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Throughout the development of the GREEN
THINKING project, the Innovation and Research
Center - AITEX has generated a series
of prototypes that took into account a large
number of factors that are important to the environmental
sustainability of products throughout
their life cycle - including from the very
conception of the product´s idea to the end of
its useful life, going through the supply of materials,
the duration of its use time and its energy
consumption during its use or the repair or recycling
processes that may be necessary.
In the case of carpet manufacturing, there are
mainly two challenges to improve the circularity
of its products, the industrial waste generated
in manufacturing and the difficulty of
separating the materials that make up carpets
and rugs at the end of their useful life by the
presence of difficult recyclable materials such
as latex combined with textile fibers. To a lesser
extent, the issue of repair in order to extend
service life with as little waste as possible has
also been addressed. Through the design of a
series of modular rugs that allow the repair
and standardization of parts, plus the viability
of the manufacturing process which demonstrates
the viability of certain technologies such
as “tufting” and the application of “backings”
by means of electric fields to generate 100%
mono-material rugs.
Ecodesign has also been enhanced by a set of
two pieces of furniture that have a strong textile
component, a chair and an acoustic room
divider. These products are commonly made of
materials from various origins that adhere to
each other, and among them, polyurethane foam
is usually found, a product that is difficult to
recycle. The prototypes created by AITEX have
been designed in such a way that they eliminate
the use of this material, demonstrating that it
is possible to match the comfort the previous
product´s provides to the chair and the acoustic
insulation of conventional partitions.
The premise of the chair design was to demonstrate
that the technical feasibility of the
product by using only two materials, polyamide
and steel, facilitates transport to the customer
by occupying the minimum possible volume and
any subsequent repair or recycling, and permits
its complete disassemblement. In order to
be able a comfortable offer seat and backrest
the textile needs different properties. This has
been achieved by weaving weft-knit technology,
which allows the fabric´s characteristics to vary
in different areas of the same piece. .
As a complement for the same space as the
chair, a self-supporting acoustic panel prototype
has been created using the same materials
and eco-design strategies. Its acoustic properties
have been created, leading to the development
of a prototype with an absorption coefficient
similar to that which can be found on the
market, but with a more interesting behavior in
terms of environmental matters.
More information at: https://www.aitex.es/
portfolio/green-thinking-estudio-de-aplicabilidad
del-ecodiseno-en-la-industria-textil/
The GREEN THINKING project has the support
of the Ministry of Sustainable Economy,
Sectors Productius, Comerç i Treball of the Generalitat
Valenciana, through IVACE. (IMAMCI/
2021/1).
R&D in ecodesign
Ecodesign is the set of decisions that
create a product considering the environmental
impact that is generated
through all stages of its life cycle and
not just the economic cost of each.