On the 7th, Sanyo Chemical Industries subsidiary Sunnopco announced that its wood powder blended high-performance textile "MOC-TEX" has won the Ichikawa Prize from the Japan Woodworking Technology Association. The award recognizes outstanding achievements in new research and technological development that contribute to the development of Japan's wood industry.

"MOC-TEX" is a high-performance textile that contains about 80% plant-based biomass raw materials including wood while reproducing the appearance and flexible texture of genuine leather. It was developed using domestic wood materials to promote regional resources utilization and value-added. It is a sustainable new material that reduces CO2 emissions and waste reduction by using renewable wood materials, upcycling wood chips, and reducing the use of petroleum-derived materials. It will start providing paid prototypes from April 2024 and is making progress in establishing a mass-production system to aim for product sales in fiscal year 2024.

In the future, it is believed that the demand for carbon-neutral realization utilizing biomass resources will continue to expand, and the Sanyo Chemical Group will continue to develop high-performance and environmentally friendly products that utilize biomass resources.