UK-based industrial thread company, Coats, is speeding up and amplifying its journey toward a more sustainable future, establishing new goals in terms of scope, scale, and speed, with a focus on net-zero and circularity.

Coats said it will spend $10 million over the next five years to speed the development of green technologies and materials in order to meet its targets.

The Coats Innovation Hub – Asia in Shenzhen, China, will be re-purposed to focus on the application of biomaterials and will have a new objective. Coats hopes to transition all of its products to ecologically friendly materials and chemicals in the long run.

Rajiv Sharma, group chief executive, said that innovation is critical for Coats and their industry as a whole to establish a new and more sustainable path forward. They need to encourage open-source innovation, where diverse elements of the value chain work together to find solutions to the problems they're all facing. It is the correct thing to do to accelerate their obligations, and it will improve their business for the future.

Coats will be carbon neutral by 2050 by accelerating its work in energy reduction, converting to more renewable energy, and transitioning to new materials. By 2030, renewables will account for 70% of Coats' worldwide energy consumption. By 2030, all products will be created entirely without the use of new oil-extraction polymers like polyester and nylon. Coats will lead the industry in substituting eco-products for all new oil-based materials, which is one of the most effective ways to cut carbon emissions.

Coats will transition its industry to a more circular approach. It will develop goods and packaging that allow for recycling and reuse within its own operations as well as across the garment industry as a whole. Coats will maintain its commitment to a livable wage, fair employment practices, and efforts to improve community standards of living.

Sharma adds that they’re further integrating sustainability into the core of their business operations and strategy, with the goal of generating impact on a scale unprecedented in their industry. They must work with their customers and other stakeholders to ensure the long-term viability of the industries in which they operate.