Toray Industries announced that it is rebranding its &+ brand for fiber made from recycled PET bottles. The move reflects the company’s commitment to broadening the range of raw materials it collects in contributing to a sustainable society through its textile business. The first additional offerings under the new brand identity are recycled fiber products made partly from collected fishing nets for which full-fledged production began in April 2023.

Toray began selling &+ brand recycled fiber made from collected PET bottles in Japan in January 2020. &+ is more than just a textiles brand. It represents a story about a cycle that extends from separating and collecting PET bottles to manufacturing and selling eco-friendly items made from those bottles. The brand targets consumers who care deeply about the environment and wish to be part of the brand’s sustainability quest.

Toray has accordingly endeavored to help materialize an economy in which consumers contribute to sustainability by providing eco friendly materials that are more valuable than the products recovered through its technology. It wants these consumers to choose the offerings they want, without having to compromise on quality or functionality. These offerings are later resold in product form.

Toray will build consumer engagement in the &+ story by broadening the brand’s recycling reach across a range of recovered materials, not just from PET bottles, for fabrics.

The high-value-added nylon fibers derived from collected fishing nets that Toray will produce and sell under the &+ brand will employ a proprietary chemical recycling technology. This effort will be through a fishing net recovery scheme that the company is setting up with recycling companies and fishing net manufacturers to raise awareness about participating in such resource recovery. Another goal is to expand Toray’s fiber lineup in planning products that offer even greater customer satisfaction.

As with recycled polyester fibers derived from collected PET bottles, the company will ensure traceability and reliability by employing the Toray Recycling Identification System and tapping third-party certifications for recycled fibers.

Under the Toray Group Sustainability Vision, the company has made realizing a world in which resources are managed sustainably one of its goals for 2050. It has undertaken companywide efforts to achieve a sustainable, circular economy recycling by resolving a range of issues, including resource depletion and marine pollution stemming from huge volumes of waste, while reducing carbon dioxide emissions.

In its fibers business, Toray will keep encouraging consumers to engage in its recovery stories in varying fields to use resources effectively, publicizing these endeavors through the &+ brand in globally expanding its high value-added recycled fibers business. 

Toray will encourage diverse people to share and take part in recovery stories in broadening &+ activities beyond PET bottles to include fishing nets, apparel, and other items. The company will thereby expand the lineup of high-value-added materials that it recycles through its advanced technological capabilities and increase sales. It will thus accelerate its contribution to attaining a sustainable, circular economy.

The applications for the &+ brand include clothing such as outerwear, innerwear, bottoms, shirts, cut and sewn, denim, legwear and outdoor wear, and materials such as nonwoven fabrics for wiping and other purposes, cotton wadding, car seats, sewing threads, bag fabrics, fishing nets, ropes and carpets.