YKK experts will introduce the innovation behind its new NATULON® Ocean Sourced™ zipper collection at the 2020 Outdoor + Snow Show, to be held January 29 – 31, 2020 in Denver, Colorado.
On Wednesday, January 29 at 1:00 PM in booth 56020 – UL, YKK will host a Tech Talk by Terry McCullough, Sales Engineering Manager, introducing the new collection, which is made from ocean bound plastic waste that has been collected within 50 km of the coastline of Sri Lanka. Indistinguishable from zippers made of virgin polyester, NATULON® Ocean Sourced™ zippers pass YKK’s strict standards for quality and performance. At the same time, NATULON® Ocean Sourced™ is helping YKK achieve its goal of further reducing carbon emissions in its manufacturing processes.
The Tech Talk will include such topics as how the new NATULON® Ocean Sourced™ zipper is made, its characteristics and quality, and how it is helping to solve the problem of ocean bound plastic, 80% of which is entering the ocean from land based origins.[1] The session will also answer more general questions about zippers.
“NATULON® Ocean Sourced™ zippers offer the high quality that people expect from YKK while addressing the environmental crisis in our oceans,” said Takashi Tsukumo, Vice President, YKK Corporation Global Marketing Group. “YKK has a long history of environmental stewardship, which is an integral part of our “Cycle of Goodness” philosophy. Our Environmental Pledge was signed by our CEO in 1994, and we created NATULON®, the first zipper made from recycled PET bottles and polyester remnants, over 25 years ago. Today we offer a wide range of sustainable products and technologies. NATULON® Ocean Sourced™ is just the latest addition to our portfolio of eco-innovation.”
“YKK has been at the forefront of fastening innovation for more than six decades. We are continuously developing new technologies to meet the constantly changing needs of our customers. We pride ourselves in our ability to utilize our vast R&D capabilities to create products that will elevate our customers’ products both in performance and sustainability. We are hosting our Tech Talk hour in order to share some of our recent advancements as well as our unique approaches to solving our customers’ challenges through our substantial experience and innovation,” said Sean Coppage, Manager, YKK (U.S.A.) Inc. Global Marketing Group.
[1] Stemming the Tide: Land-based strategies for a plastic- free ocean. McKinsey & Company and Ocean Conservancy. 2015. https://www.mckinsey.com/business-functions/sustainability/our-insights/stemming-the-tide-land-based-strategies-for-a-plastic-free-ocean
