A collaboration project between traceless and C&A
HOOKED ON
SUSTAINABILITY
Sometimes it’s the little things that make the difference… this is especially true when it comes to sustainability! Here, even small parts can have a big impact. That's why our journey of reducing plastics in fashion packaging starts with this small hook.
Every year, around 8-10 billion plastic clothes hangers are produced globally. Specifically the plastic sock hooks are challenging to recycle due to their small size. Here’s where our bio-circular material solution comes in: In collaboration with C&A we have developed sock hooks made from the plastic-free traceless® material!
NEW MATERIAL:
TRULY
TRACELESS!
traceless® is an advanced natural material that is plastic-free and designed for the biological cycle. Even though it looks and feels like plastic, it is entirely plant-based and made of natural ingredients, and compostable under natural composting conditions – not leaving a single trace.
Instead, it leaves a positive footprint on the planet on all aspects of sustainability, for a world free of pollution and waste!
BASED ON PLANT RESIDUES
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biobased - made out of natural ingredients
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based on by-products of agricultural food production
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second generation biomass - no additional plants need to be grown to produce traceless
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no food & land-use-change conftlict
BASED ON PLANT RESIDUES
NATURALLY COMPOSTABLE
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designed for the biological cycle
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compostable under natural conditions e.g. on home compost
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becomes organic nutrient in 2-9 weeks (depending on material thickness)
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safely disposable in all other waste streams without affecting recyclability or treatment, becoming a renewable energy source.
NATURALLY COMPOSTABLE
FREE OF TOXIC CHEMICALS
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safe, natural ingredients
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only environmentally friendly substances in production process
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toxic-free end products - harmless for humans and nature
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no plastic and chemical pollution
SAFE FOR
HUMANS & NATURE
CLIMATE FRIENDLY
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in production and disposal, traceless saves up to 95% greenhouse gas emissions compared to virgin plastics
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based on renewable, non-fossil raw materials
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manufactured using a low-impact, resource-friendly production process
CLIMATE
FRIENDLY
PLASTIC FREE
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traceless base material is certified plastic free
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guaranteed no contribution to plastic & microplastic pollution
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only natural ingredients
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beneficial properties of plastics - manufactured using plastic processing technologies
CERTIFIED
PLASTIC FREE
For the best possible ecological footprint, the traceless® hooks are used multiple times in the C&A Store. After its use phases, the hook can be put on a home compost, where it will degrade just like natural materials within a few weeks. You don't have a home compost? No problem, just put it in the yellow bin! Here, the material will become a renewable source of energy, which is again improving the carbon footprint.
Please do not dispose of the hook in the environment or the biowaste ton! Even though it is harmless to nature and animals, it influences others to litter their trash, and not all trash is "traceless" yet... Instead, set a good example by disposing of it correctly, as described above - thank you!
TOGETHER ON A
PIONEERING JOURNEY
The sock hooks are the result of a pilot project for which two companies joined forces: European fashion retailer C&A and the Hamburg-based bioeconomy start-up traceless materials joined forces: In the course of their circular initiatives and goal to achieve a far-reaching reduction of single-use plastics, C&A was looking for alternatives - and we at traceless had a solution!
In a joint development project, we engineered the traceless® material for the sock hooks, and produced them in a limited edition, processing our material granulate through injection moulding together with our converting partner CompriseTec. Launched in December 2022, the hooks are available for a testing phase as part of the sock sortiment of the C&A Store in Hamburg Altona.
"Our collaboration with traceless is an important step on our way to reaching our ambitious goal of replacing consumer facing single-used plastics in our stores with sustainable alternatives by 2028."
Aleix Busquets Gonzalez,
Head of Global Sustainability at C&A
"For us at traceless, this small hook means a big step forward: it is the first pilot product to hit the shelves made from our material!
After many months of development time, our whole team is incredibly proud of this great achievement."
Anne Lamp, CEO & Co-Founder, traceless (right)
with Johanna Baare, COO & Co-Founder, traceless (left)
With over 1,300 stores in 17 European countries and more than 25,000 employees, C&A is one of Europe’s leading fashion retailers. Every day, C&A welcomes millions of visitors to its stores in Europe and to its online shop. C&A offers quality and long-lasting fashion at affordable prices for all. On the path towards more sustainable fashion, C&A set ambitious goals with its 2028 Sustainability Strategy. Among others, we aim to drastically reduce single-use plastics in its stores, online shop and logistics and to replace them with more sustainable alternatives.
> Read the C&A press release
> Learn more about C&A's Sustainability Strategy
traceless materials is a circular bioeconomy startup founded in 2020 in Hamburg, Germany. We have developed the technology to produce traceless - a novel, holistically sustainable biomaterial that is plant based, naturally compostable and 100% plastic-free, and can replace plastic and bioplastics. Our team is currently working on first pilot products made from traceless, and is in parallel scaling up our production capacities. We have already set up a first pilot plant, where we have manufactured the material for these hooks!
> Read traceless' newspost
> Learn more about traceless
BE PART OF THE SOLUTION TOO!
Are you one of the lucky C&A customers who got hold of a pair of socks with a traceless hanger in Hamburg Altona?
Share a photo of this memorable moment, and tag us!
@traceless.eu and @CA
#wearthechange and #livetraceless
