The clothes you wear, the bedsheets you sleep in – conventional polyester is part of almost every textile item you own. In fact, more than 50% of textile fibers globally is polyester. Almost all polyester contains harmful substances like carcinogenic antimonytrioxide.
Additionally, polyester takes hundreds of years to naturally biodegrade in nature. In fact, more than 30% of microplastics found in the world's oceans can be traced back to synthetic textile fibers like polyester.
It's about time for a change!
We at OceanSafe have put lots of time and energy into the development of a solution that effectively addresses the environmental and health related issues connected to polyester in textiles.
Considering the vast amounts of polyester used in textiles annually, it quickly became clear that introducing a fiber or yarn with new properties would not bring about the change and impact the industry needs.
Rather, what the industry needs is a replacement fiber that comes with the same properties in terms of performance and durability, but, unlike conventional polyester, does not harm the environment or the health of the user. This trail of thought eventually led us to develop our naNea materials.
Introducing naNea
naNea is a novel circular synthetic material, a modified co-polyester that does not emit persistent microplastics and does not contain antimony or other harmful substances.
It is the world's first and only synthetic textile material that has satisfied the strict Cradle to Cradle Certified® Gold standards.
naNea is designed to replace conventional polyester and is available as fibers, fiber yarns and filament yarns.
Biodegradability
naNea' proprietary polymer enables biodegradability without the need for chemical additives. It is recyclable along with PET and biodegrades in marine water by 95% within 99 days.
Environment & Health
Using naNea is an environmentally conscious choice for many reasons.
- No persistent microplastics
- No toxicants, no heavy metals, not ecotoxic
- Potential to reduce CO2 emissions
- Recyclable along with PET waste streams
Drop-in technology
Transitioning to naNea in manufacrturing processes is effortless - it is market-ready and scalable today. In other words, naNea is a true drop-in technology: It does not require a single new manufacturing equipment along the entire value chain.
The production process is industrial, following the known principles of conventional synthetics production. Any processing step, like weaving, knitting, dyeing, and finishing is conducted as usual.
We are committed to social justice. Hence, we produce and manufacture our naNea solely in socially audited value chains (as per the Cradle to Cradle assessment).
Advanced technical properties
naNea is designed to replace conventional polyester, but it is more than jsut a replacement. It comes with highly beneficial technical properties:
- Available as fibers and filament
- Excellent durability and performance
- Inherently flame-retardant
- Soft hand-feel
- Slightly hydrophilic
- Washable at 60°C
Industry applications
Wherever polyester is used today, naNea is the perfect less-impact replacement. It matches the performance of conventional polyester, making it an ideal choice for textile items where resilience and durability are paramount:
- Sportswear
- Outdoor
- Functional apparel
- Home textiles
- Technical applications
- Automotive
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