Meet our Material and Innovation Specialist
Interview, June 19, 2024
Introducing Christina Heines
As we prepare for the Future Fabrics Expo 2024 in London on June 25-26, we want to introduce you to Christina Heines, our Material and Innovation Specialist at Nilörn.
To gain a deeper insight into Christina’s role and expertise here at Nilörn, we asked her a few questions about her commitment to materials and innovation within the textile and fashion industry.
Could you please start by sharing some details about your background and how you came to be Nilörn's Material and Innovation Specialist?
With a background in fashion and textile design, I worked in various design fields before joining Nilörn in 2014. Initially, I worked with the design team focusing on creative concept development. I enjoy connecting great aesthetics with responsible product design. Eco-design principles, such as design for recycling, traceability and transparency are key to my work. In 2021, I was appointed as Nilörn’s Material and Innovation Specialist. My mission is to lever innovation at Nilörn, and to help our clients make informed decisions.
What do you find most rewarding about working in this field?
Sustainability is a natural part of my lifestyle, and I enjoy bringing this aspect into my professional sphere. I’m inspired by the Cradle-to-Cradle school of thought and find it fulfilling to integrate its principles into my work. Specifically, I aim to improve our products to better align with the concept of circularity.
How do you see Nilörn's focus on preferred materials contributing to shaping the future of labelling and packaging within the textile and fashion industry?
Envisioning the future of trims and packaging within the textile and fashion industry, Nilörn’s focus on preferred materials is integral to circular product design.
An internal LCA (Life Cycle Assessment) project on one of our core products, demonstrated that material production has the greatest impact on climate change, followed by energy consumption during production. By using recycled, renewable and traceable materials, we aim to substantially reduce the impact of our products. Likewise, when supporting our clients in choosing preferred materials, we foster sustainable consumption with a lower environmental footprint.
In our product design, we integrate circular thinking, aiming to create products that can be recycled at the end of their useful life. We acknowledge the current limitations in the recyclability of textile parts and accessories and continuously monitor advancements in the recycling industry to improve end-of-life options for our products.
Choosing recycled, renewable and traceable materials, and designing products with their end-of-life in mind, will be key for brands not only to reduce their environmental footprint, but also to comply with incoming legislation.
Lastly, what are you most looking forward to at the Future Fabrics Expo, and how can attendees connect with you during the event?
Since exchange, feedback and knowledge sharing are essential to my work, I am very much looking forward to connecting with industry professionals, material enthusiasts and potential partners during the show. For those planning to attend – I look forward to meeting you at Nilörn’s booth. Additionally, I will be attending the evening networking event.
For more updates and insights:
Christina Heines
Christina Heines is the Material and Innovation Specialist at Nilörn. She is leading Nilorn’s Material Team – launched in 2021 – helping to accelerate and promote new material developments and innovation at Nilörn on a global level.
Christina’s background is Design. Before starting with the Material Team in her role as Material and Innovation Specialist, she has been working for seven years with Branding Design with a strong focus on sustainable innovation at Nilörn Germany.
Prior to Nilörn, Christina has worked in Design in several disciplines ranging from fashion design to textile and graphic design. Sustainability and a strong focus on material innovation has been at the heart of her work ever since. Christina is based in Nilorn’s german office in Hilden.