Companies

Coats Footwear collaborates with Lenzing

Oct 3, 2023 United Kingdom

Coats' footwear division and the Austrian-based producer of cellulose-based speciality fibres have joined forces to create the footwear industry's first synthetic-free engineered uppers and fabrics

By bringing together Coats Footwear's ProWeave technology and Lenzing's Tencel Lyocell Filament, the two companies have created dynamic, reinvented uppers and fabrics for footwear, “which combine sustainability and performance features”. These will be used in the prototype of Circle Sportswear’s SuperNatural Runner model.

According to the British manufacturer, this method will enable the production of “stylish” and functional uppers and fabrics, while improving supply chain traceability, bio-sustainability, and lowering the carbon footprint associated with the manufacturing process. “This is an incredibly exciting alliance for Coats Footwear, the Lenzing Group, and the wider industry. From day one, it was clear this was a natural partnership”, said Paul Jackson, ProWeave Business Unit Leader at Coats Footwear.

“Independently, we are committed to helping companies lower the environmental impact of textile and footwear production processes by providing best-in-class materials and manufacturing technologies. Together, we're revolutionizing the way uppers and materials can be made – giving footwear brands and manufacturers the chance to build high-level sustainable products in the most innovative way possible, with zero constraints on creativity”, he added.

Derived from renewable raw material wood from controlled and certified forests, Tencel Lyocell Filament is manufactured using resource-efficient production processes that recycle process water and reuse the solvent at a recovery rate of more than 99%. On the other end, ProWeave is a jacquard weaving technology that integrates multi-functionality and design freedom weaving in an exclusive engineered upper or fabric.

“We are truly excited to partner with Coats Footwear to create exciting footwear uppers and fabrics that have botanic origins at heart. By combining the unique features of Tencel Lyocell staple fibres and filament and ProWeave technology, we believe the sky is the limit for the innovation of next-generation, planet-friendly footwear”, commented Nicole Schram, Global Business Development Manager, Apparel (Footwear) at Lenzing Group.

Image Credits: textiletechnology.net

Austria United Kingdom Footwear Manufacturing Materials Sustainability