AMANN and Resortecs Put Dissolvable Thread to Work at Scale

Roughly 350,000 Decathlon swimwear garments have been produced using Smart Stitch, a heat-dissolvable sewing thread developed by AMANN Group with Belgian circular technology firm Resortecs. Another 50,000 denim products were manufactured for Inditex's Bershka. The numbers matter because thread innovations rarely move past pilot stage. These orders are confirmed production volumes, not trial runs.

Smart Stitch forms one part of five product launches AMANN presented to the trade press. The German thread maker is positioning sewing thread as a strategic input for disassembly, recycling and compliance — not merely a joining material.

How does the dissolvable thread work?

Cedric Vanhoeck, Co-Founder and CEO of Resortecs, said: "Smart Stitch™ is part of our broader design-for-disassembly solution." It pairs the thread, produced by AMANN, with Smart Disassembly™, a thermal system that separates garments into components for repair, reuse or recycling.

The thread behaves like a conventional seam during the garment's use phase. Activated under controlled heat in a special oven, it dissolves, freeing trims, labels, logos and elastic bands that would otherwise block textile-to-textile recycling. Resortecs claims high material recovery while preserving fibre quality. That claim rests on thermal separation working reliably at industrial speed — a point the company addresses only in general terms, without publishing throughput or recovery-rate figures.

Brands source Smart Stitch through AMANN. Resortecs supplies ecodesign and engineering support where needed. Who funds the oven infrastructure at recyclers remains unsaid.

What has actually been produced?

The Decathlon case is concrete. The retailer had already moved to elastane-free swimwear fabric, but elastic bands still blocked full-product recycling. With Smart Stitch and thermal disassembly, panels and bands separate automatically, and each material stream enters its own recycling route.

Confirmed deployments to date:

• Around 350,000 swimwear garments for Decathlon
• Approximately 50,000 denim products for Bershka
• Ski jackets produced in Asia for the European market

Workwear offers a second commercial angle. Reflective tapes (strips that return light for visibility) wear out before the garment itself. Stitching only the tape with Smart Stitch allows removal and replacement, extending service life and cutting replacement cost. No workwear volumes were disclosed.

What else is AMANN launching?

Sanjeev Grewal, Regional Business Director – Asia, Middle East & Pacific, framed the portfolio around specific manufacturing problems rather than thread chemistry for its own sake.

AeoniQ™ Fil. A biodegradable sewing and embroidery thread made from renewable cellulose fibres. AMANN says it sews better than conventional cellulosic threads while matching synthetic strength, and biodegrades within 12 weeks under industrial composting conditions. The fibre eliminates synthetic seams in cellulose-based garments, enabling monomaterial designs. The product won the Texprocess Innovation Award 2026 in the "Ecological Quality" category. Note the caveat inside the claim: biodegradability is validated under industrial composting conditions, not home composting or landfill.

Waterfil. A water-soluble thread for temporary seams and joker tags. It holds during sewing, then dissolves in water without residue, replacing manual removal that strains fabrics and eats time on the line.

Sera Reflect and Isa Reflect. Two retroreflective sewing and embroidery threads that send artificial light back to its source, building low-light visibility into the seam itself rather than adding a separate component.

Isacord Recycled UV. An embroidery thread made from 100% recycled polyester with GRS certification (Global Recycled Standard). It targets UV-exposed products, offering lightfastness, abrasion resistance and colour fastness under constant sunlight.

How important is India to AMANN?

Grewal called India an important growth market, pointing to national investment in manufacturing, technology and sustainability. He offered no revenue figures, factory count or headcount to anchor the assessment — the statement reads as positioning, not disclosure.

The company tied the market push to its new campaign, "AMANN. Beyond Threads," which promises Peace of Mind, Partnership and Proven Solutions. Campaign language is marketing; the Decathlon and Bershka volumes are the evidence that the underlying technology has buyers.

Whether dissolvable-thread volumes grow beyond swimwear and denim will depend on recyclers adopting thermal disassembly capacity and brands absorbing any thread premium — neither cost was disclosed.