From the Sector

Huntsman Textile Effects has released the latest addition to the third generation of its revolutionary AVITERA® SE polyreactive dye range with the introduction of AVITERA® ROSE SE for brilliant bluish-red shades. The innovative new dye significantly outperforms the available dyeing technologies for cellulosic fibers and blends, delivering substantial water and energy savings, exceptional overall fastness, and reduced costs.

AVITERA® ROSE SE slashes the water and energy required for production by up to 50% thanks to its unique low-temperature and high-speed wash-off technology. It further delivers excellent right-first-time performance, with outstanding compatibility, levelling properties, and on-tone build-up. The cost-effective formulation reduces recipe costs for medium-dark shades while both minimizing processing costs and eliminating reprocessing. It also increases mill output by up to 25% or more.

Using AVITERA® ROSE SE, brands can stand out with brilliant bluish-red textile products in a broader shade gamut. The dyes offer very good light fastness levels for classic bluish trichromatic element, with exceptional overall fastness performance. Products dyed with AVITERA® ROSE SE have the highest chlorine resistance, tailormade for stringent Japanese and US laundering requirements, and are suitable for use with Huntsman’s HIGH IQ® Lasting Color Eco color-retention program. With minimal chance of cross-staining, they are ideal for red-white striped cotton knit fabric.

AVITERA® ROSE SE is fully compliant with the most stringent industry and brand-specific restricted substance lists. It is bluesign® approved and is suitable for STANDARD 100 by OEKO-TEX® certified textile products.

Launched by Huntsman Textile Effects in 2010, the first-generation AVITERA® SE dyes set the benchmark for sustainability in the textile industry. The second generation expanded the range’s color palette from the palest to the deepest and darkest shades. The third generation further enhances the economic sustainability of the AVITERA® range while delivering unrivalled environmental benefits, outstanding operational performance, and attractive textiles with exceptional overall fastness.

Alchemie Technology, an innovator of low energy, waterless, textile dyeing and finishing technology, is calling on COP26 leaders to support the global fashion industry in the adoption of new manufacturing technology, which will dramatically reduce carbon emissions and fashion’s impact on climate change.

While the fashion industry is one of the most polluting on the planet, second only to oil and gas, and greenhouse gas emissions from textile dyeing at around 3% of global emissions outweigh that of all international flights and maritime shipping combined, it is an industry that can also reduce CO2 emissions the fastest, just by changing the way it dyes fabrics.  

Fabric dyeing is the most polluting part of fashion and activewear manufacturing, involving industrial scale dye baths and huge amounts of dye chemicals, steam, electrical power, and consequent high CO2 emissions.  Repeated washing of the dyed fabric, required to remove dye residue, is responsible for 20% of the world’s wastewater pollution and excess dye is discharged into waterways, affecting the health of some of the world’s poorest communities. In more regulated areas, water pollution is reduced through reliance on energy intensive water treatment plants.

However, an environmental step change can be achieved by adopting new digital technology that can dye fabrics with an 85% reduction in energy consumption and a dramatic 95% reduction of the 1.3 trillion litres of water currently used by the industry each year.

For example, dyeing one polyester shirt using current methods generates 4.5 litres of wastewater and produces 0.17 Kg of CO2, compared to low energy digital technology, which uses less than 0.2 litres of water and reduces carbon emissions to 0.03 Kg.  Multiply these numbers by the billions of garments dyed each year and the scale of the environmental problem, if nothing changes, is clear to see. Equally, the amount by which the textile industry can improve its carbon footprint is dramatic and can be done quickly if action is taken now.

With its resource-saving dyeing technology, We aRe SpinDye takes place in H&M's latest Innovation Stories collection called Co-exist.

The use of We aRe SpinDye's technology contributes to reducing both water consumption and CO2 emissions, which in turn leads to a lower impact on the world's ecosystem and creates conditions for our co-existence with nature.

Up to 24% of a garment's entire climate footprint occurs during dyeing. We aRe SpinDye's technology can reduce the consumption of the earth's resources in textile production. On average, the reduction of water is -75%, chemicals -90% and energy consumption and CO2 emissions -30%.

In just one year, the clothing industry uses 9 billion cubic meters of water (which is in line with the annual need for drinkingwater for the entire population of our planet) and 168 million tons of process chemicals to dye fabrics. We aRe SpinDye now hopes that more players in the industry will pay attention to the ways that are available when it comes to resource-efficient dyeing process and quickly implement this technology in their production.

"The enormous resource consumption in the dyeing process is a global problem that must be addressed on a broad front. It is therefore inspiring to work with major brands with an organization that is sensitive to cutting-edge expertise and at the same time shows a willingness to work together to achieve common goals", says Andreas Andrén, CEO of We aRe SpinDye.

10 years after the installation of the photovoltaic plant in the production units in the Biellese region, the Marchi & Fildi Group takes stock of the operation and publishes the data on energy produced, consumed, and fed back into the grid.

The photovoltaic plant owned by the Group is made up of 11,385 modules divided between the three facilities in Biella (Production), Cerrione (Dyeing mill) and Verrone (Logistics), which in total cover a surface of 16,515 sq.m.

The balance to be drawn from these 10 years is a positive one: in total 22,974,828 kWh have been produced, of which 7,292,027 kWh have been used in company activities, with a saving in energy costs of approximately €1m over 10 years.  

The energy kWh produced and not used by the company was fed back into the grid and corresponds to the average annual consumption of around 4630 families.*

The Marchi & Fildi Group has always been committed to rationalising electric energy consumption with the aim of contributing towards an eco-sustainable development without compromising the rate of production and the ability to grow. In addition to producing its own electric energy, over the years, the company has also achieved an increasing number of Energy Efficiency Titles (TEE), otherwise known as white certificates. In 2021, 138 TEEs have been awarded as a result of such interventions as the introduction of LED lighting and the optimisation of the production processes which, while still as efficient as before, permit the company to reduce the electric energy consumption of the machinery.

*In the meter class for the range of 3kW to 4.5 kW, the average consumption for residential properties is the equivalent of 3,382 kWh (source: Arera Relazione annual state of services for the year 2020). The calculations are the results of an internal study conducted by the Marchi & Fildi Group.

Global energy consumption reached a record high in 2019, following a 40-year trend for rapidly increasing energy demand that was only halted by the Coronavirus pandemic. It’s estimated that more than 80 % of this energy is still generated from fossil fuels that produce CO2 emissions and contribute to climate change. Renewable energy offers a solution to this problem, but saving energy whenever possible is an even more effective approach. That are the motives for Trützschler to develop the intelligent card TC 19i, which sets a new benchmark for energy-efficient carding.

The intelligent Trützschler card TC 19i features the unique T-GO gap optimizer, which continuously and automatically monitors and adjusts the carding gap to an ideal position during production. Innovative drive- and air technology further reduce energy consumption of the TC 19i.

The most energy-intensive elements in a carding machine are the drive, the dust suction process and the compressed air system. Permanent suction is needed to remove dust and cotton waste in key places. Smart optimization of these areas has made the intelligent card TC 19i a benchmark for energy efficiency in carding because it uses less electricity, lower suction pressure and less compressed air than other machines, while providing the highest production rates currently available on the market.

In a head-to-head comparison between the TC 19i and a high-performance card from a competitor, the TC 19i consumed at least 10 % less energy per kilogram of material produced when manufacturing rotor yarn from a cotton and cotton waste mix. The compared energy values included electric power consumption and energy required for suction and compressed air and were measured in both cards at the same production of 180 kg/h. A 10 % reduction in energy per kilogram of sliver produced, as proven here by TC 19i, can have a significant impact on a spinning mill’s profitability; annual savings worth a five-digit sum are frequently possible, depending on factors such as the output of the mill. The customer trial also showed TC 19i’s excellent reliability at the customer’s usual production rate of 180 kg/h, and even demonstrated stable performance at 300 kg/h in the same application. Because the TC 19i with T-GO gap optimizer realizes maximum production rates at no compromise in quality, manufacturers can reduce their energy demand and investment costs drastically: Less machines are needed to achieve the desired output, and energy consumption per production is reduced.

This improvement was made possible by a long and sometimes challenging innovation process involving mathematical models of air flows, as well as flow simulations and prototypes. By combining the final flowoptimized parts in the TC 19i, Trützschler’s experts have developed a card that operates with suction pressure of just -740 Pa and with an air requirement of only 4200 m³/h. This translates into 40 % less energy demand for air technology compared to the latest high-performance competitor model.

• Sustainability Report 2020 published

As an internationally positioned company, the CHT Group is one of the leading suppliers of speciality chemicals. The company supplying chemical products for the most diverse applications and industries, presented their annual edition of the Sustainability Report, for the period January to December 2020,

The report has been prepared in accordance with the standards of the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) and is based on the Core option. The focus is on human resources development, energy and water consumption as well as company-wide emissions and waste management.

Particularly noteworthy here is the group-wide reduction in specific resource consumption in the areas under review. In relation to the volume produced, for example, the following key figures show the reduction of environmental impacts:

• 21% share of renewable energies in total consumption
• 440,000 EUR investment in environmental protection and nature conservation
• 5.8% less energy consumption and less CO2 emission

62% of CHT Group's 2020 sales were generated with sustainable products. For this, 91% of the strategic raw material volume was sourced from suppliers classified as sustainable.

At the center of the report are the current working topics and outlooks that showcase CHT's commitment to sustainability and its innovative strength to achieve the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

CHT considers 11 of the SDGs to be particularly relevant for the future of the Group of companies. For this reason, the recently revised global corporate strategy is directly geared to the Sustainable Development Goals of the United Nations.

The current edition of the report, which is published for the first time exclusively online in a resource-saving manner, is available here: https://sustainability-report.cht.com

Autoneum carpet systems already meet high standards of sustainable mobility due to their high content of recycled fibers. Thanks to an alternative backcoating (ABC) process, Autoneum carpets are now becoming even more environmentally friendly: By replacing the latex commonly used in standard backcoatings with thermoplastic material, the recyclability of carpets at the end of product life is further  improved. In addition, the innovative manufacturing process greatly reduces water and energy consumption and thus CO2 emissions in production.

Lightweight, textile-based carpet technologies such as Di-Light or Relive-1 significantly improve the environmental performance of carpets. For example, Di-Light-based carpets consist of up to 97% recycled PET; aside from that, they are around 20% lighter than conventional needlepunch carpets, thus contributing to lower fuel consumption and CO2 emissions from vehicles. In addition, Autoneum needlepunch carpets are now even more sustainable thanks to the innovative ABC process, which uses a thermoplastic adhesive instead of latex in the backcoating: Unlike latex, thermoplastic adhesives can be heated and melted down together with the carpet components made of pure PET at the end of the product life cycle, which facilitates recycling considerably. Furthermore, since the fibers of the thermoplastic mono-material are easier to open, carpet cut-outs can be reclaimed more easily, thereby reducing the consumption of natural resources as well as waste volumes and thus CO2 emissions. The environmental  performance of Autoneum’s needlepunch carpets, which already contain a high proportion of recycled PET, is thus further improved.

Moreover, backcoatings without latex improve the sustainability of carpets not only thanks to better recyclability at the end of the product life cycle. Since the application of the thermoplastic adhesive using the innovative ABC process consumes significantly less energy than the production of latexbased backcoatings and does not require any water at all, the environmental impact can already be minimized in the manufacturing process. Additionally, thermoplastic adhesives developed in-house by Autoneum will open up new possibilities in the future for adapting backcoatings to the individual needs of vehicle manufacturers in terms of their acoustic performance, stiffness and abrasion resistance.

Models from various customers in Europe and North America are already equipped with latex-free needlepunch carpets from Autoneum. In the near future, backcoatings with thermoplastic adhesives will also be used for Autoneum’s tufted carpets. Production of the new, even more sustainable generation of tufted carpets is scheduled to start in early 2022.

Flax has accompanied people for thousands of years, in linen fabrics, in ropes, as insulation material. And until the present day. With woven tapes made of flax, vombaur makes the functional and ecological advantages of natural fibres available for lightweight design.

Lightweight and firm
Flax fibres are particularly rigid and tear-proof. Textiles made of the natural material therefore give natural fibre reinforced plastic (NFP) special stability. Additionally, flax has a low density. The components thus combine high rigidity and strength with low weight. Another functional plus: natural fibre reinforced plastics are less prone to splintering than glass fibre reinforced plastics.

Sustainable material
The cultivation of flax binds CO2 and the production of NFP generates 33 percent lower CO2 emissions than conventional fibre reinforced plastics. The energy consumption is 40 percent lower. This reduces production costs and improves the material's CO2 footprint. Punch-packing arguments for natural fibre tapes – like flax tape by vombaur – in lightweight design applications.

Circular Economy
Circular Economy – this also works in lightweight design. The number of recycling cycles without loss of quality is higher for natural fibre reinforced plastics than for glass or carbon fibre reinforced plastics: the thermoplastic matrix of the composite can be melted and recycled after a product life cycle. The natural fibres can "live on" in other products – injection moulded products for example.

Versatile applications
"Composites from our flax tapes are used to reinforce high-tech skis as well as for extruding state-of-the-art window sections – the applications are countless," explains Tomislav Josipovic, Sales Manager with vombaur. "As a development partner, we support applications for the automotive, wind energy, construction, sports and many other industries with our composite textiles."

Archroma, a global leader in color and specialty chemicals towards sustainable solutions, today announced that its affiliate in Tianjin, China, has been named ‘Green Factory’ by the Tianjin authorities. The nomination was granted as of January 1st, 2020, following an evaluation process conducted under the authority of the Tianjin Bureau of Industry and Information Technology, which selected 56 other companies only to receive that same distinction.

The ‘Green Factory’ list comprises companies comprehensively evaluated and scored against 92 indicators, in areas such as site intensification, production cleanliness, energy consumption efficiency, raw material recycling, environmental impact, product ecological profile, and carbon footprint. The initiative takes place in the wider framework of fostering ‘Green manufacturing’, one of the nine strategic objectives defined by the Chinese Authorities under the ‘Made in China 2025’ plan, which led to the Industrial Green Development Plan published by The Ministry of Industry And Information Technology in 2016.

The production site in Tianjin is fully integrated into the Archroma Management System and was externally certified to ISO 9001. In the preparational system upgrade, additional external certifications to ISO 14001, ISO 50001 and OHSAS 18001 were completed in November 2019. Commitments to the United Nations Global Compact and Responsible Care® are complementing the local framework.

The DyStar Group has released its 2017 – 2018 Sustainability Performance Report. Into its eighth edition, the report marks the progress of the global company that aspires to become the world’s most sustainable and responsible supplier of colorants, specialty chemicals, and services in the textile industry, but has also embarked on the business with food dyes and chemicals through its recent acquisition in USA.
The latest DyStar’s Sustainability Performance Report is the first of their reports prepared in accordance with the most trusted and widely used reporting framework – Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) Standards: Core Option.

The 2020 Target
2017 marks the seventh year of DyStar’s journey towards reducing the production footprint by 20% for every ton of production by the year 2020. This goal encompasses the resources used for production including energy, water, and raw materials as well as addresses their corresponding outputs – greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, waste and wastewater. Results across most key performance indicators were positive, with four of the six 2020 targets being successfully met or surpassed.
In terms of the energy consumption and GHG emission, DyStar is farther from its original desired target primarily due to the impacts from three newly acquired production sites. However, intensive efforts are underway to ensure that the company’s less efficient acquisitions are provided the essential support to align with the rest of the company. DyStar is optimistic that all six targets are achievable by 2020.

Creating Responsible Products & Services
As part of DyStar’s long-term goal to imbed sustainability across the industry, they will also be focusing on expanding its sustainability services. This includes the opening of more Texanlab offices, an ISO 17025 certified, specialized testing laboratory across South Asia to provide end-to-end solutions throughout the whole supply chain.

Stepping Up on Cooperation with NGOs
Increasingly, DyStar is strengthening their partnerships with the Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs). The 2017 report features an in-depth guest interview with the NGO China Water Risk, on how can suppliers like DyStar can be a role model in creating sustainable fashion.
To encourage and facilitate sustainable practices among its suppliers, DyStar also conducts sustainability-related supplier surveys. For instance, DyStar is cooperating with the Institute of Public & Environmental Affairs (IPE), one of the most established Chinese NGO, to expand the framework of their supplier questionnaire. In recognition of its efforts, DyStar received top ranking in the CITI transparency list for industrial chemicals from IPE, placing them well ahead of many other industry peers.

Embracing Diversity, Engaging Communities
Also, to help meet clients’ demand and demonstrate its responsibility and care in the food and beverages industry, DyStar is implementing a supplier diversity program to support businesses in the USA that are at least 51% owned by minority groups, women, veterans and people with disabilities.
Highlighting DyStar’s commitment to the communities they operate in, the company encourages volunteerism among employees, and for the year of 2017, DyStar employees devoted a total of 205 volunteer hours towards community projects, which also served as a meaningful collective experience for employees to form closer bonds.

Working Together Towards Long-Term Solutions
As an industry frontrunner, DyStar and its leaders are committed to driving sustainability across the
industry. However, significant challenges remain, and the stakeholders of this industry need to work together to derive long-term solutions. CEO of DyStar Group, Mr. Eric Hopmann emphasized, “It is imperative for the entire industry to improve collectively, not individually, and our ability to do so may determine the long-term profitability of the industry as a whole. It is my belief that effective partnerships coupled with stronger support and incentivization from leading companies within this industry could be key to creating a new – and much needed – equilibrium.”

To access DyStar’s sustainability reports, visit http://www.dystar.com/sustainability-reports/.