Leonhard Kurz has won Gold at the German Design Award 2026. In the category ‘Excellent Product Design – Material and Surfaces,’ the innovation Technical Textiles made from Recosys rPET received the highest award. With this prestigious prize, the jury recognizes a material technology development that enables robust, technical textiles made from recycled materials and sets new standards for design-oriented applications, not only in the automotive and mobility sectors.
Recycled material with design appeal
With Recosys rPET, Leonhard Kurz has developed a solution that makes recycled materials particularly useful for the automotive industry. The basis for this is Kurz’s own Recosys 2.0 take-back and recycling system, which can be used to process used PET transfer carriers from the graphics industry into pure recycled PET (rPET).
This in turn can be further processed for a wide range of applications, such as the manufacture of everyday objects. Another example is rPET fibers, which serve as the basis for the manufacture of technical textiles and also meet aesthetic requirements. The textiles can be processed in a similar way to virgin materials, are durable, and open up new possibilities for design-oriented surface solutions thanks to their structure and design versatility.
Design and circular economy in harmony
The German Design Award jury particularly appreciated the combination of material efficiency, high design quality, and industrial feasibility. “With technical textiles made from Recosys rPET, we are demonstrating how the material cycle can be closed beyond traditional packaging applications and are making an important contribution to reducing virgin plastics,” emphasizes Theresa Stigler, Environmental and Safety Management in the Recycling & Sustainability division at Kurz, adding: “For Kurz, this is a logical step toward a circular economy and part of a long-term material strategy. The approach is currently still in the testing phase, but already illustrates how responsible material use can be scaled along the entire value chain in the future.”
At the same time, the textiles enable a differentiated design language with high aesthetic quality and versatile application options. Kurz is thus addressing key requirements of the mobility industry, which is focusing on reducing its carbon footprint.
Award for resource-saving material strategy
With the Gold Award at the German Design Award 2026, Kurz once again underscores its own commitment to understanding sustainability as an integral part of design and material development, and to translating the circular economy into material solutions. Technical textiles made from Recosys rPET can offer an innovative development approach for a future-oriented material strategy that combines technological performance and sophisticated surface design.
The German Design Award is one of the most prestigious international design awards and annually honors outstanding achievements in product design, communication, and architecture. The jury focuses on design quality, degree of innovation, and sustainability, as well as the holistic approach to design as a driver of sustainable and responsible solutions.
