Ahead of this October's GO Wipes Europe 2024, we caught up with expert speaker Dr. Matthias Stratmann, Head of Sustainability at nova-Institut GmbH
1) Can you give us a bit of insight into what your will sharing at the conference (without giving too much away!)
The talk will be about the sustainability of fibres. The first interesting question is, how sustainability is defined and what is specifically meant by “sustainable wipes”. Another question is how to quantify and substantiate different claims. I will explain how Life Cycle Assessments are used to assess potential environmental impacts.
2. What is your biggest driver as a business today?
nova-institute wants to offer substantiated risk and sustainability assessment for the industry to find the right sustainable raw materials and processes. We offer different kinds of sustainability assessments and also support to navigate in upcoming jungle of regulations.
3. What do you think will be the biggest challenge for the wipes and nonwovens industries in the coming 2-5 years?
Industry is struggling with uncertainty of upcoming regulations and possible banns of plastic-based wipes. At the same time the consumers look for sustainable products, but the willingness to pay is not as high as the cost for sustainable materials such as cellulosic fibres.
4. What do you see as some of the most interesting innovations in the market now?
New alternatives like natural fibre based nonwowens or mixtures of lyocell and pulp fibres offer interesting biodegradable alternatives for polyesters.
5. What are you most looking forward to at the event?
Meeting people and learn from your industry.
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Hear more from Dr. Matthias Stratmann at GO Wipes Europe 2024.
At 1.45pm on Wednesday 23rd of October, Dr. Matthias will be presenting on 'Assessing the sustainability of wipes in Life Cycle Assessments'
