YKK announces the release of its new DynaPel™ water-repellant zipper featuring GTT EMPEL® technology. Designed to be compatible with garment recycling systems, DynaPel™ uses EMPEL® technology instead of the standard PU film to achieve its water repellency. The lack of a PU film helps remove one of the barriers of textile-to-textile recycling of performance apparel by eliminating the urethane material, which presents challenges to garment recycling processes.*
“DynaPel™ is a valuable addition to our growing collection of fasteners designed for circular systems,” said Terry Tsukumo, Vice President, Product Strategy Division, Global Sales Headquarters, YKK Corporation. “By employing EMPEL® technology, we can achieve the robust water protection expected from YKK® products while eliminating the challenges that PU poses to recycling systems.”
Conventional chemical and mechanical garment recycling systems cannot process the polyurethane film commonly used on water-repellent zippers, necessitating the removal of zippers from garments before recycling. This additional processing step often deters recyclers from accepting garments with PU zippers, resulting in unnecessary waste.
EMPEL® technology uses advanced green chemistry devoid of PFAS and a specialized manufacturing process that allows the chemistry to penetrate the yarn and encapsulate it with a water-repellent layer through molecular cross-linking. The molecular cross-linking creates an extremely durable layer that is highly resistant to abrasion and invisible to the eye.
“DynaPel™ represents a new generation of sustainable, high-performance water-repellant zippers,” stated Tsukumo. “It is the future of water protection for zippers.”
DynaPel™ zippers were showcased at the Outdoor Retailer trade show in Salt Lake City and will be featured at the ISPO trade fair in Munich, Germany. Notably, DynaPel™ has been nominated for the Best New Product Award in the ISPO Textrends competition held at ISPO.
*It is recommended to trial products in the targeted recycling system to fully assess its processability.
About YKK
Since the company’s founding in Tokyo in 1934, YKK has continuously set industry standards for quality, service, value, and innovation in the production of zippers, plastic hardware, hook and loop fasteners, webbing tapes, and snap and buttons. With integrated production and supply systems in 72 countries and regions around the world, YKK is positioned to meet the needs of the many industries we serve as they increasingly diversify and require shorter product cycles. Guided by the CYCLE OF GOODNESS® philosophy – no one prospers without rendering benefit to others – YKK aims to contribute to a sustainable society through its products and manufacturing operations and constantly seeks new ways to serve the changing needs of its customers while at the same time investing in its employees and giving back to its communities. Discover more about YKK: https://www.ykkfastening.com/
About GTT (Green Theme Technologies)
Green Theme Technologies, Inc. is a textile innovation company with the mission to create products that out-perform existing technologies while eliminating water usage and pollution. Visit https://greenthemetek.com/ for more information.
“YKK”,”YKK Little Parts. Big Difference.”, “CYCLE OF GOODNESS” and “DynaPel” are registered trademarks or trademarks of YKK CORPORATION in Japan and other countries/regions.
“EMPEL” is a registered trademark of Green Theme Technologies, Inc.
