[ad_1]
Hugo Boss has adopted HeiQ AeoniQ yarns with a $5 million equity investment in HeiQ AeoniQ and additional contingent $4 million, based on performance milestone arrangements. The Lycra Company has also become the exclusive distributor for the yarn with a significant investment and by committing to develop the technology for broad application in textiles.
The strategic partnership will help Hugo Boss meet its ambitious sustainability targets which include the aim for climate neutrality within its own area of responsibility by 2030 and throughout the entire value chain by 2045. In addition, the company puts particular emphasis on establishing an end-to-end circular business model. The investment therefore perfectly fits in with Hugo Boss’ goal to strongly increase the proportion of more sustainable materials over the coming years. Over the mid to long term, Hugo Boss is focused on the potential to materially complement and substitute the currently used polyester and nylon fibres with the cellulosic HeiQ AeoniQ fibres.
“Our exciting partnership with HeiQ on HeiQ AeoniQ represents yet another important milestone on our journey towards becoming the leading premium tech-driven fashion platform worldwide. Consistent with our bold mission statement ‘We Love Fashion, We Change Fashion’, this game-changing collaboration with HeiQ enables us to further push innovation and sustainability across our brands’ offerings, thereby driving measurable impact for environment and society alike,” said Daniel Grieder, CEO of Hugo Boss.
Hugo Boss has adopted HeiQ AeoniQ yarns with a $5 million equity investment in HeiQ AeoniQ and additional contingent $4 million, based on performance milestone arrangements. The Lycra Company has also become the exclusive distributor for the yarn with a significant investment and by committing to develop the technology for broad application in textiles.
Prior to Hugo Boss’ equity investment, The Lycra Company agreed to be the exclusive distributor for HeiQ AeoniQ yarn through payment of a milestone-driven technology fee and a commitment to leverage its deep textiles knowledge and market channel access to prepare this new technology for broad use in apparel applications, Hugo Boss said in a press release.
HeiQ AeoniQ is a continuous cellulosic filament yarn with the potential to compete with polyester and nylon fibres – constitutes a revolutionary, first-to-market and scalable proprietary apparel technology, which will allow the manufacturing of a sustainable, cellulosic yarn designed for circularity and closed-loop recycling that could ultimately substitute oil-based fibres.
Sustainability continues to be a core tenet of The Lycra Company’s strategy as we are focused on providing value-added technologies to help our customers create and develop exceptional fabric and garment offerings while reducing the environmental footprint, without sacrificing comfort or performance,” said Julien Born, CEO at The Lycra Company. “Through our close collaboration with HeiQ, we are working together to fast-track the commercialization of HeiQ’s AeoniQ yarn and are excited by the impact this ground-breaking innovation will have on the apparel industry.”
“The financial commitments by such prestigious companies as Hugo Boss and The Lycra Company are strong endorsements of HeiQ AeoniQ’s game-changing potential. This also demonstrates our ability to commercialise our HeiQ AeoniQ IP, now with an implied valuation of $200 million. HeiQ AeoniQ yarn is a versatile alternative to polyester and nylon and its climate positive qualities create a very exciting market opportunity for HeiQ, as fashion brands and retailers come under increasing pressure to do their part in decarbonising their products and reduce their environmental footprints,” said Carlo Centonze, co-founder & Group CEO of HeiQ.
The primary use of the raised proceeds would be to scale up and commercialise this disruptive technology. In this context, HeiQ AeoniQ will build its first commercial giga factory in Central Europe by end of 2024, and is currently scaling-up its pilot commercialisation plant for fibre production, scheduled for the second quarter of 2022.
HeiQ AeoniQ – a continuous cellulosic filament yarn with the potential to compete with polyester and nylon fibres – constitutes a revolutionary, first-to-market and scalable proprietary apparel technology, which will allow the manufacturing of a sustainable, cellulosic yarn designed for circularity and closed-loop recycling that could ultimately substitute oil-based fibres.
HeiQ AeoniQ yarns are made out of cellulosic biopolymers that during growth bind carbon from the atmosphere. HeiQ AeoniQ yarn is designed to substitute existing oil-based filament yarns, such as environmentally persistent polyester and nylon, which constitute over 60 per cent of global annual textile output of 111 million metric tons.
Fibre2Fashion News Desk (RR)
[ad_2]
Source link
