The award was presented by Bavarian Minister of Economic Affairs Hubert Aiwanger on July 6, 2026, during the C.A.R.M.E.N. Symposium in Straubing, Germany. The Ernst Pelz Award recognizes innovative solutions that successfully bring renewable raw materials into industrial applications. For UPM (Helsinki) and Vaude (Tettnang), the award also acknowledges their long-standing collaboration in advancing a more climate-friendly and circular textile industry.

The textile industry faces the challenge of reducing its dependence on fossil-based raw materials while meeting the growing global demand for high-performance textiles. Recycling remains a key pillar of this transition but, on its own, will not be sufficient to meet future raw material demand. Renewable feedstocks are therefore needed to complement recycling and replace fossil carbon sources in materials such as polyester. The jointly developed fleece jacket combines both approaches. Made from wood based polyester, it demonstrates that high-performance outdoor apparel can already be produced using renewable raw materials today. At the same time, the material is compatible with existing manufacturing processes, providing a realistic pathway toward industrial-scale production.

Climate protection, circularity, industrial scalability

"Recycling will remain indispensable, but it alone will not be enough to eliminate fossil raw materials from the textile system. The world's first fleece jacket made from wood-based polyester demonstrates that renewable carbon can create the link between climate protection, circularity, and industrial scalability," says Dominik Müller, Senior Manager Sustainability & Market Development, UPM Next Generation Renewables. "With our fleece jacket made from wood-based polyester, we are demonstrating that renewable raw materials can be a genuine alternative to fossil-based materials. Innovations like this are only possible through strong partnerships across the value chain. Receiving the Ernst Pelz Award encourages us to continue on this path together and actively help shape the transformation of the textile industry," says René Bethmann, Innovation Manager at Vaude.

Partnerships as the key to transformation

The Ernst Pelz Award recognizes not only a pioneering material innovation but also the close collaboration across the value chain. UPM and Vaude demonstrate how renewable raw materials and circular economy approaches can complement one another to gradually replace fossil resources and bring tangible climate and resource protection solutions into practice. The Ernst Pelz Award includes prize funding of €10,000. UPM and Vaude will use the funds to further develop and commercialize their joint material innovation. This will support the transfer of wood-based polyester from development into industrial application and demonstrate how renewable carbon can gradually replace fossil raw materials in textile production.