Major Taiwanese textile suppliers that have long been part of the supply chain of FIFA World Cups are using their advanced technologies to transform recycled plastic waste into soccer jerseys and accessories, tapping into tremendous business opportunities.
Far Eastern New Century Corp is one of them. The textile brand has closely worked with Adidas and environmental organization Parley for the Ocean to make jerseys from marine plastic waste.
In this year’s tournament, which kicks off tonight, seven teams — Germany, Japan, Spain, Argentina, Mexico, Belgium and Wales — use Far Eastern-made jerseys, while an additional two teams wore them in their unsuccessful qualification bids.
Photo: CNA
Mexico have even been selected by several international news media as the “best dressed” team.
“Mexico have never been short on strong designs, but even by their lofty standards, their 2022 kits are impressive,” ESPN said. “The detailed pattern emanating from the collar and stretching all down the front of the shirt — a nod to Quetzalcoatl, an Aztec god whose name translates to ‘feathered serpent’ — grabs your attention and refuses to let go.”
The World Cup, running through Dec. 18 in Qatar, is expected to attract a record 5 billion viewers across the world, creating hundreds of billions of US dollars in business opportunities for suppliers of merchandise, soccer’s world governing body FIFA estimated.
Huang Chuan-yi (黃全億), a manager in Far Eastern’s long fiber division, said that his company has spent about seven years to develop products from marine plastic waste, and this year is the first time it can demonstrate its prowess at a big international event.
Huang said Far Eastern has been part of supply chains for World Cups for more than 10 years.
Far Eastern also produced jerseys from recycled marine waste for the soccer clubs Bayern Munich and Real Madrid, he said.
Huang said Far Eastern’s 200 research-and-development experts need at least three years to develop new products.
Shinkong Synthetic Fibers Corp has also been a major player in the World Cup supply chain for more than a decade, said Lo Shih-chuan (羅時銓), deputy head of the 55-year-old firm’s decisionmaking committee.
Lo said his company has been developing yarn based on recycled PET bottles for many years and has built a solid customer base with high loyalty.
The recycling rate of PET bottles in Taiwan is 95 percent, the highest in the world, helping the company source its base material, Lo said.
Shinkong has secured patents for its Shin Sigma 3.0 technologies, which help its products draw moisture away from the body, Lo said, calling it a key property for sports clothes.
Shinkong’s products are light-weight and opaque, Lo said, adding that the company uses low carbon emissions technology to produce them.
Local textile firms are good at integrating resources from upstream, middle-stream and downstream segments to produce yarn, cloth and finished garments, Lo said.
Its products are successful in the global market, he said, citing FIFA World Cup 2018 in Russia, where Taiwanese textile firms accounted for more than 80 percent of the supply chain.
‘DENIAL DEFENSE’: The US would increase its military presence with uncrewed ships, and submarines, while boosting defense in the Indo-Pacific, a Pete Hegseth memo said The US is reorienting its military strategy to focus primarily on deterring a potential Chinese invasion of Taiwan, a memo signed by US Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth showed. The memo also called on Taiwan to increase its defense spending. The document, known as the “Interim National Defense Strategic Guidance,” was distributed this month and detailed the national defense plans of US President Donald Trump’s administration, an article in the Washington Post said on Saturday. It outlines how the US can prepare for a potential war with China and defend itself from threats in the “near abroad,” including Greenland and the Panama
The High Prosecutors’ Office yesterday withdrew an appeal against the acquittal of a former bank manager 22 years after his death, marking Taiwan’s first instance of prosecutors rendering posthumous justice to a wrongfully convicted defendant. Chu Ching-en (諸慶恩) — formerly a manager at the Taipei branch of BNP Paribas — was in 1999 accused by Weng Mao-chung (翁茂鍾), then-president of Chia Her Industrial Co, of forging a request for a fixed deposit of US$10 million by I-Hwa Industrial Co, a subsidiary of Chia Her, which was used as collateral. Chu was ruled not guilty in the first trial, but was found guilty
A wild live dugong was found in Taiwan for the first time in 88 years, after it was accidentally caught by a fisher’s net on Tuesday in Yilan County’s Fenniaolin (粉鳥林). This is the first sighting of the species in Taiwan since 1937, having already been considered “extinct” in the country and considered as “vulnerable” by the International Union for Conservation of Nature. A fisher surnamed Chen (陳) went to Fenniaolin to collect the fish in his netting, but instead caught a 3m long, 500kg dugong. The fisher released the animal back into the wild, not realizing it was an endangered species at
DEADLOCK: As the commission is unable to forum a quorum to review license renewal applications, the channel operators are not at fault and can air past their license date The National Communications Commission (NCC) yesterday said that the Public Television Service (PTS) and 36 other television and radio broadcasters could continue airing, despite the commission’s inability to meet a quorum to review their license renewal applications. The licenses of PTS and the other channels are set to expire between this month and June. The National Communications Commission Organization Act (國家通訊傳播委員會組織法) stipulates that the commission must meet the mandated quorum of four to hold a valid meeting. The seven-member commission currently has only three commissioners. “We have informed the channel operators of the progress we have made in reviewing their license renewal applications, and
RSS