Creating dyes from nature with natural waste
Euromed teams with Archroma to upcycle saw palmetto fruit extraction residues
Mollet del Vallès (Spain), February 2020: Euromed, a supporter of ABC’s Sustainable Herbs Program, has initiated a project to utilise production waste from saw palmetto berries. The leading producer of standardised herbal extracts has joined forces with Archroma, a global colour company that has developed a technology to create biosynthetic textile dyes derived from natural waste in the agriculture and herbal industries.
Saw palmetto is vulnerable to commercial exploitation. To make full use of the plant and to close the usage circle of the intense labor involved, Euromed focused on ideas for upcycled products such as dyes from nature using the remaining residues of the fruit extraction.
Archroma recycles biomass waste material to create natural colors for the textile industry and has launched a line of patented dyes called EarthColors®. In this project, waste products from Euromed’s saw palmetto extraction are used to develop ecological dyes that are fully traceable via smart tags attached to each item of clothing. Up to 90% of the raw material comes from the remaining saw palmetto biomass, which makes the maximum possible use of the whole plant. The waste management cost savings and lower transportation costs are modest but increasing, and show that the model works.
Andrea Zangara, Scientific Marketing Manager at Euromed, says: “Companies are increasingly talking about ‘Zero Waste’ and finding alternative packaging, but there hasn’t been much attention so far to the role of waste in growing, harvesting and post-harvest handling in the botanical industry. This project shows an innovative upcycle approach towards waste, and it is important to address waste management at any level. With a good plan and determination, even small initiatives are able to contribute to promoting a stronger culture of environmental respect and sustainability.”
Euromed continues to research the further use of waste material from biomass extraction for dyes from nature, and investigates other innovative, eco-friendly waste management solutions.
About Sustainable Herbs Program
The Sustainable Herbs Program is an initiative by the American Botanical Council (ABC) and highlights innovative approaches to tackling sustainability challenges in the industry.
For further information on the Saw Palmetto Residue Upcycling Project, please visit: https://www.archroma.com/innovations/earth-colors-by-archroma
Company contact
EUROMED
Andrea Zangara
Scientific Marketing Manager
Carrer Rec de Dalt, 21-23
08100 Mollet del Vallès, Spain
Tel: +34 93 5440110
Press contact
akp public relations
Sandra Schulze
PR consultant
Birkenauer Talstraße 9
69469 Weinheim, Germany
Tel: +49 6201 2498631
sandra.schulze@akp-pr.de