In addition to the sports and outdoor area, FashionPower is now also conquering the world of workwear. The new EeCoff label stands for comfortable, functional and affordable workwear. The clothing is very hard-wearing and has many useful properties: it is breathable, has a dry-cool function, odor control and UV protection. The collection is fully circular, from the design process to the production process. Reg Nelemans, owner of FashionPower: “Circularity starts at the drawing board”.
coffee yarns
FashionPower’s coffee yarns have already sparked quite a textile revolution. The Dutch company, which is known for the sports brand Redmax and the outdoor brand Jack in a Bag, among other things, uses the yarns to make sportswear, socks, underwear and light jackets.
Revolutionary
“Technical developments in clothing, especially workwear, are progressing rapidly,” says Reg Nelemans, owner of FashionPower. Together with Dave Trappel, he shapes the new EeCoff brand. “Everyone is looking for techniques to make the production processes and the properties of the materials more sustainable And for ways to optimize the recycling process in the clothing industry. At FashionPower we started doing this a long time ago and when we discovered the technology of coffee yarns, we knew: this is revolutionary! The combination of polyester and coffee grounds creates ‘super powers’. The fabric absorbs odor, wicks moisture, is super soft, comfortable, breathable and protects against UV rays.”
Far fewer chemicals
“But above all, the fabric made from coffee yarn is extremely sustainable,” enthuses Trappel. “Almost no chemicals or chemical processes are required to produce it. If we use the dope-dye process to dye the fabric, we save up to 65% chemicals a. The colors are then injected at the nano level. Another advantage is that the colors do not fade, even with long and intense wear. And this despite the fact that the clothes are washable at sixty degrees. The dope-dye technique uses 90% less water than cotton dyeing and 60% less than other polyester dyeing methods. It also uses 60% less energy and has 60% lower CO2 emissions than, for example, the production of (organic) cotton. And : Polyester is 100% recyclable.”
spread knowledge
The most important thing we have to work on now is the mentality: many people think that certain materials like (organic) cotton are sustainable. But when you look at things like water use, chemical use, and land use, that’s not true at all. It’s up to us to convince the (textile) world that there is a sustainable alternative”.
We have extensively tested our corporate clothing. The clothes are comfortable and stay dry and odorless throughout the day. Even if you sweat profusely. At the moment we are mainly concentrating on outerwear, such as short and long sleeve t-shirts and polo shirts, body warmers, sweaters, cardigans and soft shell jackets. The collection is constantly being expanded, and of course many things are possible on request.
UPR
In the summer of 2023, the UPV (from the Dutch: “Uitgebreide producentenverantwoordelijkheid”) will be introduced, an extended producer responsibility that makes manufacturers and importers responsible for the entire cycle of a product, from raw materials to waste disposal. In this way, the government wants to encourage companies to reduce waste and reuse, recycle or use products as new raw materials. The aim of the UPV is to ensure more reuse, less waste and less pollution. (Source: Thuiswinkel.org)