Soprema, the specialist in innovative building envelope products, has turned workwear into a sustainable thermo-acoustic insulation solution with the launch of Pavatextil P; a versatile material made from recycled cotton and denim.
Developed as part of Soprema’s commitment to tackling climate change, Pavatextil P uses the humble pair of jeans discarded at the back of every wardrobe to deliver superb thermal performance and buildability benefits. The ingenious product leverages the hydrophilic and hygroscopic qualities of natural cotton fibres and includes anti-bacterial, anti-fungal and fire-retardant treatments during processing to deliver a practical, sustainable insulation product. Suitable for installation with a vapour barrier within a wood or metal framework, as internal wall insulation, inside pitched roofs or under attic floors, Pavatextil P has a Lambda value of 0.039 and excellent acoustic properties.
The ground-breaking product drives forward Soprema’s circular construction approach to developing products that utilise recycled materials to reduce waste, offer a sustainable supply chain and answer increasing demand for credible, environmental solutions.
Roland Jackson, commercial director of Soprema UK explains: “Soprema is a pioneer in developing sustainable construction concepts and transforming those ideas into products that offer environmental, buildability and performance benefits.
“With Pavatextil P, we have delivered those principles in a way that’s accessible for everyone – anyone who has ever owned a pair of jeans could potentially be part of this innovative approach to recycling a ubiquitous consumer product into a high-performing element of a more sustainable built environment.”
To produce Pavatextil P, selected cotton and jeans are unravelled and reused in an ecologically optimised production process. The insulation’s green credentials are further enhanced by the use of renewable energy for the production processes.
The recycled cotton fibres are processed into extremely soft insulation panels that offer excellent year-round thermal performance to keep buildings warm in winter and cool during the warmer months. As a result, old jeans can reduce both energy bills and carbon emissions.
Pavatextil P also provides excellent acoustic insulation and boasts an A+ rating for VOC emissions, ensuring improved indoor air quality.
In addition to its environmental and performance benefits, Pavatextil P also offers significant buildability advantages. Light and flexible, the material is simple and easy to cut to size and shape on site and can be installed quickly and easily between roof beams, under floorboards or in stud walls and partitions. The versatile material can be installed in layers to tailor the installation to the required thermal performance and property design.
Roland adds: “Denim has been chosen as an ideal recyclable material by Soprema thanks to its durability and flexibility. Indeed, American gold diggers chose jeans because they were the strongest trousers they could find. Now, even when jeans are worn out, the ultra-tough fabric can be repurposed as insulation material, giving them a second life.
“A good pair of jeans can last for years but Pavatextil P can last for generations while providing a more comfortable, energy efficient and sustainable built environment. We believe it is a gamechanger in the way the construction sector will think about sustainability and the use of recycled materials in the supply chain.”
