Texon – 75 years of innovation
The pace of change in the footwear industry is relentless, so to survive 75 years and continue to grow requires real stamina. Nevertheless, in a sector that is continually evolving, Texon has remained a constant. Unwavering in its commitment to its customers, the company has built a reputation as a leading supplier, working with many of the biggest brands in the business. It has also created a name for itself as a sustainable innovator, one that is prepared to push boundaries in order to support the industry’s environmental and creative ambitions.
Innovation might not be the first thing that springs to mind when you think about heel counters, insoles and toe puffs, the structural components the company is best known for. In fact, you might think there is little scope for change in this part of the footwear supply chain. However, you would be wrong. Over the last eight decades, it has repeatedly demonstrated that it is possible to shift the dial and adapt even the simplest structural components to deliver far-reaching benefits for footwear manufacturers and consumers alike.
How it all began
The company was founded in 1947 in the United States, emerging through a buyout from the DuPont company. Initially employing just 24 people, the business focused on combining neoprene elastomers with cellulose fibre structures to create a variety of products, including the first cellulose insole board for footwear. From these relatively humble origins, the business grew quickly. As post-war rationing that had limited footwear to just three pairs per person per year lifted, demand for footwear increased and orders for the insole board grew exponentially. By the end of the 1950s, the company was selling it in more than 30 countries worldwide and had expanded its workforce to nearly 300 people, spread across two manufacturing sites and a converting plant in Massachusetts.
In the fashion-conscious 1960s, Texon grew further. As designers became more adventurous and consumers flexed their newly-found spending power, it opened factories in Taiwan, France and Germany, receiving a special award for exports and international growth from President Nixon. In parallel, the company was innovating. In 1966, it launched the first anti-static cellulose insole, T411. This was followed five years later by T90, the world’s first needle-punched non-woven insole.
The 1970s saw further growth with the formation of Texon Pacific in Taiwan and new factories opening in Italy and Brazil. During this decade, sales and profits more than tripled, so it came as no surprise when Emhart Corporation purchased the business in 1981: it was a natural commercial fit. Emhart already owned United Shoe Machinery (USM), as well as a specialist shoe material manufacturing site in Skelton, England, which was formerly part of ICI and well known for making insoles, heel counters and toe puffs. Under the new ownership there was further innovation. With consumers clamouring for era-defining sneakers such as Nike Air Jordans, Converse All Stars and Reebok Freestyles, the 1980s saw the development of the company’s first non-woven anti-static insoles, the T49 and T50.
The decade culminated with a further change in ownership. In 1989, Black & Decker Corporation acquired the company when it purchased the Emhart Corporation. A year later, Black & Decker sold it to United Machinery Group (UMG), which had spun out of USM in 1987. Rebranded USM Texon, the business went from strength to strength, releasing more innovative products throughout the early 1990s. These included Ecosole, the world’s first environmentally friendly insole material to incorporate recycled fibres. Made from cellulose fibres and using zero dyes, the resulting insoles were lightweight, economical and ecological. Other products followed in quick succession including T79, a water resistant non-woven insole material, T70 a water resistant insole material specified by the military and Hypersorb for use in the hygiene and medical industry. By 1994, the company had become the largest shoemaking machinery and materials supplier in the world.
Stepping up sustainability
In 1997, it split into two, the worldwide machinery arm became USM Group while the global materials division transformed into Texon International, the business we know today. Operating as a stand-alone entity, a further flurry of sustainable innovations followed beginning with Reform, the world’s first 100% recyclable, fully closed-loop, non-woven heel counter.
Bryan Whitfield, Group Sales Director, referring to the significance of these early eco-innovations says, “Sustainability was always a key part of our DNA and by the 1990s we’d built relationships with many of the world’s leading brands. A global business, with a local way of working, our passion for delivering exceptional solutions and doing the right thing for the planet really resonated with the market. Ecosole and Reform took our reputation to the next level. Developing innovative products, with such strong eco credentials long before our competitors, created a real stand out, making us the primary company that footwear manufacturers wanted to talk to about structural components.”
To underpin its portfolio of eco-friendly products, the company worked hard throughout the 1990s, ramping up sustainability across all its operations and establishing lean manufacturing processes. It also set up a recycling infrastructure at its facilities in the Asia Pacific region and began taking back offcuts from its customers and repurposing this scrap into new material, an initiative that has prevented thousands of tonnes of material from going to landfill.
In the years that followed, Texon continued to accelerate its innovation programme, introducing more recycled content into its products. Year on year the business assembled a portfolio of materials designed specifically with sustainability in mind. Key among these were Kabru, a cushioned strobel insole material, completely free from polluting foam, with 100% recyclability and up to 83% recycled content. Also important was Halo, a heel counter supplied net, meaning zero waste, and containing a minimum of 50% recycled content from post-consumer waste.
Unlocking the power of plants
In 2019, the company took another step forward in its sustainability efforts when it developed Bioform, its first bio-based heel counter and a natural choice for smart shoe design with 39% bio-based plastic. Explaining its background, Paul Mallory, Sustainability Project Manager, says, “When it comes to biopolymers, we threw ourselves in at the deep end with Bioform, demonstrating we could unlock the power of plants and create a pioneering new material that was structurally sound but also better for the environment.
“Originally developed for one of the world’s best-known sports brands, Bioform is different to other plant-based materials which can often be limited by their low temperature resistance and low tensile strength. In contrast, Bioform is incredibly strong yet flexible. It also has excellent heat resistance and moulding properties and can be processed on conventional cast film systems. The other major plus is that it’s made from plant scraps. Based on a unique blend of cutting-edge, bio-based polymers, sourced from non-GMO agricultural waste, Bioform uses corn stover, the leaves, stalks and cobs of maize, which are typically left in the field after harvesting.”
More recently, the company added another bio-based product to its armoury, Texon Verde. Tailor-made for use in the manufacture of sustainable, luxury, fashion and homeware accessories, it contains up to 90% bio-based content and is biodegradable. Made from sustainably sourced FSC (Forest Stewardship Council) cellulose wood pulp, plant-based binders and natural pigments, the material is said to be the perfect choice for designers and brands looking to reduce the impact of their products on the planet.
Commenting further, Liam Collins, Group NPDI Senior Project Manager & Process Lead says, “Bioform and Verde are exciting additions to our portfolio of sustainable, high-performance materials and structural components. Containing high levels of bio content, these products tick all the right boxes for our customers in terms of environmental stewardship. Crucially, they also mean we are actively reducing our use of virgin materials.”
Shouting about sustainability
Cutting the consumption of virgin materials is one of four core goals that form part of the company’s zero footprint sustainability strategy. In 2020 it published its first sustainability report, setting out a clear objective and an ambitious deadline: zero waste by 2025. To achieve this, it declared its intention to reduce its carbon footprint by 50%, reduce its use of virgin materials by the same amount, ensure 90% of its waste can be recycled or reusable and reduce water use and water waste by 20%.
Boyd Mulder, Group NPDI, Sustainability and Marketing Director, says, “In 2020, the time was right to start shouting about the breadth of our sustainability work and everything we were doing for people and planet. Sustainability has always been central to our work but, historically, we’d been modest about our achievements. Publishing an annual sustainability report drew a line in the sand. It showed our customers and the world just how carefully we consider our impact on a global scale. Whether we’re developing new processes at our sites to reduce our energy use and emissions or collaborating more closely with our customers to bring novel sustainable solutions to the market, we’re working hard to protect the planet and our sustainability report gives us a regular platform where we can celebrate that.”
In the two years since launching its inaugural sustainability report, Texon has made great progress against its four goals. In April, the business announced it was on track to meet the targets it has set itself. Benchmarking progress against 2015 data, when it started measuring its environmental footprint, it has reported a 27% reduction in yearly greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions intensity, increased its use of recycled materials by 20%, made 46% of its waste recyclable or reusable and realised an 8% reduction in water use and waste.
Looking ahead, the company is not resting on its laurels. Boyd Mulder says, “Doing things right has always guided what we do, what we produce and how we think. Our passion for delivering exceptional results for our customers and getting things right for our planet has seen our products used in some of the best, most well-known footwear in the world. But our job isn’t finished yet and we need to do more. The future of footwear depends on advancements in sustainable materials. From the sole up, every component needs to be reimagined with environmental performance at the forefront. At Texon, that’s our focus, re-engineering many of our heritage products to contain more recycled or bio-based content and developing new low-carbon impact solutions. In other words, creating today in a way that will help sustain tomorrow.”
Rethinking hero products
True to its word the company has started to reformulate some of its best-known products. It recently created two new versions of its Sportflex toe puff range. Sportflex Bio is made from a minimum of 69% sustainably sourced material including sugar cane. By locking in carbon as the sugar cane grows, Sportflex Bio toe puffs are completely carbon neutral. A range of Sportflex Eco toe puffs made from at least 63% sustainably sourced material has also been created using industrial waste.
Last year, the company also unveiled Reform 2.0, a new and improved version of its original trailblazing heel counter. Now containing up to 66% of sustainably sourced content whilst offering the same physical traits as its predecessor, it says that Reform 2.0 proves footwear manufacturers do not need to choose between high performance and sustainability when specifying structural components to incorporate into athletic, casual, dress, outdoor or safety shoes.
Looking to the future
What’s next for the company now it was been bought by Coats this year? According to the team it is very much business as usual. Elaborating, Mr Mulder says, “It’s an exciting time at Texon and there is more going on than ever. With inspiring progress made in 2021 and a clear roadmap towards our 2025 ambition, we are focused on delivering our zero footprint goals. As well as re-engineering products from our vast archive and creating new materials with even better sustainability credentials, we’re working hard at our sites to ensure every process is optimised and every part of our supply chain is working in the most eco-friendly way possible.”
Substantiating its efforts, the company is currently developing Life Cycle Assessments for its products. Working with Ecochain, a Dutch environmental consultancy, the aim is to better understand the impact of its materials and processes, and present the results in a recognised format for customers. Using science-based metrics, the LCA tool will enable it to establish future carbon reduction goals. Long-term, the LCA tool will also help it to improve sustainability throughout its value chain, tailoring new developments in line with its core zero footprint goals and evaluate raw material impacts in the design phase.
It is also branching out, adding new technologies to its portfolio that can support and protect every aspect of the foot. ProWeave is one such example. Recently launched, this patented, jacquard weaving technology makes it possible to seamlessly integrate functional and design weaving into a single sheet of material. Reimagining fabrics for the footwear, apparel, fashion, and luxury goods industries, ProWeave opens infinite new design possibilities, enabling the production of continuous woven substrates with the zonal features product designers want, exactly where they want them. Ground-breaking in its approach, the company says that ProWeave is already turning heads in the sportswear sector with Umbro announcing its use in a new range of football boots.
Paul Mallory says, “Although our journey began 75 years ago, it’s clear we’re continuing to innovate sustainably, leading the way for our customers, our business and the wider industry. As part of the Coats Group that work will progress. Conscious that what we do today impacts tomorrow, we’ll keep developing sustainable solutions that bring the footwear industry’s ideas to life. Our customers inspire us to succeed every single day and we’re proud of what we’ve achieved so far. Together, our plan is to continue pioneering ground-breaking, sustainable innovations for the next 75 years and beyond.”
Texon’s facility in Vietnam.
Credit: Texon
