Having started its manufacturing operations as an affiliate of Akkök Holding, one of the leading conglomerates in Turkey, half a century ago, Aksa Akrilik is now Turkey’s only and the world’s leading acrylic fiber manufacturer. The company is recognised as the leader of the industry in both Turkey and the world for more than 50 years and boasts of manufacturing one fourth of the acrylic fiber consumed around the world.
Achieving a manufacturing capacity of 950 tons per day and 350K tons per year in its 6,00,000 sq. m. plants in Yalova, Aksa Akrilik takes critical steps to minimise the environmental impacts of its manufacturing processes, make effective use of resources and reduce the amount of waste in line with its sustainability strategy.
Aksa Akrilik positions sustainability at the core of its long-term business strategies and corporate culture rather than a mere requirement of its environmental responsibility. In addition to the corporate efforts made in line with the sustainability strategies, the concrete steps taken for minimising environmental impacts, resource efficiency, waste management and similar critical issues are also constantly monitored.
Steps to Reduce Carbon Footprint
Acrylic fiber is recognised for its soft touch that is closest to natural among synthetic fibers. It also enhances comfort for end-users thanks to its lightness. Acrylic fiber makes it possible to manufacture long life products since it is resistant to wear and tear, preserves its physical stability and does not allow vibrant colors to fade away over a long time of period. Hence, it facilitates the ‘Reduce’ principle which is among the core pillars of circular principles.
Fibers Developed to Reduce Environmental Impact by Aksa The First 100% Recycled Acrylic Fiber in the World
Every year, 93 million tons of textile waste are generated, of which only a small portion can be recycled. Acrycycle addresses this problem by offering an eco-friendly and sustainable manufacturing solution. Manufactured through recycling of Aksa’s post-manufacturing waste, Acrycycle reduces carbon footprint by up to 20%. Acrycycle fiber comes with Recycled Claim Standard (RCS) certification.
OnceDye Fiber Introduces Sustainability in Dyeing Processes
Aksa Akrilik has launched the first acrylic fiber in the world that allows for dyeing with reactive dyes with a goal to reduce the environmental impact of fiber not only in its own manufacturing stage but also in later stages of the textile chain. This fiber, called OnceDye, can be dyed along with cotton and cellulosic fibers in a single dyeing process. Acryluna OnceDye, the new generation acrylic fiber, allows for saving in terms of processing time, energy and water in comparison to other natural and synthetic blends which require additional dye baths and chemicals since it can by dyed with reactive dyes. The result is long-lasting and comfortable garments produced with less intensive finishing treatments which, in turn, reduces environmental impact.
Acryluna OnceDye reduces carbon and water footprint of dyeing process for acrylic-cellulosic blends by up to 20% as it makes a reduction in chemical diversity, energy and water consumption. By reducing the dyeing time by 25%, it increases the capacity of dyeing plants to a significant extent while providing a remarkable increase of up to 25% in manufacturing capacity compared to other natural and synthetic blends.
Eco-friendly, Innovative Solutions with Biodegradable Fiber
Regrettably, 70% of textile waste is still incinerated or dropped to industrial landfill sites. To address the ever-increasing textile waste problem which leads to environmental problems globally, Aksa Akrilik introduced the first biodegradable acrylic fiber in the world at the annual Dornbirn Fiber Congress which was held in Austria in September 2023. According to ASTM Standard, the fibers that are monitored in industrial landfill sites display almost 60% degradation in 2.5 years. The current graphics imply that 100% degradation will take 3.5 years.
Aksa Akrilik is engaged in new product developments in collaboration with yarn, knitting, finishing, apparel and brands in the industry chain. It undertakes R&D studies to reduce the environmental impact the end product will create until the end of its economic lifetime in addition to reducing the environmental impact arising from its own manufacturing operations.
Sustainable Solutions for Global Issues
Aksa Akrilik regularly measures and reports the environmental impacts of all its operations in order to minimise the effects of global environmental risks such as climate change and natural resource depletion.
The company constantly improves its capability to adapt to changing conditions by responding to the technology and digitalisation trend that triggers a major global transformation.
It offers sustainable solutions to global issues with its innovative and low environmental impact product design and aims to create long-term sustainable value for all stakeholders and maintain its position as the leader of the industry thanks to its growth-oriented business model.
Furthermore, it has launched a new sustainability strategy in line with its vision model in order to depict its sustainability strategy clearly and explicitly in its communications with internal and external stakeholders and redesign its existing sustainability strategy with due regard for current needs and future anticipations.
Aksa Akrilik represents this new sustainability strategy which is comprised of five elements, namely environmental impact, social dimension of business, human and employee welfare, integrated process monitoring and sustainable supply, in parallel with and in promotion of its fundamental operational model and practices.
