Finnish sustainable workwear company Touchpoint and material innovation firm Spinnova have introduced their first demo product, the Tapio apron.
The companies said the goal of the collaboration is to make the world’s most sustainable workwear collection. The Tapio prototype apron is 100 percent wood-based, made without harmful chemicals and quickly biodegradable.
The apron can also be recycled into new fiber in the Spinnova process without dismantling, contains no materials that shed microplastics, and has no plastic or metal parts to weaken its recyclability. The Tapio apron is also undyed and uncoated.
“Every detail is carefully considered so that there is nothing unnecessary in the apron,” Touchpoint CEO Outi Luukko said. “We think it’s beautiful in its simplicity and sustainability.”
Touchpoint was one of the first brands to start collaborating with Spinnova in 2018.
“Touchpoint wanted to join our journey long before we knew much about the technical or commercial development of our fiber and wanted to publicly introduce a demo product before knowing when a collection is possible,” Spinnova CEO Janne Poranen said.
Luuko said the companies started with an apron to help raise discussion and spread awareness of the possibilities this will offer to a more ecological workwear scene and the entire textile industry. Another demo product will follow the Tapio apron and a complete commercial workwear collection is possible down the road.
The Tapio release follows a similar product demo collaboration with fellow Finnish brand Marimekko. Last month, the fashion label released a small capsule of garments bearing its signature aesthetic and made with Spinnova’s sustainable fibers.
Spinnova is now in the pre-commercial stage and planning its first commercial production facility for its cellulose-based fiber that includes zero harmful chemicals and waste or side streams.
Touchpoint provides sustainable workwear solutions to such companies as Hesburger, Viking Line, SOL Palvelut, Finavia, AirPro, NoHo Partners and Scandic. Touchpoint is also building a closed-loop solution for domestic textile waste in B2B segment. The recycling facility, Rester, starts operating in the beginning of 2021.