Seawastex: recycled fishing nets turned into bicycle tyres

Formosa Taffeta is a name the cycling industry will come to hear a lot of in the coming 12 months. The Taiwan based business, and their supplier, Formosa Chemical & Fibre Corporation (FCFC), already works with Patagonia, “as the only provider of nylon used in Patagonia’s “NetPlus” line of apparel and accessories.” At the 2023 edition of Taipei Cycle the business also showcased its working collaboration with tyre manufacturer, Maxxis.

The common element: A focus on recycled materials.

Formosa Chemical & Fibre Corporation is the first company to mass produce PA6 / Nylon6 – via a chemical recycling technique – resulting in industrial yarn of a strength (derived from the purity of the recycled material) ideal for use in tyres. The ocean recycled nylon 6 yarn – named Seawastex – is delivered to Formosa Taffeta for the production of a sustainable cord specifically for tyre manufacturers.

Recycling fishing nets under the Seawastex brand name, the business takes 100% waste fishing nets – those no longer serviceable, and ghost nets recovered from the sea – and turns these into 95% usable recycled material. With these fishing nets coming exclusively from Taiwan, and the recycled material being produced in Taiwan, the project also achieves up to 49% reduction in carbon footprint, compared to virgin nylon production. This is possible as there is no international transportation during the sourcing and recycling stages of the process.

It’s, “this competency (which has) made it possible for FCFC, the parent company of Formosa Taffeta, to transition from a linear economic model of selling virgin nylon to fishing net makers to a closed loop circular model in which (in cooperation with local government) it processes and recycles nylon fibres.”

Here, Formosa Taffeta, using Seawastex, can provide a unique product – converting waste fishing nets into high-end use sustainable bicycle tyre cords – enabling tyre manufacturer, bicycle brands, and the cyclist community, to directly, positively, impact the marine environment.

In addition to this, FCFC are also expanding the solar power generation capability of the Taiwan based factory, where 83% of power for the chemical recycling process is currently from Solar, with the stated aim of further reducing the footprint of the wider business, and the Seawastex process.

With an eye on partnerships with global businesses the Formosa Taffeta-FCFC team have undertaken, and attained, Global Recycling Standard (GRS) certification. This “set(s) the criteria for third-party certification of recycled materials and chain of custody. The GRS includes a higher (50%) minimum recycled content percentage and additional social and environmental requirements related to processing and chemical use.”

GRS sets out a standard and structure which enables the ‘tracing (of) recycled inputs from source to store.’

Clearly this makes working with Formosa Taffeta & FCFC a process which aligns with wider ESG goal for businesses mapping future product development against their own sustainability goals – spanning materials and manufacturing – something which has become an increasingly direct point of engagement for customers making brand and product-based purchasing choices: Here, the Patagonia partnership serves as both a B2B and B2C quantifiable benchmark.

For cycling industry tyre manufacturers, bicycle brands and apparel producers, the Formosa Taffeta team are keen to open new conversation, actively seeking new collaboration opportunities. To explore possibilities, contact Edward Lund & Chris Chen via:

Formosa Taffeta Co., Ltd.
Tyre Cords Sales Dept.

Edward Lung : u147815@ftc.com.tw
TEL : +886-5-5577398

Formosa Chemical & Fibre Corporation
Nylon Sales Dept.

Chris Chen : chrischen@fcfc.com.tw

TEL: +886-2-2717-8371