From the Sector

• Integrated Sustainability Report 2021 – 2022 published

DyStar, a leading specialty chemical company released its twelfth annual Sustainability Performance Report. The report is prepared in accordance with the updated GRI Standards 2021: Core option. DyStar continues to adopt the Integrated Reporting <IR> framework to communicate how the group has successfully created tangible value across multiple stakeholder groups in six major capitals.

DyStar reports that they have inched themselves closer to some of their 2025 target of reducing the environmental footprint by 30% for every ton of product, from 2011 levels. Here are some key highlights for FY2021:

• Recorded more than 29% increase in revenue compared to 2020
• Zero workplace fatalities, high-consequence injuries, and work-related ill health
• 40% reduction in Greenhouse gas (GHG) emission intensity, compared to 2011
• 37% decrease in wastewater emission intensity, compared to 2011

The Group was able to remain resilient and steer itself toward optimistic growth and recovery from the global pandemic in FY2021. In face of recent geopolitical events and macroeconomic factors such as soaring energy costs, DyStar and the wider supply chain will continue to face challenges. As a result, the company believes it is crucial to stay committed to their 2025 Sustainability goals to continue generating value for all stakeholders in the longer term, well beyond these turbulent times.

The report communicates DyStar’s progress towards its sustainability agenda and material topics. As part of our commitment to environmental sustainability, only an e-magazine and a PDF version will be made available for download from www.DyStar.com/sustainability-reports/

• Values from the past 30 years more relevant than ever and are reflected in recent growth

During its 30^th anniversary, the international OEKO-TEX^® Association is still seeing positive business development despite numerous global challenges. In total, OEKO-TEX^® issued more than 36,000 certificates and labels in the past financial year – an increase of 14% compared to the previous year. The STeP by OEKO-TEX^® facility certification recorded the strongest growth, almost doubling compared to 2020/2021. The number of labels and certificates issued increased from 31,696 to 36,084 between July 1st, 2021, and June 30th, 2022.

"Since OEKO-TEX^® was founded in 1992, our business practices have been aligned with our core values," says OEKO-TEX^® Secretary General Georg Dieners. “Sustainability, trust and safety build upon each other and are the basis of transparent and sustainable action. We underpin responsible action with our independent scientific methods and are valued in the industry as an effective, solution-oriented partner.” In the past financial year, this was reflected in the new Impact Calculator, with which STeP by OEKO-TEX^®-certified companies calculate their CO₂ emissions and measure their water consumption to ultimately reduce both. For OEKO-TEX^®, a sustainable future is inextricably linked to a transparent status quo. "By setting the highest standards and communicating them openly, we encourage companies and consumers to do the same," says Dieners.

To maintain trust and credibility, OEKO-TEX^® includes external perspectives. The International Advisory Board reviews proposals of the OEKO-TEX^® Working Groups and provides important impetus for continuous optimization of the standards. Additionally, a Public Stakeholder Consultation was conducted in March 2022 to gain comprehensive insights from all interest groups. These are now being integrated into the further development of the standards and services. The investments of the past financial year reflect how important quality assurance and product control are for the OEKO-TEX^® Association: Almost 40% of the total expenditure flowed into these two items.

In the meantime, the basic business continues to progress successfully. The number of STANDARD 100 by OEKO-TEX® certificates issued in the 2021/2022 financial year exceeded 25,000 for the first time. More than 15,000 chemicals, colorants and auxiliaries were certified with ECO PASSPORT by OEKO-TEX^®.

In autumn 2022, OEKO-TEX^® will launch a certification to help companies comply with upcoming due diligence laws. With RESPONSIBLE BUSINESS by OEKO-TEX^®, OEKO-TEX^® is responding to the increasing global expectations of compliance with due diligence requirements in companies. The new standard is based on the EU proposal for due diligence, the German Due Diligence Act, which will come into force from 2023, and numerous other international legislative proposals.

• Aims to tackle the immense textile waste generated in urban environments, on the back of import bans of waste materials
• Addresses the shortcomings of current textile recycling technologies, which are unsuitable for urban settings due to the use of heavy chemicals
• Technologies developed by the newly-formed RGE-NTU Sustainable Textile Research Centre will be test-bedded in RGE’s pilot urban-fit textile recycling plant, projected for completion as early as 2024

Royal Golden Eagle (“RGE”), a global group of resource-based manufacturing companies, which includes a world-leading viscose fibre producers Sateri and Asia Pacific Rayon (APR), is developing urban-fit, closed-loop textile-to-textile recycling solutions, through the newly-formed RGE-NTU Sustainable Textile Research Centre (RGE-NTU SusTex). This is a five-year research collaboration between RGE and Nanyang Technological University, Singapore (“NTU”), to accelerate innovation in textile recycling that can be deployed in urban settings. The research centre will develop new technologies to recycle textile waste into fibre and create new, next-generation eco-friendly and sustainable textiles.

This move comes on the back of the tightening of waste import bans in countries such as China, India and Indonesia, which are among the world’s largest waste processors. The stricter import bans have left cities in need of viable local textile recycling solutions to tackle the immense textile waste generated.

RGE Executive Director, Mr Perry Lim, said, “Current textile recycling technologies, which rely primarily on a bleaching and separation process using heavy chemicals, cannot be implemented due to environmental laws. At the same time, there is an urgent need to keep textiles out of the brimming landfills.” He added, “As the world’s largest viscose producer, we aim to catalyse closed-loop, textile-to-textile recycling by developing optimal urban-fit solutions that can bring the world closer to a circular textile economy.”

Globally, an estimated 90 million tonnes of textile waste is generated and disposed of every year, with less than 1% being upcycled into new clothing or other textile materials. By 2030, the amount of global textile waste, which currently accounts for almost 10% of municipal solid waste, is expected to reach more than 134 million tonnes. The textile industry is also responsible for 10% of global greenhouse gas emissions – more than international flights and maritime shipping combined.

At present, most of the available textile recycling technologies are open-loop, where textile waste is typically downcycled to lower-quality products (insulating materials, cleaning cloths, etc.) or be used in waste-to-heat recycling.

“Closed-loop textile-to-textile recycling processes, particularly chemical recycling, are still under development. Scaling up the technologies to industrial scale remains a challenge. A key bottleneck is that refabricating textile waste into fibre needs purity standards for feedstock. However, most of the clothes that we wear are made of a mixture of different synthetic and natural fibres, which makes separating the complex blends of materials challenging for effective recycling.

“Our aim is to address this industry pain point by developing viable solutions that use less energy, fewer chemicals and produces harmless and less effluents, and then potentially scale up across our global operations,” Mr Lim said.

To tackle the key challenges in closed-loop textile recycling, RGE-NTU SusTex is looking into four key research areas, namely cleaner and more energy efficient methods of recycling into new raw materials, automated sorting of textile waste, eco-friendly dye removal, and development of a new class of sustainable textiles that is durable for wear and, at the same time, lends itself to easier recycling.

Technologies developed by RGE-NTU SusTex will be test bedded at RGE’s pilot urban-fit textile recycling plant in Singapore, which is projected for completion as early as 2024. If successful, RGE has plans to replicate the plant in other urban cities within its footprint.

Beaulieu International Group invites EuroGeo7 attendees to discover geotextile solutions promoting greater sustainability for future civil engineering projects. Specialists from Beaulieu Fibres International (BFI) and Beaulieu Technical Textiles (BTT) will present high-performance geosynthetics through high tenacity fibres for lightweight, nonwoven geotextiles, and a range of high durability woven geotextile solutions with an environmentally beneficial impact.

“We are delighted to sponsor EuroGeo7 and to be finally on-site, following a two-year postponement of the event. EuroGeo7 is bringing the geotextile community together to further promote and develop geosynthetics in a fast changing global economy striving for growth while reducing its carbon footprint along the supply chain, " comment from Jefrem Jennard, Sales Director Fibres, and Roy Kerckhove, Sales Director Technical Textiles. “Geotextiles provide highly versatile, durable and natural resource-saving alternatives in large infrastructure works, and offer durable protection in erosion control and waste/water management projects. We are continuously developing our fibres and finished engineering textiles with proven sustainability-enhancing benefits to progress product development and customer sustainability goals on fossil carbon reduction, while taking concrete steps to reduce our own environmental footprint.”
 
Sustainability improvement is key to the long-term strategy of Beaulieu International Group, and it is committed to supporting the geotextile industry by targeting and accelerating change and communicating the sustainable performance of its products. The UN Sustainable Development Goals are integrated into its business and are the foundations of the new Route 2030 Sustainability Roadmap.

For manufacturers of nonwoven geotextiles, BFI’s high-tenacity HT8 staple fibres enable customers to achieve nonwovens with high mechanical performance at reduced fibre weight. The HT8 high tenacity fibres are designed in a way that customers can meet the industry durability standards for a longer service lifetime, supporting more sustainable design and resource reduction over time. BTT’s woven geotextiles are amongst the most sustainable in the industry and provide a wide range of functions, including separation, filtration, reinforcement and erosion control.

BFI and BTT have conducted lifecycle assessments to calculate their activities' carbon footprint and solutions and have received external recognition for their ongoing sustainability efforts. For example, in 2022, BFI was awarded a Silver EcoVadis sustainability rating, and BFI and BTT are proud recipients of the Voka Charter for Sustainable Entrepreneurship 2022.

The focus is on personnel development, energy and water consumption as well as company-wide emissions and waste behavior. CHT highlights in this report the group-wide projects for climate protection as well as the sustainable products and solutions. The report has been prepared in accordance with the GRI standards of the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) based on the core option.

With the "Green Deal", the EU Commission is pursuing ambitious climate targets, in the implementation of which the CHT Group is actively involved as part of the VCI initiative "chemistry4climate".
The Group's goal is to become climate-neutral by 2045. To underpin this ambitious target, at the end of 2021 the CHT Group signed up to the Science Based Targets Initiative (SBTi) to meet the goals of the Paris Climate Agreement and committed to the 1.5°C target.
For 2021, the first carbon footprint (Scope 1+2) was prepared for the CHT Group, which now serves as the basis for greenhouse gas emissions reduction targets.

65% of the CHT Group's sales in 2021 were generated with sustainable products. For this, over 88% of the strategic raw material volume was sourced from suppliers classified as sustainable.

Moreover, interesting are the concepts and optimally matched auxiliaries with which energy and resource savings can be implemented for various textile application fields. They vividly and exemplarily demonstrate the efforts to achieve the company's own sustainable and strategic goals, which are derived from the United Nations Development Goals (SDGs).

Prof. Manfred Renner and Prof. Christian Doetsch will take joint leadership of the Fraunhofer Institute for Environmental, Safety and Energy Technology UMSICHT from August 2022. As renowned scientists, they have most recently shaped the direction of the institute as heads of the Products division and Energy division respectively, and will now follow in the footsteps of Prof. Eckhard Weidner, who has entered retirement.

This is the first time in its history that Fraunhofer UMSICHT is led by two directors. Both institute directors began their professional careers at the institute and from August they will have a joint hand in its future.

Prof. Manfred Renner holds a doctorate in mechanical engineering, specializing in process engineering and business development. Since 2006, he has held various roles at Fraunhofer UMSICHT, most recently heading up the Products division and overseeing its 126 employees and its budget of 14.8 million euros. He has set international standards through his award-winning research into a free of water tanning leather tanning process that uses compressed carbon dioxide. With the development of innovative aerogel-based insulation materials for building facades, he has made a significant contribution to environmentally friendly, circular applications in the construction industry and initiated a number of industrial projects. One of the notable technological breakthroughs made by his team was the development of a new type of fire-resistant glass, which can withstand even the most extreme heat. This won his development team the Joseph von Fraunhofer Prize in October 2020.

Alongside becoming institute director, Prof. Renner will also take over the leadership of the Fraunhofer Cluster of Excellence Circular Plastics Economy CCPE in August 2022. In this role, he will represent the Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft on a national and international level with regard to the transformation of industry and society to a circular economy. In addition, he will start his professorship in Responsible Process Engineering at the Faculty of Mechanical Engineering of the Ruhr-Universität Bochum. Over the course of his professorship, he will shape the systemic development of the circular economy at a corporate, regional and European level.

Prof. Christian Doetsch has worked in energy research for more than 25 years, spending most of this time at Fraunhofer UMSICHT. As head of the Energy division, he managed a team of around 145 employees and was responsible for a budget of approximately 10.4 million euros. His technological focal points are energy storage, Power-to-X technologies including hydrogen electrolysis and chemical conversion, catalysts, and energy system modeling and optimization. His overarching aim is the integration of renewable energies into a cross-sectoral, resilient energy system.

In 2015, Doetsch co-founded the award-winning start-up Volterion GmbH & Co. KG, which develops redox flow batteries. He attained high visibility on a global scale by redesigning stacks, one of the main components of redox flow batteries, an achievement for which he, his team and Volterion representatives were awarded the Joseph von Fraunhofer Prize in May 2021. The energy expert also acts as deputy spokesperson for the Fraunhofer Energy Alliance and task manager for the energy storage group at the International Energy Agency (IEA). He also co-founded the “Open District Hub e. V.,” an association that promotes the energy transition in the sector by means of energy systems integration.

Since January 2020, he has been Professor of Cross Energy Systems at the Faculty of Mechanical Engineering of the Ruhr-Universität Bochum. In this role, he conducts research into ecological evaluation and resilience of cross-sectoral energy systems.

C.L.A.S.S. Eco Hub has selected the winner of C.L.A.S.S. ICON Award 2022, the annual contest with the aim of sponsoring a visionary creative who is able to combine design, responsibility, innovation and communication. Receiving the third edition of the eye-turning award is FROY Club, an experimental and responsible fashion project born in 2018 by designer Arman Avetikyan.

Froy is rooted in Armenian culture and by mixes high quality materials and yarns. Working with a sustainable ethic, Froy reconciles traditional know how and innovative techniques to create hybrid, versatile and speaking surfaces. The brand uses Italian certified fabrics and yarns that meet European standards, selecting natural materials to create high-quality products with a circular life. Froy also chooses GOTS, FSC and OEKO-TEX certified fabrics and yarns in order to support a clear production chain.

By receiving two thousand euros for sourcing purposes, smart consultancy support and communication aid from the C.L.A.S.S. team, plus assistance to the brand in commercial activities, a physical stand in the WHITE Show and a dedicated brand page on Renoon powered by C.L.A.S.S. partners; Froy will have the opportunity to upgrade its efforts in terms of responsibility and innovation, while sharing its conscious vision and values with a wider audience. Moreover, the Italian brand with Armenian roots will become part of the C.L.A.S.S. ICON community, joining past winners such as the high fashion Italian designer Gilberto Calzolari and the Portuguese streetwear brand Duarte

International technology group ANDRITZ will be presenting its nonwovens production solutions at CINTE 2022 in Shanghai, China – one of the main trade fairs for technical textile and nonwoven products in Asia. ANDRITZ will show its product portfolio covering state-of-the-art nonwovens and textile production technologies such as air-through bonding, airlay, needlepunch, spunlace, spunbond, wetlaid/WetlaceTM, converting, textile finishing, recycling, and natural fiber processing.

ANDRITZ supports nonwovens producers in the move to sustainability with the aim of reducing or eliminating plastic components while maintaining the high quality of the desired product properties. This applies to all types of sustainable wipes, such as flushable, biodegradable, bio-sourced, carded pulp or standard carded wipes. The latest development in this field is the ANDRITZ neXline wetlace CP line, which integrates the carded-pulp (CP) process. This is a fully engineered production line combining the benefits of drylaid and wetlaid technologies to produce a new generation of biodegradable wipes.

The neXline wetlaid aXcess targets smaller and medium production volumes and has been devised for new and existing lines. The line is easy and fast to ship due to the compact design, which also fits perfectly into containers. An operator-friendly configuration and versatile design ensure efficient production at affordable investment costs.

The aXcess range was specially developed at ANDRITZ (China) Ltd. Wuxi Branch to handle medium capacities. The facility in Wuxi has an experienced platform for production and service specially geared to serve the Asian nonwovens industry. With the aXcess range, ANDRITZ has developed a hybrid line combining European and Chinese machines, which is the ideal combination to obtain the best added value from each component in the line and be very flexible to accommodate different business cases.

After three years, VUB a.s again got the chance to actively participate in the European trade fair Techtextil 2022m being present at a joint stand of Czech companies active in production and application of technical textiles, organized by Clutex - Cluster Technical Textiles.

In cooperation with partners from academic and production sphere many products were developed over the past years, sold by VUB under the brand Clevertex. For the presentation at the fair, a wide range of ESD protective clothing for the electrotechnical industry and for each worker dealing with electrostatic discharge sensitive components was on display. As well as another product line of the Clevertex brand representing wearable skincare textile products with antiseptic effects based on purely natural textile materials.

Attention was paid to the advanced solutions for smart textiles and e-textiles products esp. electrically conductive hybrid threads based on ultrafine metallic micro-wires. A significant advantage of these threads lies in their full compatibility with standard textile manufacturing processes, and possibility of customization in terms of fineness, electrical conductivity and temperature resistance of individual thread. As an example of one of the applications of conductive threads, different types of woven elastic conductive ribbons were demonstrated, which could be used as bus bars or as textile conductors wherever a variable length of conductive element is required without the negative influence on their electrical resistance during the change the length.

ROICA™, Asahi Kasei's premium stretch fiber manufacturer, strengthens its presence in the high fashion segment thanks to its established network of partners, who will present their latest innovations - activated by ROICA™ - at the upcoming edition of Milano Unica, taking place at Rho Fiera Milano from 12th to 14th July 2022.

Going more in depth in the offers of ROICA™ partners for this season of Milano Unica, they are:

• Cifra, which presents its innovative garments for men and women, combining fashion and function. Base layers, tops, leggings and jumpsuits are made with natural yarns, or recycled pre- and post-consumer yarns in combination with ROICA™ EF, the sustainable recycled stretch yarn able to complete proposals that offer design, performance and responsibility. The design of the garments, created in Cifra's design office, offers a perfect shape with body mapping technology that creates dedicated ventilation zones, for a feeling of comfort and freshness as well as an innovative aesthetic impact.
• Iluna Group, whose journey into the new dimension of responsibility continues with developments in GRS (Global Recycled Standard) certified recycled yarns aimed at unprecedented effects in looks, performance and hands. Brand new for this edition of Première Vision is the inclusion of GOTS-certified organic cotton in GRS-certified galloons and allover lace containing ROICA™ EF, so as to meet market demands for natural comfort in the underwear sphere.
• Maglificio Ripa, which presents the Splash collection for summer 2024, developed in two major themes, united by the same focus on sustainability that results in the use of recycled pre- and post-consumer polyamide and polyester yarns including ROICA™ EF for the sustainable recycled stretch fiber. The first theme encompasses printed, 3D jacquard fabrics, ennobled by innovative processes that move the bottoms for an organic and sometimes irreverent final look. The second theme embodies a cocoon spirit, enveloping like a caress, soft as a hug.
• Penn Textile Solutions/Penn Italia, whose highlights of the new collection are on one side fabrics developed with the use of Neride eco yarns by Nurel with ROICA™ V550, characterized by restraining lace effect, soft touch and breathable, in combination with tulle as a sustainable basic, and on the other side charmeuses with soft hand, raw cut in combination with a band fabric from the dreamshape family with reinforced gripping edge, made again in Neride eco yarns by Nurel with ROICA™ V550
• Piave Maitex, whose orientation is, as always, to present new products with the right  balance between technological innovation and aesthetic look, between fashion and comfort, proposals that include sustainable fabrics made in recycled polyester,  polyamide and the sustainable recycled stretch fiber ROICA™ EF, three-dimensional and optical, perforated, plush effects, made by prioritizing technical functionalities such as waterproofness, breathability, transfer and moisture management, opacity and anti-UV as well as anti-abrasion.
• Sitip, which is one of the premium partners, together with ROICA™, for the creation of the first Scott Racing Team’s responsible biking uniform. This year, the evolution of research and development has also led to the creation of new responsible shorts, made with NATIVE-THUNDERBIKE POWER fabric by Sitip in recycled polyamide and ROICA™ EF yarn by Asahi Kasei. A fabric designed for high-performance sports, particularly suitable for making cycling pants for its maximum coverage and UV protection - thanks to ECLIPSE Sun Protection technology - breathability, comfort and fit. Also the shirt has been produced with Sitip recycled fabrics - NATIVE-BICIMANIA and NATIVE-PIRATA - made with Asahi Kasei's ROICA™ EF sustainable, stretch and certified recycled yarns.