YKK partners with Empel to debut recycling compatible zipper

Zipper manufacturing giant YKK has revealed a new water-repellent zipper that has been designed to be compatible with garment recycling systems in a bid to remove barriers of textile-to-textile recycling and therefore reduce waste.

DynaPel was produced through a collaboration with sustainable textile manufacturer Green Theme Technologies, which offered its Empel technology to use in place of standard PU film to achieve water repellency.

The use of such a material avoids the implementation of polyurethane film commonly used for zippers and are unable to be processed through conventional garment recycling processes, requiring for the zipper to be removed from garments prior to recycling.

Empel instead puts to use “green chemistry” to make its own material, which is said to remain highly resistant to abrasion with a durable layer created through molecular cross-linking.

In a release, Terry Tsukumo, vice president, product strategy division, global sales headquarters for YKK, said: “Dynapel is a valuable addition to our growing collection of fasteners designed for circular systems.

“By employing Empel technology, we can achieve the robust water protection expected from YKK products while eliminating the challenges that PU poses to recycling systems.”