Avgol, an Indorama Ventures company and global leader in the manufacture of high-performance nonwoven fabric solutions, will be showcasing its latest work in biotransformation technology for polyolefin fibers and nonwoven fabrics at Hygienix.

Nick Carter, vice president, Nonwovens Marketing at Avgol, will be a guest speaker at the event, giving a presentation alongside DeeAnn Nelson, R&D and Innovation Manager with Avgol in North America, on ‘Biotransformation Technology in Polyolefin Fibers and Nonwoven Fabrics, Focus on Fugitive Used Articles.’

“Today, the word “sustainability” does not have a unified meaning in the industries we serve,” says Carter. “Perform a regional analysis on any given customer or consumer, delve into a legislative body or advocacy group’s positioning and you will find each are likely to use the word ‘sustainable’ with varying interpretations, implementations, and implications."

“We are going to focus on several aspects of sustainability, including the topic of waste single use articles in the environment and use of recycle-friendly, biologically sourced colorants,” he says. “Specifically, we intend to move from the problem statement to a means for reducing the negative environmental and financial effects such single use article fugitive wastes pose to municipalities and manufacturers and discuss aspects of cross-industry cooperation to be reliable vendors to our customers.”

The Avgol presentation, part of the Product & Process Innovation in AHPs series, will take place at 2pm on Tuesday, November 16. Other speakers scheduled for this session include Chris Nelson, of Curt G. Joa Inc., Jim Robinson from Principal Absorbent Hygiene Insights LLC and Jason Finnis, BAST Fiber Technology.

From their base at the tabletop event, Carter and the Avgol team will  discuss the global challenge of eliminating incineration, chemical treatment, landfill, dumping and, in particular, fugitive material pollution from non-woven products.

“Working with our sister companies in Indorama, we have established our vision of innovating together for circular evolution,” he adds. “Our first major project is now addressing the need to achieve full biodegradation of our materials to help solve the issue of waste plastics that find their way into the environment.

natureFIT is the newest innovation in the Avgol™ technology platform, designed to imbue nonwoven fabrics with additional qualities and benefits that anticipate the shifting demands of the consumer-led retail space. The suite of fabric solutions is focused on replacing elements of spun melt fabric design, where possible, with natural alternatives. The advanced technology affords product designers a significant reduction in polymer consumption to reduce environmental impact while simultaneously enhancing softness and conformability.