The Mass Balance TPU From Covestro's Changhua Site Advances Chaei Hsin's Shoe Materials to its Circular Goal

Covestro’s Changhua and Shenzhen sites have obtained ISCC Plus certification for mass balance production in the first and second half of 2022, respectively, striving to support the circular aims of their clients, and the first order came to the Changhua site from its long-term value chain partner-Chaei Hsin. With the new CQ (Circular Intelligence) solution for TPU, Chaei Hsin has upgraded both it’s TPU film series and sport footwear Joniro® with the new recycable material without needing to change any product designs or manufacturing techniques. This solution has not only solved the pain points of Chaei Hsin but has also improved its contribution to the circular economy, and most importantly, the solution can be produced in Taiwan and Mainland China, conveniently supporting all Covestro’s clients in APAC. 

Covestro is aiming to become fully circular, and also encourages its value chains to be part of the circular ecomony, one of which is Chaei Hsin. Covestro’s Changhua site produces TPU applied on footwear, bags, electronics, medical devices, apparel, sport gears, and climbing gears. Chaei Hsin has been dedicated to the prosperous footwear industry in Taiwan for past years, and now creates its own brand, Joniro®, with the target of becoming the leading brand using recycled shoe materials in Asia. To achieve this goal, Chaei Hsin has tried many approaches to producing sustainable materials, however, those solutions all failed due to high increase in costs, emissions, and defect rates, impeding its pursuit of a circular economy. Luckily, Covestro’s ISCC Plus certified mass-balance TPU solution, made with Desmopan® CQ and Utechllan® CQ, was the answer. It can be directly integrated into current production processes without technical modifications, and delivers identical physical properties and performance quality. This solution helped Chaei Hsin raise productivity and meet the market needs efficiently. 

The Desmopan® CQ and Utechllan® CQ series offer exceptional resistance to hydrolysis, radiation, oil grease, abrasion, solvents, and weathering, which provides excellent surface protection for Chaei Hsin's sports shoe brand, Joniro®, assisting Chaei Hsin to satisfy high customer demands for more personalized, comfortable, sustainable shoes, sharpening the brand's competitive edge in the consumer market, and also decreasing the environmental impact. “Covestro is our our long-term and trusted partner. We are pleased to now also use the new, more sustainable materials to protect our environment. Covestro's mass-compatible TPU solution has effectively solved our current challenges, and we can't wait to use more of Covestro's more sustainable materials to further transform our product portfolio.” 
Said Wang Shuimu, General Manager of Chaei Hsin. 

The mass balance approach is now widely used in many of Covestro’s sites located in Europe and the APAC region. In mass balancing, bio-based raw materials are used and this saves fossil raw materials and reduces greenhouse gas emissions, while the product quality remains the same compared to purely fossil-based ones. Dr. Carsten Wildebrand, Managing Director of Covestro Taiwan added,“Covestro’s Changhua site, which is the largest TPU production site in the APAC region, had obtained ISCC Plus certification for the mass-balance approach earlier this year, and we are expecting to introduce more sustainable raw materials to the fields of IT, electronics, shoes, films, and medicals in the innovative APAC market. “ 

Alec Yang, Head of TPU Sales and Market Development Taiwan & ASEAN of Covestro also added,“ Alternative and bio-based materials for fossil-based products are what Covestro is looking for and aiming to. We are happy that our solution takes clients one step closer to their ambition of joining the circular economy. By doing this we are also contributing to the zero emission in scope 3. We are looking forward to more cooperation with our clients, together making the world a brighter place.”