Cocamar invests in the production of sustainable yarns

Millions of PET bottles (Ethylene Terephthalate) are discarded every day in Brazilian cities and, not infrequently, this waste ends up polluting the environment. At the same time, in their production process, weaving and knitting plants generate small scraps that also become problematic disposal. The solution to all of this is recycling. In Maringá, Paraná (PR), Cocamar Cooperativa Agroindustrial, through its textile yarn industry, traditionally absorbs both. 

In the case of pet bottles, the cooperative purchases this item already ground, in the form of polyester fiber, the volume of which is equivalent to around 40 million bottles per year. The scraps come mainly from the textile industrial segment of Santa Catarina, arriving at Cocamar already defibrated, that is, dismantled to give rise to a new thread.

Both materials, as explained by the executive manager of Fibers at the cooperative, Luis Fernando Gomes, go through a sophisticated process of manufacturing yarns that will serve the fashion market, creating clothing items in general. As ecological yarns are mixed in greater or lesser percentages with cotton yarn, the consumer is almost always unaware that they are wearing jeans or a shirt made, to a large extent, from ecological yarns.

“Always aligned with innovation and also good practices, in 2022 Cocamar received an important certification for its textile yarn industry, being the first in the country to be recognized for using recycled polyester as raw material”, recalls Luís Fernando.

Global Recycled Standard Certificate

The unit was awarded the recycled product certificate, following the strict Global Recycled Standard (GRS), conferred by Control Union. Previously, only three Brazilian industries in the textile sector had such certification, an international distinction given to organizations whose products contain at least 20% recycled materials.

The certificate also attests that at the height of sustainable global development, by reusing and recycling materials, the cooperative responsibly uses renewable resources, helping to reduce dependence on non-renewables.

Responsible Cotton Program

Another highlight of sustainability in Cocamar's yarn production is that all the cotton used by the same industry comes from farms that are part of the Responsible Brazilian Cotton (ABR) program and are licensed by the Better Cotton Initiative (BCI), a passport to the globalized market , increasingly pressured by the demands of the conscious consumer who seeks beyond quality and fair prices.

The Brazilian Association of Technical Standards – ABNT is one of the certifiers of this program, ensuring that cotton is produced with social and environmental respect.

“We are now working on creating partnerships to soon introduce organic cotton among our raw materials, produced in small communities in the Brazilian Northeast, using exclusively family labor”, announces Luis Fernando.

Cocamar was the first cooperative in Paraná to have a yarn industry, built in 1981, to absorb cotton that was grown in the northwest region of Paraná. At the end of the following decade, with the decline of cotton farming, the unit began to make its production more flexible, introducing new raw materials.

Currently, more than 7 thousand tons are produced per year of a diverse range of yarns that serve the knitwear segment in various regions of the country.