For the sake of the environment, we are reinventing the filter. It is now made of pure cellulose, which is 100 % biodegradable.
The uncompromising use of local, natural raw materials has long made Heimat products the smoking articles with the smallest ecological footprint in the world. Now Heimat is going one step further: acetate filters, rightly considered environmental offenders, are being replaced by biodegradable natural filters.
All cigarette manufacturers enrich their filters with chemicals, which makes them extremely durable. Worldwide, millions of discarded acetate filters pollute the environment because the plastic they contain decomposes very slowly. It takes 10 to 15 years for a conventional filter to break down naturally.
Heimat is now taking an important step for the environment and is switching to natural cellulose filters that contain no plastic at all. Cellulose is the main component of plant cell walls and is used, among other things, to make paper and natural fibres for clothing.
The natural filters, called «Genia», were developed by the German company McAirlaid's. The Genia filter material is made of an innovative airlaid (nonwoven fabric). Genia filters consist of 100 % pure cellulose and contain no adhesives or binding resins. This makes them fully compostable, and they take only a few weeks to break down.
Heimat supported McAirlaid's during the test phase and is now the first industrial cigarette manufacturer to use purely natural cellulose filters. For the sake of the environment.
