PrimaLoft turns to marine

plastic waste for insulation

By Jessica Owen 30 October 2019
The advanced material technology company PrimaLoft has partnered with environmental organisation Parley for the Oceans to
turn marine plastic waste into insulation materials.

Parley for the Oceans plastic pellets

According to a report published by the United Nations, eight million tons of plastic ends up in the ocean per year. This enormous amount
of plastic pollution has a tremendous impact on marine life, as it costs the lives of one million seabirds and 100,000 marine mammals
yearly. The economic consequences are also immense. Each year, plastic causes US$8bn in damage to marine ecosystems.

With this in mind, PrimaLoft Inc and Parley for the Oceans have announced a strategic partnership that will take plastic intercepted from
remote islands, beaches and coastal communities and use it to manufacture high-performance insulation products.

PrimaLoft will be the first insulation provider in the textile industry to partner with Parley to develop products from marine plastic waste.
This represents another step forward for PrimaLoft in its efforts to be ‘relentlessly responsible’.

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“This collaboration with Parley is a perfect match. We both have the same goals: reducing the plastic pollution on our planet, especially in
the oceans,” says Mike Joyce, PrimaLoft president and CEO.

“Avoiding the production of new fossil oil-based materials wherever possible is also a top priority. After the launch of PrimaLoft Bio and
proving that our fibre is ready to be utilised in a circular economy, this is another important puzzle-piece in our sustainable efforts.”

PrimaLoft is still in the development process of integrating this marine plastic waste into its products, however there will be specific
insulation products available that use Parley sourced plastic.

Although working to collect and repurpose plastic waste is an innovative solution, there are certain challenges involved. The main one
being that the quality of the plastic and the different sorts of plastic that are ocean sourced are not very high and usually do not meet the
high-quality standards of companies such as PrimaLoft. As the raw materials are not as homogenous as usual, the process is much
more difficult, but thanks to a specific engineering process PrimaLoft says it has managed to keep the performance high.

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 Thanks to a specific engineering process, PrimaLoft has managed to keep the performance aspect high

“Using upcycled marine plastic waste to create insulation that meets the high-performance standards customers expect from PrimaLoft
presents a unique challenge,” explains Joyce.

“Sourcing high-quality raw materials is essential to the development of our insulations, and marine plastics are often lacking that level of
quality. Together with Parley, our engineers have developed a method that allows for marine plastics to produce insulation products that
meet our high-performance standards.”

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In addition to the material PrimaLoft sources, the company also supports Parley in its projects preventing ocean pollution all over the
world.

Parley now operates a global supply chain and Cleanup Network across 28 countries, intercepting plastic waste from beaches, islands,
and in remote coastal communities. In 2015, the first products made with Parley Ocean Plastic put the marine plastic pollution crisis into
the spotlight and presented a unique solution to a complex challenge – one that diverges from traditional recycling approaches.

“Parley Ocean Plastic is a trademark for a range of premium materials to turn products into Symbols of Change and fund our battle
against marine plastic pollution,” adds Cyrill Gutsch, founder and CEO of Parley for the Oceans.

“The enormous success of our partnerships with brands such as Adidas and Stella McCartney, internationally renowned athletes, artists,
and entertainers has had a carry-over effect on the whole industry.

“Recycling is now sexy, desirable and stands for meaningful design. Purpose is the new luxury. Today we welcome PrimaLoft as an
official Parley supply chain partner to our global network, adding new, high-performance material types to our portfolio and drastically
supporting the growth of our movement – for the oceans.”

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