THE ZERO-WASTE PRINCIPAL

Our greatest aspiration is to achieve the optimum realization of 0% residual waste and the highest possible quota of recycling products.

In addition, we are working intensively on finding new recycling possibilities; for example, we are presently developing a research prize for the shoe recycling sector with the industry and trade sectors.

Present status of the utilization possibilities

There are different marketing possibilities depending on material and product sorting accuracy.

· Recycling materials
As recycled material for manufacturers, used fabrics and shoes serve as the basic secondary textile material in automobiles, machine construction and the printing industry. These sectors pose the greatest challenge for the whole of the industrial field. Great efforts and large investments are needed in order to reach the optimum recycling quota. Presently only a small percentage finds its way to the making of certain types of paper, e. g. isolation paper. New and very promising methods are in the developmental stages, such as producing insulation material from shoes for the construction industry. New findings are being made daily through extensive research by internal trade engineers and close collaboration with environmental institutes such as the EPEA and the Hamburger Environmental Institute, to develop and increase lasting, improved environmental conditions, as well as raising the number of products developed through recycling.

· Recycling
A portion of used clothing is devoted to reutilization. We define reutilization as the repeated use of a product for its original purpose. As such, the primary product remains unchanged. This method of fabric recycling is the most environmentally sensible, as production and use of new clothing is not simply lowered but radically reduced. All studies in this area have reached the same conclusions. The German federal government agrees that this type of reapplication from an international point of view is not only ecologically practical, it also creates and secures jobs. This process ensures the revenues that are essential to the subsidization of the entire field of fabric and shoe recycling as well as the development of recycling innovations.

· Reuse
Owing to their high absorbency, used fabrics can be used to manufacture cleaning cloths. Reutilization in this case, is defined as the employment of the products which is different than the purpose for which they were initially produced.

· Further Utilization
When a fabric loses its material identity and/or its structural integrity in comparison with its original form, it is still considered reusable. Reutilization is then defined as the application of material and products in a process of conversion into new materials or products. Two types of structures can be distinguished in reutilization: secondary raw material recovery (recycling materials), and refuse derived fuels (thermal application).

· Thermal Application
Worn-out fabrics and shoes are used as refuse derived fuels. One kilo of clothing is equal to the fuel heating value of half a liter of mineral oil.

· Refuse
The primary objective of all environmental and economical endeavors is to reduce the percentage of waste (now approx. 9%) to 0 %.