Universal Fibers® Announces C2C Certified Material Health Certificates™ for Thrive® matter
Today, January 30th 2024, we are proud to announced that Thrive® matter nylon 6 fiber has achieved two C2C Certified Material Health Certificates™ at Silver and Gold levels, as verified by the Cradle to Cradle Products Innovation Institute. This is one of the first such certificates to be issued to any fiber under the Institute’s rigorous new Version 4 standard. Across all industries and categories only 74 products have received Version 4 certification to date.
As described in the Cradle to Cradle Certified® (C2C Certified®) Product Standard Version 4.0, Material Health certification indicates that “Chemicals and materials used in the product are selected to prioritize the protection of human health and the environment, generating a positive impact on the quality of materials available for future use and cycling.”
To meet these levels of certification, 95%-100% of the materials that comprise Thrive® matter nylon 6 fiber have been assessed and found to be optimized for material health both in terms of optimal substances it does contain, undesirable substances it does not contain, and its emissions of volatile organic compounds (VOCs). This assessment also serve as the foundation for a material health optimization strategy to further improve material health over time.
Anna Plumb, VP of Universal Fibers Sales and Marketing for Europe celebrates “Now our customers who select Thrive® matter nylon 6 can proceed with assurance that their products can in turn pursue C2C Certified certification. And they can be proud to have made the best environmental impact possible in their choice of fiber.”
The C2C Certified Material Health Certificate™ offers a solution to growing industry and consumer interest in knowing more about the chemicals used in products across their supply chains and avoiding chemicals of concern. By using the rigorous, globally recognized material health assessment methodology of the C2C Certified Product Standard, the Material Health Certificate provides manufacturers with a trusted means of assessing, optimizing, and verifying their product chemistries for safety and the environment. The material health evaluation of Thrive® matter was executed by third-party C2C accredited assessor WAP Sustainability.
“We enthusiastically embrace the C2C Certified standard,” says M. Ranae Anderson, Global Sustainability Leader for Universal Fibers, “It is another of the many ways we work to hold ourselves accountable for the impact our fibers have both upstream—influencing the supply chains that feed us—and downstream through our customers’ products that help people thrive.”
“We are thrilled to collaborate with Universal Fibers on their first C2C Certified Material Health Certificate for Thrive® matter,” said William Paddock, Co-Founder & Managing Director of WAP Sustainability. “We know how many of Universal Fibers’ customers are committed to C2C, and by obtaining a Material Health Certificate, they are communicating their commitment to transparency and extending industry leadership in Cradle to Cradle Design™.”
To download your copy of our gold or silver C2C Certified Material Health Certificate™ for Thrive® matter nylon 6, you can visit the Cradle to Cradle Products Innovation Institute at c2ccertified.org to find them among their certified products catalogue.
About the Cradle to Cradle Products Innovation Institute
The Cradle to Cradle Products Innovation Institute is dedicated to powering innovation for the circular economy through products that have a positive impact on people and planet. Through the Cradle to Cradle Certified® Products Program, the Institute sets the global standard for products that are safe, circular, and made responsibly. Cradle to Cradle Certified is used by future-focused designers, brands, retailers, and manufacturers across the value chain to innovate and optimize materials and products according to the world’s most advanced science-based measures for material health, product circularity, renewable energy and climate, water and soil stewardship, and social fairness. The Institute also powers the global shift to a circular economy through partnerships and collaborative initiatives that equip businesses, governments and other stakeholders with the technical solutions and knowledge they need to innovate the way products are designed and made. The Institute is headquartered in Amsterdam, the Netherlands, with offices in San Francisco, California. For more information, follow @c2ccertified or visit www.c2ccertified.org.
About WAP Sustainability
WAP Sustainability provides clients with the information and tools they need to create credible, measurable, and attainable sustainability programs. WAP’s services are driven by sound scientific data and an in-depth understanding of each client’s core business. With deep-rooted experience in carbon accounting, life cycle assessment, material health and standards management, WAP is globally recognized as a technical sustainability expert in many industries. WAP Sustainability has been helping a global roster of publicly traded, consumer product and building product companies as a sustainability resource since 2009. Learn more at www.wapsustainability.com.
About Thrive® matter
Thrive® matter is a nylon fiber whose end-to-end production will actually remove carbon from the earth’s atmosphere. To create this innovative fiber, the process begins with 100% post-industrial recycled resin which results in a total of 90% recycled content. Then, over 99.9% of the waste in production is captured and fed back into the manufacturing process. What results is the world’s lowest product to CO2 footprint in the industry at 1.19kg CO2 eq as compared to an industry average of 9.6kg CO2 eq for virgin nylon 6 materials. This already low number is brought below zero by partnering with Carbonfund.org in support of their forest conservation and reforestation projects around the world. In addition to this certificate from C2C Certified®, Thrive® matter nylon 6 is independently 3rd party certified by GreenCircle™, with a UL® certified EPD, and is available in all of Universal Fibers’ solution-dyed nylon finishes, globally.
About Universal Fibers®
Universal Fibers, Inc. is a business unit within Universal Fiber Systems, LLC. Based in Bristol, Virginia USA with manufacturing facilities in Europe and China, Universal Fibers, Inc. is a global leader in the production of high quality, solution-dyed synthetic filament-based fibers for the flooring, transportation, and industrial fibers industries. We are leaders in technologies and practices that reduce water use and decrease emissions and embedded carbon. For more information, contact; +1.276.669.1161, info@unversalfibers.com or visit universalfibers.com/contact-us
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