HeiQ agrees partnership with Hugo Boss

Hugo Boss AG has entered into a long-term, strategic partnership with HeiQ, a textiles technology company based in Schlieren in the canton of Zurich. According to a press release, the premium German fashion house is investing a total of 5 million US dollars in the HeiQ subsidiary HeiQ AeoniQ, which has developed a new high-performance, eponymous yarn. It is made from climate-positive raw materials, is suitable for circularity and closed-loop recycling and, as a replacement for plastic fibers, contributes to decarbonization. Furthermore, Lycra has been designated as the exclusive distribution partner for the HeiQ AeoniQ yarn. HeiQ and the global supplier of stretch fabrics have been working together since the summer of 2021. No details were disclosed regarding the volume of Lycra’s recent investment.

The central element of the partnership with HeiQ is Hugo Boss AG’s capital investment of 5 million US dollars in HeiQ AeoniQ. The equity investment is supplemented by exclusive partnership agreements of up to 4 million US dollars in connection with the achievement of defined performance milestones, further details of which can be found in the press release. For Hugo Boss, this is the first investment of this kind as part of its “CLAIM 5” growth strategy, the goal of which is to significantly increase the proportion of more sustainable materials used in the BOSS and HUGO collections over the coming years. The company has drawn up plans to achieve climate neutrality within its own area of responsibility by 2030 and along the entire value chain by 2045.

“At HUGO BOSS, we are committed to contributing to a greener planet and we want to be at the forefront when it comes to driving positive change within the fashion industry”, comments Daniel Grieder, CEO of Hugo Boss, in a press release issued by his company.

Carlo Centonze, co-founder and CEO of HeiQ, chose to highlight the key contribution to “decarbonizing the textile industry and reducing plastic microfiber in our oceans” in his comments.

HeiQ, a spin-off from the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Zurich (ETH), is headquartered at the IJZ, an innovation and start-up park located in Schlieren. The company is also a member of Start Smart Schlieren.