UpKnit - Upcycling for Uniqueness

by FTC

How would you describe your solution in a few words?

To reduce material waste completely FTC® came up with a yarn-processing & knitting technology, where threads of leftover yarns are seamlessly joint together. This enables the upcycling of residual yarns, that always remain on the bobbins after the knitting process.

This upcycled yarn results into the fashion line «UpKnit – Upcycling for Uniqueness by FTC®». Uniqueness because of the fact, that every piece is unique: As the residual yarns have different colors and the length of the yarns also varies, this results in a multicolored yarn with various color sections.

With UpKnit, FTC has achieved zero-waste production while creating stylish, long-lasting one-of-a-kind cashmere pieces.

Who are your customers?

B2B – buyers for department stores and concept stores in the premium fashion segment
B2C – fashion enthusiasts and sustainability-conscious individuals

What are the environmental benefits of your solution?

On the one hand, using remnant yarns avoids waste. On the other hand, the production of new (virgin) cashmere yarn would leave a new ecological footprint, which can thus be avoided. Overall, we estimate that we have already saved almost 9 tons of CO₂e here so far (besides upcycling the approx. 1 ton of residual yarns).

How do you manage to exist on the market?

We have been active in the textile and fashion market for almost 20 years. In this time we could build up an expertise and a great understanding for the Chinese culture. This is important because our farm and factory are located there and we are constantly in close contact with China.

We have established ourselves in the B2B business as a premium fashion brand and are in the process of building our image in the online B2C business as well.

Probably the most important strategy for us to stay on the market is not to be deterred, to take responsibility and to drive change. Especially in the areas of sustainability, we want to continue to set new standards and change for good.