MONOVA
PE
Monova PE is the world’s first padded textile dress-cover which can be fully recycled at end of life. The unique mono-material composition opens up possibilities for endless recycling, where the dress-cover can be reprocessed into new dress-covers again and again.
Born from a collaboration of visionary companies, Monova PE is a ground-breaking product that tackles waste and CO2e in an often-overlooked part of the industry, driving real impact on sustainability.
Background
For the aerospace industry to evolve sustainably, every sector should be focusing on reducing greenhouse gas emissions and addressing the vast amounts of waste created from every cabin refurbishment and replacement parts. We estimate that around 1 million dress-covers are replaced every year simply from wear and tear, let alone the additional numbers from the refurbishments. With the scarcity and cost of landfill going up every year, as well as the cost of virgin materials, Airlines have a financial, moral and increasingly a legislative imperative to move to more sustainable practices.
Despite the availability of recyclable textiles, they are often bonded to polyurethane foam, to velcro or to other different materials. This means at end-of-life, these multimaterial dress-covers cannot be recycled and end up in landfill or incinerated. There is no economic incentive to spend the time separating these bonded materials to extract their value.
The product
Studio ID and Trendworks envisioned a series of products - modern textile dress-covers, padded for extra style and comfort, where every part is made from the same base material, that could be endlessly recycled using existing facilities, never ending up in landfill or incinerated. We are exploring many different compositions for Monova and for the launch product, we partnered with Sabeti Wain Aerospace and Botany Weaving to make this dream a
reality creating Monova PE.
The details
Every part of Monova PE is made from polyester - the fabric, the wadding and even the velcro. This creates a mono-material part, which can be easily and efficiently recycled at end-of-life. This recycling can take place at any textile chemical recycling facility worldwide - it doesn’t rely on specialist systems, coordination with the original manufacturer or have to be shipped around the world to reach the correct facility.
On the outside
However Monova PE goes further than just being recyclable - it uses a new recycled “textile-to-textile” fabric from Botany, created directly from post industrial and post-consumer waste textiles. Using this vast resource of waste textile reduces CO2e by up to 85% compared to the production of virgin polyester.
Current recycled polyester fabrics on the market are made from PET bottles, however these bottles are much better used being recycled into more bottles - keeping a certified food high grade PET in the appropriate recycling loop. For every Monova PE dress-cover created, not only is the CO2e dramatically reduced, but the same amount of polyester waste is diverted from landfill.
Studio ID and Trendworks worked closely with Botany on the design and construction of this new textile-to-textile fabric, to ensure that it looked as good as its environmental attributes. The design of the fabrics represents the ethos of
the project and represents the circular nature.
On the inside
Sabeti Wain have used their expertise to refine the comfort and style of the seat, combining the textile-to-textile fabric with polyester wadding, running multiple trials to find the correct thicknesses and construction. Once the right process was established, we ended up with the optimum combination for comfort, flammability and durability without compromising on the style lines on the seats. Depending on the exact stack-up, the new construction will match or be lighter than using traditional PU foam, an added environmental benefit.
Studio ID, Trendworks and Sabeti are working on an innovative labeling system including QR codes to ensure the mono-material construction is evident to recyclers at the end of life, as well as signifying to the customer the commitment from the airline regarding sustainability.
Due to the polyester construction, Monova PE can be cold washed instead of dry-cleaned – another huge environmental benefit. Dry-cleaning uses approximately 85% more energy than cold washing, releases tonnes of harmful chemicals into water ways and the air, and dramatically reduces the durability of each cover washed.
Circularity
Once the first Monova PE reaches its end-of-life and is returned to one of the many chemical recycling facilities, the dress-cover will be broken down into a monomer, then re-polymerised, turned into more yarn, and eventually more dress-covers. Monova PE can make a bold claim to be truly circular.
Project status
Monova PE is due to be launched at AIX 2025 on both Botany and Sabeti’s stands. As the Monova series develops, Airlines will be able to choose Monova for any seating application, the design can be refined and customised to each unique brand and product selection.the project and represents the circular nature.
Summary
Born from a collaboration of visionary companies, Monova PE is a groundbreaking product that tackles waste and CO2e in an often-overlooked part of the industry, driving real impact on sustainability.