As companies increasingly become aware of the crucial need to embark on a sustainability journey, several initiatives are popping up across the industry. The latest one to date has been launched by Filamentive. The UK-based 3D printing filament company has launched the Eco Responsible 3D Printing Alliance™ – an initiative to promote sustainable additive manufacturing practices. 

If for a material producer, the sustainability journey might be even harder given the nature of their activity, it should be noted that if there is one company we can trust on this topic is Filamentive. This cause has been at the heart of Filamentive’s activities from day one. Remember the 100% recycled plastic filament made from post-consumer PET plastic bottle waste? Yet, this is just one example.

Filamentive commits to sustainability via three, value-added factors: recycled materials – high-percentage recycled plastics in lieu of virgin material where possible; designing for Circular Economy – 100% recyclable cardboard reels and packing materials; funding reforestation and renewable energy production, together with Ecologi, a platform that is gathering people across the world to build a platform for great climate action. Through its partnership with Ecologi, Filamentive marks its commitment to become “Climate Positive”.

The environmental wins of this include:

  • Providing a sustainable source of raw materials for the 3D printing market
  • Reducing the environmental impact of plastic-rich products 
  • Minimising plastic sent to the diminishing landfill sites 
  • Avoiding consumption of the Earth’s finite oil stocks 
  • Lowering energy demand compared to producing new, virgin polymers 
  • Offsetting CO2e from business operations

“This initiative further solidifies Filamentive’s commitment to sustainable 3D printing, which fundamentally reduces environmental impact, thus enabling our partners to address – and also communicate – the Triple Bottom Line to achieve environmental, social and economic wins” Ravi Toor – Founder & Managing Director, Filamentive states.

So, how does the Eco Responsible 3D Printing Alliance™ work?

The Eco Responsible 3D Printing Alliance™ is currently open to business users of Filamentive materials, and includes permission to use the logo for digital and print marketing – the former also being a HTML hyperlink to a dedicated webpage which further explains the motivations and positive outcomes of the initiative. There will also soon be a dedicated directory which will list all alliance members, for maximum credibility & exposure. 

By promoting these initiatives as a holistic approach to sustainability within 3D printing, alliance members can utilise  The Eco Responsible 3D Printing Alliance™ as a tool to communicate their commitment to sustainability. 

Furthermore, alliance members will be listed as partners in a specially curated directory which will list the name of the business / organisation and contact details, plus their specialist expertise area (e.g. 3D printing service, design consultancy etc.). 

In addition to the primary environmental benefit, this also unlocks commercial opportunities for businesses using 3D printing – enabling increased brand equity and enhanced USP, as well as tangible marketing benefits such lead generation, SEO improvement and content for social channels.

SGD 3D – one of the leading on-demand 3D printing services in the UK – will be one of many alliance members.

“We are proud to be supporting this scheme. Conservation has been a hot topic over the years and it’s our responsibility to do what we can to protect the environment. This new standard will demonstrate how the 3D Printing industry is responding & reacting to these challenges in a responsible way, especially those surrounding plastic waste”, Sam Gribben, Managing Director, SGD 3D.

Filamentive’s vision for the Eco Responsible 3D Printing Alliance™ is to curate a group of like-minded businesses and organisations to drive positive change in 3D printing – making a tangible impact to increase resource efficiency, reduce environmental impact, and harness a Circular Economy. 

Linked to this, Filamentive are also committed to close the loop in 3D printing by ensuring zero waste to landfill via remanufacturing, pelletising for secondary markets, biological treatment and / or chemical recycling. Trials are currently on-going and Filamentive are working with partners, with a view to having a minimum viable service for current customers by Q4 2021.

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