From the Sector

The European Chemicals Agency (ECHA) has published its Strategy Statement 2024-2028. The strategy details the agency’s goals and priorities over the next five years to protect health and the environment through its work for chemical safety.

Main elements of the Strategy – Goals and Priorities

Be a trusted chemicals agency – ECHA aims to achieve this by delivering its legal mandate using independent expertise and robust data. The Agency, to support this, will:

• Deliver transparent, independent, and high-quality scientific advice, opinions, and decisions;
• Enhance decision and policy making through optimal use of data, knowledge, and competence; and
• Facilitate the prioritisation and co-ordination of regulatory actions on substances and groups of substances with the European Commission (EC), EU agencies and Member State Authorities.

 
Respond to emerging challenges and changes in their legal landscape – ECHA will prepare for new tasks and inform EU chemical and environmental policy. To support this goal, it will focus on the following priorities:

• Implement new legal requirements using existing and new synergies and experience;
• Work with relevant EU agencies and bodies to deliver Chemical Strategy for Sustainability (CSS) actions and objectives; and
• Provide scientific and technical advice on chemicals to EU policy makers.

 
Communicate and Engage – by collaborating with stakeholders and partners, ECHA will strengthen public confidence in chemicals regulation. In support of this goal, the Agency will:

• Deepen their network of engagement with EU institutions and agencies and Member States;
• Collaborate and provide tools, advice, and support to industry; and
• Promote awareness and understanding of ECHA's work to stakeholders representing workers, the public and the environment.

 
Lead on chemical knowledge and expertise – the Agency will advance knowledge and understanding on chemical safety. To achieve this, it will:

• Contribute proactively to expanding scientific and technical competence and knowledge on chemical safety;
• Promote the development and use of alternative methods for the assessment of hazards and risks of chemicals; and
• Support the EC to enhance engagement and synergies at international level.

 
Invest in people and organisational excellence – ECHA is committed to working together to achieve their vision. In order to achieve this they will:

• Develop and empower their people for success;
• Create optimal ways of working for the Agency, its bodies, its people, and the environment; and
• Adopt an IT delivery model that is cost-effective, streamlined, modular, interoperable, cloud based and centralised.

Since 1 April 2023 sales and service of Mayer & Cie. circular knitting machines in Bangladesh have been under new management. A new dynamic team “Mayer Bangladesh” has been formed. Mayer & Cie.’s longstanding Indian representative Batliboi has joined business activities in Bangladesh since the beginning of the month, supported by the team of Brady Services and by Almani Biz.

In Batliboi, Mayer & Cie. has set up a business partner of many decades standing as its representative in Bangladesh. For around 40 years Mumbai-based Batliboi has overseen sales and service of Mayer & Cie. circular knitting machines in India. Abhay Sidham heads Batliboi’s Textile and Machinery Group. He and his team have many years of experience in strategic marketing, and a focus on sustainability and processing recycled raw materials is part of Batliboi’s expertise.

These competences are of relevance in the Bangladesh market because “we face strong competition from Asian manufacturers here,” as Wolfgang Müller, Mayer & Cie.’s sales director, explains. The premium market was growing smaller, and the trend was toward specialities – value-added fabrics, spacer fabrics and athleisure with a high proportion of elastic. Mayer & Cie. sees in these requirements significant potential for its machines – and in Batliboi a partner able in view of its experience to put them to optimal use.

One building block in the set-up of Mayer & Cie. representatives is unchanged. Brady Services will continue with Batliboi to contribute its close ties with the local market. A significant number of existing companies will continue to be looked after by Brady Services.

The new member in Mayer Bangladesh team is Dhaka-based Almani Biz. A lubricants specialist for circular knitting machines Almani Biz has a wide network with Bangladesh knitting industry.

Mayer & Cie. feels well positioned by this new set-up. “We,” Wolfgang Müller says, “are of the opinion that the market for textile machinery in Bangladesh will continue to grow and we are confident that by strengthening our sales, service and marketing team we will be able to make good use of this opportunity.”

Customers in Bangladesh have placed large orders in the past. The latest, placed in January, was for several dozen machines to be delivered this autumn. Further orders from Apex and BEXIMCO (Bangladesh Export Import Company) are also scheduled for delivery in the second half of 2023.

While reorganising the set-up of its representatives in Bangladesh Batliboi has also taken over as Mayer & Cie.’s representative in Nepal, where the company had previously had no local representative. There is a demand for machines for interlock, 8-lock and single jersey, but sales are still in single figures.

adidas TERREX announces a multi-season collaboration with National Geographic, consisting of high-performance outdoor wear. The inaugural collection is built to celebrate the role of photography in the culture of outdoor sport - as well-equipped hikers turn their ability to explore more places, and spirit of adventure, into stunning content.

To celebrate this relationship, designers at adidas TERREX combed the National Geographic photography archives for stunning stills of some of the most remote yet moving locations on earth, integrated in unique all over prints in a bold new hiking collection. All pieces are unified by National Geographic’s iconic yellow icon.

Places celebrated in the collection include a snow-covered sandstone monocline in Comb Ridge, Utah, a 120-mile-long, north to south stretch that defines the State’s red rock landscape, as well as textured portraits of shale, - captured on the coast of Norway’s northernmost county - highlighting the sedimentary rock’s distinctive formations.

The 51-piece collection includes women’s, men’s, and gender-neutral offerings – all built to equip the wearer in multi-terrain environments:

• A part of the collection is the RAIN.RDY Jacket; a 2.5L waterproof and seam-sealed outer garment built to facilitate epic adventures. The men’s jacket features a bold print of the shell formations in the Porsanger Peninsula, Norway, while the women’s is inspired by stills of White Sands National Park in New Mexico.
• A long sleeve shirt is finished with the bold National Geographic yellow icon and reflective details.
• The TERREX Swift R3 GORE-TEX Hiking shoes offer the peak combination of a lightweight construction and cushioning as seen in trail running shoes with the stability of a hiking boot. Finished in a print inspired by a stunning aerial shot of Earth, the hiking shoes come with a GORE-TEX lining and membrane seal so water is kept out, and a Continental™ Rubber outsole for optimal grip in wet or dry conditions.
• The WIND.RDY: GET SHELTERED Jacket, with wind-resistant technology and a water repellent ripstop fabric, allows explorers to feel protected and confident in many weather conditions. The men’s and women’s versions come with bold prints inspired by photography including that of sandstone and snow at Comb Ridge, Utah. Smart design features including a bungee-cord enabled adjustable hem, a lightweight fabric and reflective details. Additionally, it features a bold new lenticular logo design that alternates between Terrex and National Geographic from different perspectives – and is made in part with recycled materials.

Unter dem Motto „100 Years of Future“ feierte Optima 2022 das 100-jährige Firmenjubiläum, unter anderem im Rahmen eines offiziellen Festakts mit dem baden-württembergischen Ministerpräsidenten Winfried Kretschmann in Schwäbisch Hall und mit vielen weiteren Aktivitäten. Eine Essenz aus 100 Jahren Unternehmensgeschichte sowie die Rückschau aufs Jubiläumsjahr sind jetzt in Form des Jubiläumsbandes „100 Years of Future“ erhältlich.

Im Jahr 1922 hatte Otto Bühler, Großvater des heutigen Inhabers Hans Bühler, den Grundstein für eine Erfolgsgeschichte gelegt. Mit rund 3.000 Mitarbeitenden sowie 20 nationalen und internationalen Standorten gilt Optima heute zu den Technologieführern im Bereich der Verpackungsmaschinen und Abfüllanlagen.

Das Jubiläumsband „100 Years of Future“ ist „kein Geschichtsbuch, sondern ein Buch voller Geschichten“, wie es im Vorwort heißt, gegliedert in die vier Themenschwerpunkte Expansion, Innovation, Partnerschaft und Verantwortung. Das Buch folgt keiner linear erzählten Chronologie, sondern taucht stattdessen anhand vielfältiger Themen in die Geschichte des Unternehmens ein – mit Bezug auf Gegenwart und Zukunft.

Erhältlich ist das Buch für Interessenten kostenlos via Online-Anfrage.

• 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.

Trützschler Man-Made Fibers introduces OPTIMA for IDY and expands the range of the OPTIMA extrusion systems by the industrial yarn (IDY) sector. In addition to OPTIMA for carpet yarns (MO40-C, MO40-E and TO40), variants for manufacturing (semi-)industrial multifilament yarns are now joining the line.

Since 2012, Trützschler has been developing and building high-performance extrusion lines for carpet yarns (BCF - Bulk Continuous Filament) and industrial/technical yarns made of polyester, polyamide and polypropylene. The market launch of the OPTIMA concept for BCF took place in 2019 and has established itself in the markets since then. OPTIMA was designed as a modular platform and now also includes solutions in the IDY (InDustrial Yarn) sector.

OPTIMA systems for industrial yarn (TEC-O40 and TEC-O80) impress with flexibility application and end product diversity. Both concepts offer a wide range of design options and can be tailored precisely to meet end product and the throughput requirements.

OPTIMA enables the production of high-tenacity yarns for shoelaces, ropes and nets as well as low-shrinkage qualities for tire cords, truck tarpaulins and airbags. As the lines are modular, they can be quickly adapted to new market developments and end products.

ECOSENSOR™ by Asahi Kasei Advance presents its SS 2023 collection, made of high-tech fabrics implementing new-generation values, with the aim of keeping nature, body and mind in harmony at Performance Days.

ECOSENSOR™ presents 40 new references that meet the needs of the contemporary consumer, such as durability, wellbeing and performance. Being capable of combining active climate control, exquisite touch, lightness and comfort with sustainable values, ECOSENSOR™ stands out as a unique eco-high-tech performance proposition in its market. The collection covers the different market applications with 7 items for INNERWEAR, 2 for OUTERWEAR, 17 for SPORT KNIT and 14 for SPORT WOVEN.

All of ECOSENSOR™ fabrics are made with sustainable materials which are certified by internatinal certification such as GRS, RCS or self-certification by each yarn supplier, through a traceable and transparent production process and supply chain.
100% of the stretch articles (representing 35% of the collection) are made with ROICA™ EF by Asahi Kasei, the recycled stretch yarn made from pre-consumer materials.
 
The main fibers are GRS certified recycled polyester and recycled polyamide, but the collection also features some blends, such as in Bemberg™, the high-tech yarn born from the transformation of cotton linters through a circular, transparent and traceable process with a precious hand, optimal moisture management characteristics,  whose end of life guarantees its biodegradability.
Even the dyeing and finishing phases - key moments for performancewear - have been certified by international labels such as bluesign® or OEKO-TEX® Standard 100.

Baldwin Technology Company Inc. has forged a new partnership with Blutec S.A. de C.V., which now represents Baldwin’s full range of innovative spray systems and corona/plasma treaters for wovens, knits and nonwovens in Mexico.

Blutec is a leading agency in the textile sector, representing many of the most reputable textile machinery manufacturers worldwide. Present in the Mexican market for more than 25 years, Blutec is committed to collaborating with companies on the forefront of textile manufacturing technology, including Brückner, Mahlo, EFI Reggiani, Ferraro and, now, Baldwin.

Baldwin’s precision spray systems for finishing and remoistening use non-contact spray technology to provide optimal controlled coverage of the exact amount of liquids needed to achieve the specific characteristics of the fabric—saving customers time, money and valuable resources. Because only the required amounts of water and chemicals are applied, water consumption can be reduced by up to 50%, contributing to considerably improved productivity in the finishing process.
In addition, these solutions can process a wide range of low-viscosity water-based chemicals—such as softeners, antimicrobial agents, durable water repellents, flame retardants and more—for woven fabrics, knitted textiles and nonwovens.

The European Alliance for SMC BMC and the AVK expert task force SMC/BMC are announcing they will organize together SMCCreate 2022, a conference about design in SMC and BMC composite materials. This conference will provide valuable insights in the entire product design process from idea to part manufacturing, targeted both at experienced designers and at designers that are new in applying these versatile materials.

SMC and BMC are composite materials ideal for making light and intricate parts that combine structural performance with a smooth surface finish. For that reason, SMC and BMC are increasingly used in a broad range of end-use applications and markets.

Companies that have been using SMC and BMC solutions have a lot of expertise available, which can help designers to be more successful in bringing products to market. Therefore, the European Alliance for SMC BMC and the AVK expert task force SMC/BMC would like to organize together this design conference, allowing designers to learn from the experts, apply gained insights into their own designs, and broaden their horizon for new part developments.

Using SMC BMC in your part design
Within the time of only 1.5 day, the SMCCreate 2022 conference will cover a wide range of subjects, all relevant for designers in their selection of materials solutions that provide performance, cost efficiency, manufacturing ability and sustainability. In particular:

• How can SMC BMC help you to design great parts, bringing a combination of unique shapes and functional performance?
• How can SMC BMC help you to improve sustainability?
• What are the key steps in the design process, starting from initial idea to full production series manufacturing?
• What are the typical design challenges and solutions?
• How to best design for optimal manufacturing?
• Which are the tools available for designing in SMC BMC: design software, material data, tooling considerations?
• Practical examples of designs and components made in SMC BMC
• What’s new in the world of SMC BMC?

Date and Location
The SMCCreate 2022 Conference will be organized on April 6-7, 2022 in Antwerp (Belgium).

For its FW 22/23 collection, ECOSENSOR™ by Asahi Kasei Advance presents a high-tech fabric collection, which implements a new generation of values, with the aim of keeping nature, body and mind in harmony.

The whole collection is focused on advanced technology and environmental responsibility. Thanks to ECOSENSOR™ by Asahi Kasei Advance’s unique value-chain based on recycling technology, most part of its yarns are certified by the renowned GRS (Global Recycled Standard). Even the dyeing and finishing phases - key moments for  performance wear - have been certified by international labels such as bluesign® and OEKO-TEX® Standard 100.

The collection is composed of 7 outerwear fabric, 22 sportswear fabrics and 7 innerwear fabrics.

Among the compositions of the fabrics, dominant are the recycled polyamide (58%) and polyester (39%) yarns. The stretch component present in 22 articles of the collection is based on ROICA™ EF by Asahi Kasei - the sustainable recycled stretch yarn made from pre-consumer waste. In addition, 8 fabrics of the FW22/23 collection are made of Bemberg™ by Asahi Kasei - the high-tech yarn born from the transformation of cotton linters through a fully circular, transparent and traceable process with an amazing precious hand, optimal moisture management characteristics,  whose end of life guarantees its biodegradability and it also carries GRS certification.