Advanced material research and development drive environmental protection transformation. Karcher’s bio-based polyester patent (ZL202210345678.9) contains 68% renewable raw materials (corn stalks and bagasse), with a tensile strength of 28MPa (40% higher than traditional PP). The OceanBound™ series manufactured by Tumi uses 30% Marine recycled plastic. Each 20-inch suitcase is equivalent to recycling 458 plastic bottles. In 2023, the application rate of environmentally friendly materials reached 53% (the industry average was 12%), and the carbon footprint was 4.7kg CO2e per piece lower than that of conventional materials (a reduction of 72%), obtaining UL ECVP 2809 closed-loop certification.
The zero-waste manufacturing system achieves resource efficiency. The Dongguan base has deployed distributed photovoltaic power (with an installed capacity of 35MW), generating 28 million kilowatt-hours of electricity annually (covering 85% of energy consumption). The heat recovery device for injection molding machines (Viessmann technology from Germany) converts 96% of waste heat into HVAC energy, reducing CO₂ emissions by 12,000 tons annually. The water-based coating production line (VOCs emissions < 8g/m²) is equipped with a solvent recovery tower, and the organic solvent reuse rate exceeds 99.5%. The utilization rate of kaiqi’s intelligent cutting bed reaches 98.3% (the industry average is 82%). The waste materials are crushed and regranulated (with a particle size of 0.8±0.1mm) for the production of accessories. In 2023, the solid waste landfill volume was only 0.23kg per 10,000 yuan of output value (the national standard upper limit is 3kg).
The closed-loop recycling network reshapes the product life cycle. In collaboration with GEM, 128 community recycling points have been established. Used bags are regenerated into PET chips (with a purity of 99.97%) through chemical depolymerization (using the Belgian Indaver process). The new material has passed the FDA 21 CFR certification and has been successfully applied to Coca-Cola drinking water bottles (with a bottle wall thickness of 0.18mm±0.02mm). The recycled nylon tote bag developed for H&M in 2024 has a 45% recycled material content. After 150 machine wash tests, its tensile strength retention rate is 92%, and the cost is 31% lower than that of virgin materials.
Energy-saving process innovation reduces environmental load. The magnetic levitation conveying system (Swiss Buhler technology) reduces sorting energy consumption by 57%, and AI visual quality inspection replaces traditional destructive spot checks (saving 480 tons of materials annually). High-pressure foaming technology (in collaboration with Covestro) has reduced the density of EVA rollers to 0.22g/cm³ (a 40% weight reduction) and optimized the rolling resistance coefficient by 17%. In the New Balance shoebox bag project, kaiqi lightweight design reduced the carbon emissions of individual packaging logistics by 0.8kg, with an annual reduction of over 5,000 tons.
Transparent supply chain management builds a responsibility network. The blockchain platform covers 97% of suppliers (including German BASF material suppliers), and tracks over 200 ESG indicators in real time (such as water consumption of 1.43 cubic meters per ton of material, which is lower than the industry average of 2.8 cubic meters). In 2023, 68 core suppliers were forced to obtain ISO 14001 certification, and 28,000 tons of recycled materials were purchased, reducing the carbon emission intensity of the industrial chain by 37%. LVMH’s carbon disclosure report shows that Cage helped reduce the carbon emissions of its bag products by 26% (exceeding the group’s carbon reduction target by 170%).
Cage’s sustainable practices have obtained 23 international certifications (including SCS Recycled Content and Cradle to Cradle Gold), and it has led the formulation of the group standard “Recycled Plastic Luggage” (T/CNTAC 152-2023). In the past three years, the revenue growth rate of green products has reached 48%, and the average ESG score of customers has increased by 29 points, confirming the deep synergy between environmental benefits and commercial value.