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Ecodesign of Oxsitis products
An important step towards a more sustainable and less polluting model.
The integration of environmental preservation criteria in the design of new products is at the heart of our development strategy. Thus, we favour eco-design for most of our textile range and all our Slimbelt products since 2019.
Our aim is to reduce our dependence on petroleum-based materials, to consume less energy, to waste less water, to create less waste and above all to find solutions to recycle them. Textile recycling is an active part of this mission!
We use 2 types of recycled materials for the design of our products to date: polyester and elastane. Let’s discover the details of this manufacturing process.
Recycled polyester: light and quick drying
Polyester is undoubtedly the most widely used fibre in the textile industry, and particularly in our range, as it allows us to produce light, fast-drying products. This fibre is also very polluting and energy consuming. The challenge is therefore to reduce its traditional manufacture by using recycled polyester.
There are two types of recycled polyester:
- Pre-consumer recycled polyester from production residues that have never been used by consumers
- Post-consumer recycled polyester from waste that has already been used, such as plastic bottles
In line with our eco-friendly approach, we only use post-consumer polyester made from used bottles directly from waste sorting centres.
The bottles we use come exclusively from Europe in order to favour European production and to carry out this entire process in a short circuit (collection and transformation in Italy).
How does it work?
- Recycled bottles are collected, sorted and crushed into chips
- The shavings are then melted and turned into granules
- The pellets are heated and extruded into fibres
- The fibres are then processed into yarn
- The yarns are woven
In concrete terms, what are the gains for the environment?
- Recycling PET (plastic) reduces CO2 emissions by almost 70%: 1000 kg of recycled PET avoids the emission of almost 3000 kg of greenhouse gases, equivalent to the emissions of an average car in one year
- The manufacture of new products from recycled PET saves about 50% of energy
- Recycling saves the non-renewable energy sources from which PET is derived (oil)
- The recycled polyester production process uses very little water and energy compared to traditional processes, due to the use of solution dyeing (adding pigments directly into the plastic melt solution before the fibre is made) and the addition of additives during the spinning process.
Recycled elastane: flexibility and strength
The second recycled material we use for our textile range and belts is elastane. It has the advantage of being able to stretch and adapt to the body and offers excellent freedom of movement. It is therefore essential to our collection!
Recycling techniques for elastane are still underdeveloped at the moment because this material is difficult to recycle. Difficult is not impossible, so we have found a trusted partner who manufactures recycled elastane in Europe.
The raw material for recycled elastane comes mainly from spools and yarns.
Recycled fibres produce fewer greenhouse gases, require less water, and allow industrial waste to be transformed into raw material.
Everything we make has an impact on the planet and we need to rethink how we make our products.
Over the years, we have been involved in various projects to reduce our environmental impact. Our goal is to become increasingly involved in preserving the environment and our playground.