedacor’s effort to make the cork industry an even more sustainable industry. Burning waste is not a sustainable solution, even if that waste is of biological origin. Sedacor looked beyond their industry and beyond their skills to find the solution in textiles. Using this waste, a new type of cork yarn was developed with a look-and-feel of natural cork and that will allow the development of new textiles”.
About CORK-A-TEX YARN, the innovative and disruptive yarn with high cork incorporation.
Cork is nature’s own high-tech achievement, whose resources cannot be replicated by anything else man-made. An emblematic Portuguese and European material, widely recognized internationally.
The cork oak forest is one of the 35 most important ecosystem centers in the world for preserving biodiversity and a natural CO2 trapper (cork oak forests trap more than 14 million tons of CO2 per year).
The growing demand for new textile solutions, particularly in the area of eco-design and sustainability, has led us to consider how to overcome the difficulties and limitations of using cork-based materials in the clothing, home textiles and other markets.
Considering the importance of the Cork and Textile sectors in traditional Portuguese and European industries, we launched the “Cork-a-Tex” project – with the objective of developing sustainable textile substrates with cork waste (cork stoppers and other cork waste), an excellent example of circular economy.
Result: Composed of sustainable textile material (cotton or other) and cork waste, it is an innovative and high performance yarn that simultaneously incorporates the properties of textile substrates in terms of comfort, breathability, touch, appearance and the functional benefits of cork, such as: natural material with a soft, comfortable and warm feel, hypoallergenic and with high friction resistance and good resilience.
In a project led by Sedacor (cork industry), in partnership with Têxteis Penedo (textile industry), it also counted on the scientific and technical collaboration of CITEVE (Technological Center for Textiles and Clothing) and the Faculty of Engineering of Porto (University of Porto). It also had the support of the Portuguese Government and the European Union.
With an international patent, this disruptive product is attracting great interest for applications in sectors such as clothing, footwear and fashion accessories, home textiles and decoration, mobility, and others. Partners Sedacor and Têxteis Penedo are already industrializing this new material, and it is expected to be available on the market later in 2019.
