Hugo Boss makes $9-million investment in Swiss yarn firm HeiQ

By

Benjamin Fitzgerald

Published
Feb 15, 2022

German luxury brand Hugo Boss announced on Monday a strategic partnership with Swiss textile and materials developer, HeiQ, in a bid to create more sustainable clothing using the manufacturer's closed-loop yarn.

Dubbed 'AeoniQ', the HeiQ's continuous cellulosic filament yarn is describe as having "performance levels matching polyester and nylon fibers," and promotes the manufacturing of "sustainable, circular, and closed-loop recyclable cellulosic yarn," taking away the need for the aforementioned oil-based fibers.

"AeoniQ yarns are made out of cellulosic biopolymers, which during growth bind carbon from the atmosphere," said Hugo Boss in a press release. "The production of HeiQ AeoniQ yarns therefore has one of the best ESG profiles, when compared to conventional yarns and cellulosic products."

The partnership will see Hugo Boss make an equity invest $5 million into HeiQ, as part of its the fashion company's 'Claim 5' strategy. That will be supplemented by exclusive partnership arrangements of up to $4 million, based on performance milestones, said the Metzingen-based Hugo Boss.

​"Our exciting partnership with HeiQ represents yet another important milestone on our journey towards becoming the leading premium tech-driven fashion platform worldwide," said Daniel Grieder, CEO of Hugo Boss. 

"Consistent with our bold mission statement ‘We Love Fashion, We Change Fashion,’ this game-changing technology will enable us to further push innovation and sustainability across our brands’ offerings, thereby driving measurable impact for the environment and society alike."

The primary use of the raised proceeds from Hugo Boss will be to scale up and commercialize HeiQ's innovative yarn technology. By 2024, HeiQ plans to build its first commercial giga factory in Central Europe, and is also building a pilot facility for fiber production in 2022.

​“We are all the more encouraged by Hugo Boss becoming an important strategic partner for HeiQ and our innovation platforms, said Carlo Centonze, co-founder and CEO of HeiQ.

"Together, we have every confidence in being able to scale the disruptive potential of our unique bio-based HeiQ AeoniQ technology, which contributes strongly to decarbonizing the textile industry and reducing plastic microfiber in our oceans."