Weave more sustainable textiles with Dyneema® fiber

Changing consumer habits, new regulations, supply chain pressures … In a post-COVID-19 world, all these factors are driving the sustainability transition in the apparel and textile industries. Many material manufacturers and consumer brands are embracing more sustainable production methods, prioritizing durability over single-use products, and focusing on products that reduce weight while improving comfort, durability, and performance.

We’re uniquely positioned to help our partners address these market developments. It’s all thanks to our extensive range of performance-based fabrics made with Dyneema^®, the world’s strongest fiber™: the inherent properties of Dyneema^® enable brands to incorporate lighter-weight fabrics at the same strength or higher-strength fabrics at the same weight (based on tenacity, tensile, and tear indicators). What’s more, Dyneema^® fiber can improve a fabric’s resistance to cuts, UV, chemicals, and abrasion – for big wins all round.

And these wins can be realized with a lower percentage of fiber. Our Dyneema^® portfolio contains staple spun and filament fibers for both woven and knitted fabrics, enabling blending with natural or synthetic fibers in line with market demand and brand requirements.

In fact, together with our Premium Manufacturing Partners, we’ve established more than 100 different woven and knitted blends for apparel, footwear, workwear, and industrial applications. These blends include materials like hemp, Tencel^®, cotton, Cordura^®, polyester, and nylon and are optimized to maximize garment comfort, stretch, durability, and weight. Incorporating just 4–8% Dyneema^® fiber in a 100% woven cotton fabric can double the garment’s strength, and that becomes a factor of three when you use 15% Dyneema^®.

There’s plenty more to like, because, with the introduction of bio-based Dyneema^® fiber, we can offer innovative solutions that don’t sacrifice performance for sustainability. Sourced from renewable bio-based feedstock using the mass balance approach, bio-based Dyneema^® fiber reduces our reliance on fossil fuel-based resources with zero compromises on protection, comfort, or durability – even in high-performance fabrics for workwear and other performance-based apparel.

To manufacture these garments and the fabrics they’re made of, we’ve set up global supply chains through our Premium Manufacturing Partnerships. These relationships bring important operational advantages that help us address brand needs, such as access to a wide range of fabric options and innovations, increased speed to market, and world-class capabilities in material processing, all complying with strict quality and control requirements.

Furthermore, our global manufacturing reach enables shorter supply chains and closer proximity to key markets, for the twin benefits of greater supply security and fewer carbon emissions from transport. It’s just another way (or two) in which we’re helping our value chain meet the growing demand for a more sustainable textile industry!