Finnish sustainable textile developer Spinnova has signed a letter of intent with Danish footwear manufacturer Ecco on the future plans of their joint venture Respin. Respin was established together with KT Trading, Ecco’s key leather provider, and Spinnova as a joint venture in 2021. An associated leather fiber production pilot plant was also started to be built in Finland at the time of the founding.
The development work on Respin’s leather waste-based fiber has shown good quality results in the current year. Ecco has successfully produced a shoe prototype containing fibers from the Respin pilot plant that were produced using Spinnova technology. A product launch by Ecco using the fiber produced by Respin is expected to take place before the end of the first quarter of 2025.
Both Spinnova and Ecco see great opportunities to increase Respin’s production volume to a commercial level. According to the letter of intent, both parties agree to expand the business. They will work together to make a final decision on how to proceed with the production expansion and commercialization of Respin by the end of the first quarter of 2025. In addition, as outlined in Spinnova’s strategy, Spinnova itself does not expect to seek further external financing to fund the increase in Respin’s production capacity.
“We are optimistic about the fiber quality reached at Respin and see a clear potential using the fiber in our future products,” commented Thomas Gøgsig, Ecco’s Chief Commercial Officer. “Ecco is committed together with Spinnova to continuing to work towards scaling the production of the leather waste-based fiber, and we are looking forward to the international scaling of the fiber.”
