Every year, around 8-10 billion plastic clothes hangers are produced globally, with only 15% being recycled. Plastic sock hooks are specially challenging to recycle due to their small size.
In a joint development project, C&A and traceless have developed a bio-circular material solution, plastic-free hooks. These hooks are an advanced biodegradable plastic alternative derived from agricultural plant waste and designed for the biological cycle.
traceless materials is a circular bioeconomy startup founded in 2020 in Hamburg, Germany. Their staple product 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 a biomaterial entirely plant-based and made of natural ingredients, and compostable under natural composting conditions; not leaving a single trace. The product is suitable for many different use cases, from flexible and rigid packaging (food & non-food) to single-use products, high abrasion products, paper and cardboard coatings & adhesive solutions.
Fashion retailer C&A uses the traceless hooks as a replacement for conventional plastic hooks. After its use fades, the hook can be put on a home compost, where it will degrade just like natural materials within a few weeks.
‘’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,” said 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 bio-circular material innovation! After many months of development time, our whole team is incredibly proud of this achievement,” says Anne Lamp, CEO & Co-Founder at traceless materials.
