Sustainable Nonwovens: Can we begin with a bit of background on how this new EDANA/INDA alliance came about.
Tony Fragnito: Murat and I began our roles at almost the same time, and as outsiders to the industry without its historical context, we quickly recognised a key opportunity: greater collaboration would benefit everyone. As we settled into our respective organisations, we started identifying common challenges, and feedback from our members confirmed that the issues they faced were strikingly similar. While the pace of change varied across different markets, the core themes - technology, member needs, and workforce development - were consistent. It became clear that working in isolation wasn’t maximising the value we could bring to the industry; collaboration, on the other hand, offered clear advantages. Both Murat and I are focused on the same goals: understanding member needs, supporting the industry, and adding value to membership and engagement with our organisations. That’s the journey we are on. This is an announcement of our intent to explore even more opportunities for collaboration, sharing information, and potentially rethinking how we deliver programs and services. We want to identify where those opportunities lie. Most importantly, what I consistently hear from our members - and what I believe will be incredibly valuable - is the need for a global forum for conversation. By stepping away from our regional perspectives and adopting a global, industry-wide view, we can ask, “What are the trends? What’s impacting the industry? And how can we work together to address these challenges?”
Murat Dogru: I can only emphasise what Tony is saying. This collaboration started as a small, step-by-step conversation between the two of us, and we later brought it to our respective boards. While there has always been collaboration between EDANA and INDA, this goes beyond any single project. We approached it with a fresh perspective, without any preconceived ideas about what the partnership should look like, allowing us to discover and identify new possibilities together. For example, there are global challenges that we can address through joint efforts. We’ll have the opportunity to evaluate what INDA is doing, while they assess what EDANA is doing, making us both more agile and responsive as a result. We are announcing this now to signal our commitment to developing this collaboration further.
SNW: You mention working together on global challenges. Could you expand on this?
TF: There are a number of trade challenges, and ensuring fair and equitable trade globally is becoming a major concern, also the use of chemicals and the definition of plastics. These challenges have a broad impact on the industry. And so, the more divergent the approaches, definitions, and regulatory frameworks are, the more complicated it becomes for our members to navigate.
Written by Haydn Davis
Courtesy of MCL News & Media, Sustainable Nonwovens. Read the full story here
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