With over 100 delegates from across the nonwovens and related industries in attendance, the first edition of EDANA’s new Circular Nonwovens Forum successfully created a new platform for discussion on sustainability and circularity within the nonwovens sector, according to the organisation.

Nonwoven manufacturers, their suppliers and converters are increasingly focused on finding circular economy solutions and this gathering was established to explore this trend in depth with key technical actors, business leaders and decision makers, EDANA says.

The forum opened with a keynote speech from Paola Migliorini, the Deputy Head of Unit for Sustainable Production, Products & Consumption on the European Commission’s new Circular Economy Action plan. It was followed by a range of insightful presentations and discussions covering initiatives to address the circularity of AHP plastic waste, the biodegradability and compostability of nonwovens, material innovations, and developments in renewable polypropylene. The presentations were followed by well attended breakout sessions allowing for participants to engage with the speakers.

“There is clear awareness and engagement about the sustainability of products in the nonwovens sector,” said Pierre Wiertz, General Manager of EDANA. “And circularity is one of the most complex pillars of sustainability strategies, so it is very important that, as the voice of our industry, EDANA facilitates industry interaction and knowledge sharing with forums such as these. I am happy to see this sentiment supported with the level of attendance and engagement we had at the forum.”

“It is rewarding to see our ambition payoff with this new initiative,” said Gil Stevens Director of Sustainability and External Relations at EDANA. “To witness such engagement in an online environment was especially pleasing and it’s a credit to the team and the strong programme that we had such a large active audience. I am also very proud to see how sustainable practices are driving innovation in our sector, sketching tentative circular economy directions that could create virtuous loops and alternatives from which market forces will choose.”

This forum is planned to be held annually with the next edition scheduled to be held in Brussels in September 2021.

www.edana.org