Materials specialist Gen Pheonix is at AIX showing what it says is the first fully recyclable dress cover, a move which is consistent with the company’s rebranding from ELeather.
“Not everything we’re working on is leather, and our new circular recycled leather is reborn from waste, similar to a phoenix,” say Nico den Ouden, chief innovation officer and general manager–seating at Gen Phoenix.
The recycled product mentioned is Helios, which is able to be produced since the move from backing ELeather with foam to using a recyclable polyester instead. That new backing material had been used in the automotive industry and can now be used for aircraft seat dress covers having passed the necessary FST (flammability, smoke and toxicity) tests.
“Previously, the ELeather with foam backing introduced contaminant particles when broken down for recycling, because it wasn’t designed for circularity purposes,” den Ouden explains. “The new backing material can be fibre-ised back to raw material for the second cycle – the Helios product.
“This recycling process keeps the material at the highest economic value possible, because that’s what real circularity is,” he adds.
The company is working to create materials for seat covers derived from plant-based fibres. “It’s still in the early stages of development,” den Ouden admits, though he is confident that the company will succeed in its aim.
