The Finnish airlaid nonwoven producer SharpCell is now, after years of development, launching a plastic-free and fossil-free airlaid material for premium napkins at the Tissue World tradefair in Düsseldorf. By utilising OrganoClick’s biobased, plastic-free and home compostable binders, the OC-BioBinder, traditional fossil-based binders in the material have been replaced. The first commercial volumes will start in April 2023. 

SharpCell and OrganoClick have collaborated for more than 5 years in the development of the new airlaid material. OrganoClick’s biobased binder which replaces the fossil-based binder in the traditional material is made of raw materials originating from side streams in the food industry from e.g. wheat, corn, lemons and shrimp shells. 

“Our vision is to be at the leading edge of sustainability, and we are very happy with this collaboration together with OrganoClick,” said Pekka Pollari, CEO of SharpCell. “The best solutions are found in good co-operation with customers and partners. Through active product development we can come up with applications that fulfil even the most demanding requirements.” 

SharpCell is an innovative airlaid nonwoven producer with ambitious sustainability goals. The material that has been developed has the potential to replace over 1,000 tons of fossil-based binder when fully implemented at SharpCell while keeping the soft hand-feel and textile-like look of an airlaid material. A 100 per cent fossil-free material is also in line with the Finnish government’s goal of becoming a fossil-free nation in 2035, the company said in a press release.

“We are very happy to accomplish this great milestone together with the SharpCell team. We look forward to continuing the journey replacing plastics and making products green inside,” saif Mårten Hellberg, CEO at OrganoClick.