Marimekko invests in renewable energy – fabrics now printed with 100% Finnish biogas

The Finnish listed textiles and clothing company Marimekko is reducing Made with finnish biogas Gasum its carbon footprint. From now on all of its fabrics at the Helsinki mill will be printed with 100% Finnish and renewable Gasum biogas.

With around one million meters of printed fabrics produced at the mill for the domestic and export markets, Marimekko fabrics printed with clean energy can now carry the biogas label – Made with Finnish biogas – communicating environmental responsibility.

Marimekko is Finland’s first textiles company to switch to renewable and 100% Finnish Gasum biogas, with an annual total of 3.6 GWh to be consumed in the production process. The switch to biogas will result in a cut of more than 700 tonnes in carbon dioxide emissions from the Marimekko printing mill located in Herttoniemi, Helsinki, corresponding to the annual emissions of around 300 gasoline-fueled cars. The source of energy used previously by the printing mill was natural gas.

”At Marimekko we have taken many steps over the past years to mitigate climate change. For us responsibility means respect for humans and the environment in everything we do. We are committed to halve the CO2 emissions from our operations by 2020. In the operations of our Herttoniemi fabric printing mill responsibility can already be seen as continuous improvements in energy efficiency and in our use of renewable electricity. Now we want to increase our use of renewable energies even further by printing our fabrics with biogas. The introduction of biogas will bring the carbon dioxide emissions from our printing process practically down to zero,” says Marimekko Sustainability Manager Anna-Leena Teppo.

”It’s great that Marimekko, which is one of Finland’s most respected brands, wants to switch to environmentally friendly biogas in its production. This goes to show that biogas is suitable for enterprises operating in all sectors. Gasum biogas is a clean and responsible fuel that efficiently reduces the carbon footprint from energy consumption,” says Gasum Sales Manager Max Miilakangas.

Marimekko fabrics made with biogas have the right to carry the biogas label. Launched in spring 2015, the biogas label communicates to consumers that the product was made responsibly with 100% Finnish and renewable energy.

Gasum biogas is made from biodegradable waste and easy for natural customers to adopt. Biogas is upgraded to make it equivalent to natural gas, so the switch to biogas can be made without additional investments in equipment. Biogas is sold to industry, service providers, heat and power production, homes and restaurants using gas cookers, and for use as a road vehicle fuel. Biogas is a Finnish biofuel always made from fully renewable raw materials that is injected into the gas network from Espoo, Kouvola and Lahti, and next year also from the new Riihimäki biogas facility.

For further information please contact:

Max Miilakangas, Sales Manager, Gasum Ltd
Phone: +358 20 44 78 521, firstname.surname(a)gasum.fi

Anna-Leena Teppo, Sustainability Manager, Marimekko Corporation
Phone: +358 40 525 1122, firstname.surname(a)marimekko.com