- C&A and traceless materials join forces to reduce plastics in packaging.
- Start-up develops advanced biodegradable plastic alternatives from agricultural waste products.
- During a pilot phase over the upcoming months, C&A will introduce the hooks made by traceless to its store in Hamburg Altona.
From today, European retailer C&A and circular bioeconomy start-up traceless materials are joining forces to reduce the use of conventional plastics in fashion packaging. During a pilot phase, single-use hooks in C&A’s store in Hamburg Altona will be replaced by hooks produced from traceless®. These hooks are an advanced biodegradable plastic alternative derived from agricultural plant waste and designed for the biological cycle.
Every year, around 8-10 billion plastic clothes hangers are produced globally. Due to their small size, single-use plastic hooks that are usually used for socks and underwear pose challenges for recycling. This is exactly where traceless materials’ bio-circular solution comes in. Even though traceless® looks and feels like plastic, it is made entirely from plant residues and is plastic-free. It is naturally compostable and saves up to 95% of the carbon emissions that would otherwise be generated by the production and disposal of conventional plastics. By attaching the traceless® hooks to C&A’s portfolio, both companies are set to make a lasting impact on the industry.
The pilot phase with traceless materials fits in with C&A’s recent circularity initiatives, including Cradle to Cradle Certified® product innovations and collaboration with material sciences company Recover™. With these projects, C&A is underpinning its role as a leading innovative player in the textile sector and is taking a significant step in meeting the goals of its 2028 Global Sustainability Strategy through the far-reaching reduction of single-use plastics. To uphold its responsibility, C&A is raising awareness of the environmentally harmful impact of single-use plastic by positioning the launch of the cooperation with the utmost prominence, for example on a specific project website and on railcards in the store.
‘’Our collaboration with traceless is an important step on our way to reaching our ambitious goal of replacing consumer facing single-used plastics in our stores with sustainable alternatives by 2028,” said Aleix Busquets Gonzalez, Head of Global Sustainability at C&A.
“For us at traceless, this small hook means a big step forward: it is the first pilot product to hit the shelves made from our bio-circular material innovation! After many months of development time, our whole team is incredibly proud of this achievement,” says Anne Lamp, CEO & Co-Founder at traceless materials.
Further information is provided on a dedicated landing page.
About C&A
With over 1,300 stores in 17 European countries and more than 25,000 employees, C&A is one of Europe’s leading fashion retailers. Every day, C&A welcomes millions of visitors to its stores in Europe and to its online shop. C&A offers quality and long-lasting fashion at affordable prices for all. For further information, please visit our website.
About traceless
The circular bioeconomy startup traceless materials has developed the technology to turn plant leftovers into a novel, holistically sustainable plastic alternative. Founded 2020 in Hamburg, the team is currently working on first pilot products made from their material innovation traceless®, and in parallel is scaling up their production capacities.
Source
C&A, press release, 2022-12-08.
Supplier
C&A Retail GmbH
Recover™
traceless materials GmbH
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