Technological watch

To support Yoloha’s sustainability goals, HEXPOL TPE has developed a customized material from the Dryflex Green family of biobased thermoplastic elastomers (TPE).
The TPE has 55% biobased content. It has a high melt strength and drawability to easily produce foamed materials with a uniform foam structure. Foaming brings lightweight advantages and cushioning in applications such as mats, protective clothing, and seating.
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Sustainability, Performance and Processability
The Dryflex Green family of biobased TPEs contain raw materials from renewable resources, including by-products from agriculture rich in carbohydrates, especially saccharides such as grain, sugar beet or sugar cane. TPEs are available with amounts of biobased content to over 90% (ASTM D 6866) with hardnesses from 15 Shore A to 60 Shore D.
Yoloha founder Chris Willey commented, “I have worked with and tested most foams on the market from Natural rubber, EVA, PU, etc., and I have found TPE foam to be the perfect blend of support, durability and weight. With that in mind, I discovered HEXPOL TPE with their focus on sustainability. We quickly developed a great relationship and worked together to develop a customized material”.
Kathrin Heilmann, technical sales for sustainable TPE at HEXPOL TPE GmbH added, “We’re proud to work with Yoloha on this project. We aimed to achieve a high biobased content while keeping mechanical performance and processability. The material shows a good foamability for mats and other extruded products.”

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Source: HEXPOL TPE