Sporty top performance requires top performance from sportswear. The textiles should be flexible, breathable and comfortable; also tear resistant and sustainable.

Evonik has developed a new line of bio-based polymers to achieve high performance with natural means. The polymers ca be manufacture to high-tech textile fibres which have a lot to offer: maximum wearing comfort and unexcelled performance. Processed into high-quality fabrics, they have an odour-reducing effect thanks to their lasting natural bacteriostatic characteristics.

The castor bean plant forms the basis and source of the renewable monomers. In addition to the environmental advantage, it is above all the sustainability approach of VESTAMID Terra that is so convincing. Since castor bean plants can also withstand long periods of drought, they are cultivated in dry areas which are not suitable for any other form of agriculture. The biopolymer has no adverse effect on the human food chain. Unlike various other biopolymers that are based on natural products grown on cropland.

There are currently three products within this new group of polyamides available that are partially or entirely based on renewable feedstocks:

• VESTAMID Terra HS (PA 610) – 60% bio-based  –
• VESTAMID Terra DS (PA 1010) – 100% bio-based
• EVO by Fulgar – 100% bio-based fibre

As a thermoplastic semi-crystalline polyamide, the VESTAMID Terra can be melt spun to create a wide variety of different fibre and filaments products. Each of the polyamides has been and can be adjusted to meet the thermal spinning processing parameters. Depending on the material chosen, the filaments can provide unique technical and sustainable solutions.

In general, the lower water uptake, high chemical resistance and slightly reduced melting point of the VESTAMID Terra products compared to the short-chain polyamides will lead to lower energy demands in the spinning process, heightened stain resistance and an improved colour fastness, as well as an softer touch of the fibres without compromising mechanical properties.