18 May 2026

Mainetti and Ekoligens Partner to Build a Scalable Cellulose Platform for Plastic‑free Fashion Hangers

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Milan, Italy, May 18th, 2026 – Mainetti and Ekoligens announce a strategic partnership to explore the integration of FiberCore™, Ekoligens’ dry formed cellulose technology, into Mainetti’s global platform for fashion hanger solutions.

The collaboration is focused on developing a complementary industrial pathway for plastic free hangers, combining Ekoligens’ material innovation with Mainetti’s experience in product design, quality, industrialization and international execution.

The partnership will build on Mainetti’s existing Paperform platform, expanding the company’s cellulose-based innovation roadmap and offering customers additional material routes according to performance, aesthetic and market requirements.

Rather than launching a one-off concept, the ambition is to develop a robust and scalable platform that can be adopted progressively across retail networks as the joint work advances and matures. The partners will follow a structured program of co-development and validation with selected brands, refining the offer before moving to broader commercial availability.

Roberto Peruzzo, CEO of Mainetti, said:

“This partnership is about strengthening our plastic free innovation roadmap and building an additional material pathway for the fashion retail industry. By combining our Paperform experience with Ekoligens’ FiberCore™ technology, we can explore new solutions with the right level of technical discipline, scalability and customer value.”

Tony Wester, CEO of Ekoligens, said:

“With Mainetti, FiberCore™ can be developed within a proven industrial and retail framework. Our focus now is to test, learn and validate step by step, so that future rollouts are based on solid performance rather than promises.”

About Mainetti

For sixty-five years, Mainetti has been a trusted partner to the world’s leading retail and apparel brands. Mainetti began supplying labels, tags, and hangers to its fashion clients in Italy in the 1960s. By the 1980s, the company expanded its offerings to include flexible packaging, paper boxes, and shopping bags. Today, Mainetti is an end-to-end retail solution provider with 6,000 employees across 90 locations on six continents, focused on delivering innovative products and services to accelerate performance and improve customer experience. Mainetti is expanding its supply chain of sustainable products to more global locations and across more categories, including intelligent labels, luxury packaging, and paper hanging solutions. The company is guided by the principles of its Full Circle initiative, with a focus on utilizing 100% renewable energy across its operations by 2030. Mainetti is a proud member of the Ellen MacArthur Foundation, leading the industry in reuse and recycling initiatives, including its patented Hangerloop™ and Polyloop circular processes. Mainetti empowers its customers to create the future.

About Ekoligens

Ekoligens is a technology company redefining how sustainable materials are designed, produced, and integrated into modern products. Built on proprietary dry-forming technology, it transforms cellulose fibers into high-performance, plastic-free 3D structures, delivering strength, precision, and refined surface quality without the need for water-intensive processes or fossil-based inputs.

Acting as an embedded material partner, Ekoligens offers a scalable platform for circular product systems across industries where performance, durability, and design are essential. By enabling renewable, engineered cellulose to replace conventional plastics, the company reduces emissions and material waste, without compromising functionality or aesthetics.

Rooted in Sweden’s heritage of engineering excellence and responsible innovation, Ekoligens is guided by a clear purpose: to challenge how sustainability, technology, and design converge. Through its FiberCore technology, Ekoligens works alongside its partners to enable a new generation of truly circular products.