CITEVE, the Portugese technology centre for textile and clothing in Portugal, has developed a process for turning natural leather waste and by-products from the tanning industry into new textile coatings.

The development earned CITEVE and its Portugese partners ERT Têxtil, CeNTI and CTIC the New Approaches on Sustainability and Circular Economy Innovation Award at the recent Techtextil exhibition in Frankfurt (June 21-24).

The process involves the large-scale chemical transformation of leather trimmings and EPA waste into a solution with which it is possible to manufacture coatings for vehicle interiors.

ERT Têxtil is already commercially marketing the new textile coatings under the brand name Phoenix.

Founded in 1992 in São João da Madeira, one of the main industrial centres in the north of the country, ERT has more than 1,000 employees and an annual turnover of over €100 million A multinational in the automotive sector, it is also still active in textile components and other materials for footwear.

“Receiving this award in the year in which ERT celebrates 30 years is an encouragement for us to continue to develop and grow,” said ERT CEO João Brandão.

www.citeve.pt