Impact Nation for Startups 2022 | Textaafoam

The Objective

As a forerunner in the upholstery and interior fabrics industry, Textaafoam’s goal is to market a more sustainable yarn. As a wholesaler, they want to be at the forefront of this, strengthen the role in the chain and bring the network together to make more impact. 

The Challenge

What is a sustainable yarn that has broad technical applicability, potential to scale and with which Textaafoam can encourage weavers to process yarn more sustainably?

Context of the challenge

Moving towards sustainable yarn is not a new challenge for Textaafoam. In 2018, their sustainable journey has already begun with the development of their first collection made from recycled materials. 

In 2020, Textaafoam launched the first sustainable concept for the furniture industry called “Woven Bottles. This achieved the initial sales targets. Apart from the numbers, it was also a learning journey in which Textaafoam learned a lot together with inspiring partners and discovered different ways to produce truly sustainable fabrics. In 2021, Textaafoam launched their sustainable sister brand Fabraa: a first step in taking the lead in the sustainable transition of the European upholstery fabric industry. 

What Textaafoam is looking for

Must have

• Demonstrably sustainable yarn
• Demonstrably traceable
• Demonstrably circular or an impetus to do so
• Demonstrable quality 
• Certain degree of copy-ability so that the yarn can be used for multiple customers and purposes. 
• Scalability of the yarn
• Availability of the yarn
• Technical application related to interior and upholstery industry 
• Continuity / reliability of the partner 
• Forms of cooperation: partnership. pilot in 100 days, 1 – 2 years to large-scale implementation is real.
• Open to innovation in cooperation with Textaafoam. 
• Possibility to test yarn with Textaafoam’s partners in Belgium.
• Yarn must include suitability for sewing machine processing

Nice to have

• Opportunity to test yarn with Textaafoam’s partners in Turkey, Italy, India.

Description of Textaafoam

Textaafoam is a family business with more than 50 years of experience in the furniture upholstery market. Textaafoam serves furniture and bed manufacturers in Europe with its own fabric collections.