• Development of chemically recycled fashion fabrics and products through “EUUM,” a plastic circulation platform
• Upcycled fashion using artificial leather and textiles using green materials... Leading the eco-friendly trend

SK chemicals has partnered with the upcycling lifestyle brand Project 1907 to lead an eco-friendly trend in the fashion industry.

SK chemicals (CEO: Jeon Kwang-hyun) announced on the 27th that it had signed a business agreement for the development of “chemically recycled fabrics and upcycling fashion products” at the headquarters of SK chemicals in Pangyo. Kim Jung-sik, CEO of Only Sustainable World, and Jeong Jae-jun, head of SK chemicals’ New Business Development Department, attended the ceremony.

“Project 1907” is an eco-friendly lifestyle fashion brand of Only Sustainable World, a social enterprise company. The brand launched in 2021 and manufactures and sells accessories and eco-friendly fabrics made from recycled materials to aspire to a world where primitive beauty existed prior to 1907, when plastics appeared in human history.

According to this agreement, “Project 1907” plans to cooperate with SK chemicals’ plastic recycling ecosystem platform EUUM (https://www.e-uum.com) to actively cooperate in the production of fabrics using eco-friendly materials and the launch of fashion products. SK chemicals supplies the “SKYPET CR” necessary for fabric production. Project 1907 expands the chemically recycled material fabric portfolio and manufactures various fashion products such as functional clothing, bags, and hats with durable fabrics. In addition, they plan to sell upcycled fabrics and fashion products that can be widely used in our daily life through the Project 1907 website. (https://project1907.com/)

“Chemical Recycling” refers to a technology that produces polymer plastics by breaking down waste plastics into pure, raw materials. Unlike the existing physically recycled materials that pulverize and reuse waste plastics, chemically recycled PET material has fewer microscopic foreign substances. Therefore, it can be used to produce high-quality fibers for formal and casual clothing, functional sports apparel, curtains, bedding, and other textile products. Following the development of eco-friendly artificial leather using ECOTRION, a naturally-derived biomaterial, SK chemicals is creating an eco-friendly green trend in the sustainable fashion market through a cooperation with the Art Impact-Korea Textile Development Institute.

Although chemically recycled fibers are in the early stages of market formation, they are attracting attention as the future of recycled fibers in the long term in terms of their excellent quality and stable production. The global demand for recycled fiber is expected to grow from $5.332 billion in 2018 to $8.02 billion (10.37 trillion won) in 2026, at an average annual growth rate of 5.2%, according to the “Strategy for the Promotion of the Eco-Friendly and Recycled Textile Fashion Industry” published by the Korea Institute for Industrial Economics and Trade in November of last year. Kim Jung-sik, CEO of Only Sustainable World, said, “Existing upcycling materials have limitations in that they are difficult to recycle after the production of textile products.” He added, “Using chemical recycling, we plan to build a virtuous upcycling model that can be reproduced indefinitely.”

Jeong Jae-jun, head of SK chemicals’ New Business Development Department, said, “The chemical recycling technology of plastics is a sure solution to achieve Net Zero, and interest in recycled raw materials will only increase due to its differentiated physical properties that make it possible to supply raw materials of uniform quality.” He then said, “We plan to lead the daily use of chemically recycled materials through various collaborative activities to build a sustainable ecosystem.”

# Photo description: SK chemicals-Only Sustainable World “Chemical Recycling” Fiber Development MOU held on the 27th. (Left)/(Right)