Traceless x C&A

Traceless x C&A pilot program at C&A Hamburg Altona store / Source: Traceless

EuropePackagingTextilesTraceless

6 MINUTE READ

Nate Tyler

WHAT WE SAY:

Watching material developments happen, and awards doled out, makes for hopeful and exciting times in the plastic-free world, but when those developments turn into real products on the shop floor, hope turns into reality.

Traceless, the female-founded, biocircular start-up, has teamed up with European fashion retailer C&A to create a replacement for single-use plastic sock hooks - those seemingly inconsequential plastic display hooks that allow retailers to hang socks on a wall. Using Traceless' home compostable material of the same name, C&A's pilot project is the first step in a long line of much-needed retail material swaps, but we can't help but wonder if simply displaying socks in a different way could do away with this need altogether.

KEY FACTS:

Fashion brand C&A has launched a pilot project with material innovation company Traceless, replacing its single-use plastic sock hooks with home compostable varieties.
The hooks are made from Traceless, a plant-based natural polymer made from agricultural waste such as brewery residue and starch production leftovers. They are the first consumer-facing product made from Traceless® on the market.
100% home compostable, Traceless degrades naturally within a few weeks, saves up to 95% of the carbon emissions that would otherwise be generated by the production and disposal of conventional plastics, and doesn't fall under the EU Single Use Plastic Directive, making it an ideal solution for C&A's goal of replacing consumer facing single-use plastic in stores by 2028.
The hooks are the result of a development project, and are made by injection moulding the Traceless material granulate.
To ensure the launch of the partnership helps raise awareness of the environmentally harmful impact of single-use plastics, C&A is dedicated to positioning it front and centre, including a specific project website and in-store railcards for consumer education.
Launched in December 2022, the limited edition hooks are being trialled in the brand's Hamburg Altona store.

The sock hooks are the first consumer market collaboration using the Traceless material / Source: Traceless

Traceless sock hooks for C&A / Source: Traceless

DIVE DEEPER:

A report from hanger manufacturer Arch and Hook, in collaboration with fashion lecturer Dr. Alana James and fashion consultant Emma Reed, found that 60% of all clothing sales involve a plastic hanger. According to McKinsey, more than 100 billion pieces of clothing are produced each year, meaning that around 60 billion plastic hangers are used to sell them, equating to a colossal amount of plastic created just to display clothes in-store.
These hangers are an overlooked environmental impact of the fashion industry, an impact that increases tenfold when you take into account the small-sized variations such as those to hang underwear. Too small to be effectively recycled - although only 9% of plastic is ever effectively recycled - these small hangers can't be reused in the home and inevitably get sent straight to landfill, where they take hundreds of years to break down, leaching toxins and microplastics into the environment as they do so.
When the Traceless C&A sock hooks reach the environment, they break back down into nutrients for the earth, eaten by microorganisms that understand the plant polymers in the material, because nature produced them.
These nutrients contribute to healthier soils, which in turn play a huge role in combatting climate change. As outlined by the Berkeley Food Institute, healthy soils produce stronger, more robust and drought resistant crops, while supporting "beneficial plant-microbe interactions that allow roots to grow more widely and deeply...[letting] crops withstand water stress while maintaining productivity."
The Traceless material acts and looks like plastic, and can be made into flexibles, rigids, adhesives and even used as a paper coating. The granulate can be converted by the plastic, converting and packaging industry on existing machinery, accelerating the rate of adoption.
According to Traceless, the material is cost competitive with conventional plastics on industrial scale, and because it's made from waste, it doesn't compete with food for land use.
Traceless has been awarded the Flustix certificate, which certifies it's plastic-free, and has already won many awards in its short history, including first place in Germany's Top 50 start-up rankings for 2021.
C&A's 2028 Global Sustainability Strategy has three core goals: sourcing 100% of its core materials more sustainably; extending the life of seven out of ten products in the way they are designed, produced and reused; and replacing 50% of the single-use plastics used in its stores, online shop and supply chain with sustainable alternatives.
To facilitate these goals, the company opened the C&A Factory for Innovation in Textiles (FIT) in Germany in 2021. C&A Fit allows the brand to establish a more digital and sustainable supply chain and manufacturing process closer to home, using local makers and suppliers to enable the brand to constantly evaluate and optimise processes and speed up the sustainable transition in-house.
The first product to come from the FIT lab - which is powered by 100% renewable energy - is the Forever Denim jeans. The jeans are made using organic cotton, with all materials and components sourced from Europe. New technologies in the FIT lab have managed to reduce water use per pair from 70 litres to 10 litres, while liquid indigo is used for yarn dyeing. The company has launched the jeans with an initial 400,000 per year, with plans to expand to 800,000.

"Our collaboration with Traceless is an important step on our way to reaching our ambitious goal of replacing consumer facing single-used plastics in our stores with sustainable alternatives by 2028."

Aleix Busquets Gonzalez - Head of Global Sustainability, C&A

Key Design Considerations:

Help your customers with disposal

The Traceless material is a fantastic example of compostability. It can be put in the home compost and will degrade just like natural materials, but not everyone has a compost bin or pit in their backyard—or even a backyard, which is why an alternative, safe method of disposal is imperative for compostable materials. Traceless advises consumers to put the hooks in the yellow bin - which in Germany is the recycling bin - as they will become a renewable source of energy when incinerated. It adamantly advises against disposing of them in the environment, not because they won't break down but because it encourages littering, and until all materials become truly traceless, this littering will only lead to waste.

Price is only one consideration of cost

While Traceless says that its material is competitively priced to conventional plastics on an industrial scale, price is only one factor in cost. As Extended Producer Responsibility laws become more common, paying for cleanup of fossil fuel plastic waste will become more of a burden. Switching to compostables now will be a cheaper option in the long run, while establishing a brand as a leader in sustainability, garnering trust amongst consumers and a more loyal customer base.