Ambiente: Canepa porta nel Salento il processo tessile Kitotex

Milan (askanews) - A patent - Kitotex - 100 percent Italian, developed in-house with contributions from the CNR (National Research Council) in Biella; approximately 7 million in direct investments to keep the entire production chain in Italy; support from the Puglia Region implemented through the Program Contract: with these raw materials, the Como-based textile group Canepa has brought the first silk and cashmere sizing process to Melpignano, Salento, which uses 12 percent less water than traditional processes; a reduction in energy use from 22,000 to 600 kilocalories per kilogram of product; and the elimination of polluting chemicals, which in traditional processes can reach a ratio of 1 to 1 per finished product: 1 kilogram of chemical waste for 1 kilogram of cashmere. Kitotex—which aims to use thickeners and adhesives for weaving as an alternative to highly polluting PVA—is based on chitin, the second most abundant natural fiber after cellulose, found in shrimp and crab shells. Alfonso Saibene, shareholder of Tessitura del Salento, the Apulian plant where the first machine for the new process was installed. "Kitotex is derived from chitosan, essentially shrimp shells. It's the world's second-largest food waste, and we've found a way to use it in textiles to replace highly polluting chemical resins." Tessitura del Salento has been present in Puglia since 2005. Thanks to the development of the Kitotex project, it has grown from 30 employees to 101, with the goal of creating 113 jobs by the end of the Puglia Program Contract, scheduled for 2015. And further optimistic prospects abound: from the Kitotex trials to other types of spinning, new market opportunities are already emerging. The Como-based Canepa group—a global leader in high-end silk weaving, alongside the production of fine fabrics from other natural fibers—reported 2013 revenues of over €100 million, an EBITDA of 11%, and 800 employees. Led by Elisabetta Canepa, it is the first textile manufacturer in the world to have joined Greenpeace by signing the Detox Commitment, which calls for the elimination of numerous toxic substances by 2020.