Is it Water-based PU, Non-solvent PU, Recycled PU, or Bio-based PU? Today, brands across fashion, footwear, automotive, and electronic packaging are all shouting “eco-friendly” slogans and adopting various sustainable materials.
However, there is a hidden industry challenge that most brands tend to ignore—where do the leftovers generated during the production of finished products go?
The Shocking “Hidden Waste”
During the manufacturing stage of finished goods, the loss rate of leftover materials is surprisingly high:
Shoes: 6-8%
Garments: 8-10%
Bags: 6-8%
Sofas/Furniture: 10-12%
Electronic Packaging: 8-10%
Let’s Do the Math:
Producing 50 million pairs of shoes: Requires an input of up to 5 million yards of PU material, ultimately resulting in approximately 200,000 kg of leftover waste!
Producing 50 million pieces of clothing: Generates even more waste, coming out to about 4 million kg!
What’s worse is that currently, the vast majority of brands have no idea where these leftovers end up. A large portion of them eventually land up in landfills or get incinerated, causing secondary damage to the environment.
True sustainability must look not only at the beginning of the “raw material” but also at the end of the “waste”!
