2023-08-16 15:06:00
“Sao is the Greek deity who protected sailors”, recalls Marine Olacia, the founder of the company with a mission SAO Textile, last February, within the business incubator Gigamed in Bessan (Hérault).
Her original profession is a stylist. A job that gives her a keen eye on the world of fashion and textiles: “ While traveling, I was able to observe the impact of fast-fashion, especially in Bangladesh where I saw the impact of the textile industry on the environment and society. I wanted to work differently and change the fashion industry by finding meaning. During a depollution action with an environmental association of which I am a volunteer, we recovered ten tonnes of fishing nets”.
The idea was thus born: reduce the impact of marine litter on the environment by recycling used fishing nets into eco-responsible textiles. The idea is not new, others have already started to explore it. But to stock up, the entrepreneur almost has to reach out into the blue waters of the Mediterranean, which SAO Textile recalls is ” one of the most polluted in the world according to a WWF report in 2018: alone, the 640,000 tonnes of fishing nets lost at sea or discarded each year at the bottom of the oceans (800 tonnes for France) represent more than 10 % of underwater plastic pollution”. At the end of their life, fishing nets, derived from plastic and whose degradation time is estimated at several hundred years, become waste destined to be buried or incinerated.
Tuna seine nets
To respond to the problem of managing this waste at the same time as that of overproduction in the fashion industry, SAO Textile worked with textile engineers to develop a process for recovering the different types of fishing, in order to obtain a 100% recycled yarn that does not require the addition of virgin material.
“I have been working on this project for two years, says Marine Olacia. The nets that I treats are tuna seine fillets. Sète is the main bluefin tuna fishing port and end-of-life nets are not recycled. I have this resource in my hands: I knew that it could be made into textiles… I work with a research center specializing in innovative textiles in France (identity not disclosed, editor’s note). We cut the net, and by thermo-mechanical process, we transform it into pellet, which we will then melt in order to then texturize a filament that we can weave or knit. The proof of concept has been made: we are able to recover fishing nets at 100%, without adding chemical materials. »
On its website, SAO Textile promises: “The creation of a recycled yarn in France will save almost 2.29 kg CO2 equivalent per ton of fiber, or 700 kg of crude oil per ton of fiber”.
Identify dormant fillet stocks
In just four months, this new generation weaver has recovered 15 tons of used and end-of-life fishing nets, which will not end up buried or incinerated. Marine Olacia adds that she is ” identify dormant stocks of nets among fishermen “. It also relies on voluntary donations from fishermen with whom it is in direct contact and indicates that it is getting closer “of the maritime cooperative, accompanied by the mixed union of the Thau basin”.
In her economic model, the young woman foresees “first to outsource manufacturing through partnerships, which will revitalize the French textile industry”, evoking in particular, in Occitania, “La Filature du Parc, a natural material spinning mill that processes linen, wool and cotton” (in Brassac in the Tarn), or other possible resources near Grenoble.
« We will first address the BtoB market by targeting French brands that want to produce and source in France, says the founder. Today, five have already told me that they are interested because we guarantee the traceability of the nets and we recover waste that until now has been destined for landfill. Subsequently, within two or three years, we would like to develop a brand of sportswear. »
On the financing side, the entrepreneur was initially self-financed: “For the first phase of R&D, I was accompanied by the CCI of Hérault and I received a “Start’Occ project” grant from the Occitanie Region. I was also able to count on love-money from those around me. My French Tech scholarship file is in progress and I applied for the Avenir Littoral call for projects, the response to which is announced for next fall… But today, I need to do some pre -series to show that the industrial model exists. I therefore need more significant funding from investors and industrialists for the change of scale… I therefore plan to raise funds from business-angels, which will make it possible to have a leverage effect with banks. »
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