From the Sector

DyStar is pleased to announce the release of its eleventh annual Sustainability Performance Report. The report is written in accordance with the GRI Standards: Core option, while using the Integrated Reporting <IR> framework to communicate how DyStar drives value creation across multiple stakeholder groups in six capital categories, namely financial, manufactured, intellectual, natural, human capital and social capital.

In FY2020, COVID-19 has continued to present its challenges, such as the shortage of raw materials and rising freight costs. Gloomy global demand has also resulted in some raw and product material wastage in production plants worldwide, leading to increased non-hazardous waste output for FY2020. DyStar recognizes these global factors in play and will continue to make active efforts within the organization’s capability to reduce its environmental footprint in the years ahead.

The Group has set its sight on achieving the 2025 sustainability target of reducing its production footprint by 30% from 2011 levels for every ton of production. “We will continue to innovate and develop a wide range of products and processes that improve environmental performance and reduce carbon footprint across our value chain”, said Mr Xu Yalin, Executive Board Director of DyStar Group.

Mr Eric Hopmann, CEO of DyStar Group added: “We are also developing various projects in anticipation of future demands from customers as well as adopting more environmentally friendly technologies and improve our workflows and processes. Some of our projects include traceability programs, adopting renewable energy technologies, and digitalizing our business processes.” Understanding the importance of collaborative efforts to drive sustainability across the value chain, DyStar seeks to continually support industrial innovations and develop strategic partnerships to work towards becoming a sustainable and trusted leader in the industry.

The rescheduled Intertextile Shanghai Home Textiles, now taking place from 9 – 11 October, will once again provide the industry with insight into the future through its fringe programme’s four categories: Design Inspiration, Business O2O, Textiles & Technologies and Industry Empowerment. And with the Online Business Matching sourcing platform returning this edition, buyers worldwide can still participate in the fair.

Each of the fringe programme’s four categories – Design Inspiration, Business O2O (online to offline), Textiles & Technologies and Industry Empowerment – features a mix of conferences, seminars and presentations that reflect the future of the home textile industry. Highlights of each category are included below, while further details can be found on the fair’s website: https://intertextile-shanghai-hometextiles-autumn.hk.messefrankfurt.com/shanghai/en/programme-events.html.

Since 2019, Messe Frankfurt has been working with the Conscious Fashion Campaign and United Nations Office for Partnerships as part of the Texpertise Network and supports the UN Sustainable Development Goals. The goals will be presented gradually at global textile events in order to highlight the most pressing challenges facing the textile and fashion industry worldwide.

Industry Empowerment: antimicrobial technologies and licensing in the home textile sector

Growing awareness of health and hygiene has increased the demand for antimicrobial and other functional textiles. Seminars hosted by the Chinese Industry Association for Antimicrobial Materials & Products will further discuss the increasing prominence of these textiles, as well as how the adoption of new antimicrobial textile technologies is expected to evolve in the future. In addition, experts will share the new trends of licensing and IP with case studies for the furniture companies and fabric brands.

2022 China Home Textile Trends

The China Home Textiles Trend Area will feature the research of the China Home Textile Association, The Department of Home Textile Trend Research and Promotion and Concept & Style Fashion Project Group Italy who shared their knowledge, inspirations and exchanged their visions of trend evolutions considering consumer demand, retail expertise, the contract market and new technologies.

Intertextile Shanghai Home Textiles – Autumn Edition 2021 will be held concurrently with Intertextile Shanghai Apparel Fabrics – Autumn Edition, Yarn Expo Autumn, PH Value and CHIC at the National Exhibition and Convention Center. Intertextile Shanghai Home Textiles – Autumn Edition is organised by Messe Frankfurt (HK) Ltd; the Sub-Council of Textile Industry, CCPIT; and the China Home Textile Association (CHTA).

EURATEX published their vision on the EU Strategy on Sustainable Textiles, reflecting the views of the European textiles and apparel industry. The goal is to promote a competitive and sustainable industry. to do so, wanting to be a global leader on sustainable textiles, the efficiency of the industry must be increase as well as the global market share.

The enclosed document presents 15 action points on how to achieve these targets.

• Call for Papers and Posters

More than 200 leading international experts in Carbon Capture and Carbon Utilisation (Power-to-X) together with 20 exhibitors are expected to attend the hybrid event on 23–24 March 2022, in Cologne, Germany

Main topics of the conference are strategy & policy in CCU, renewable energy and green hydrogen production, carbon capture technologies, CO₂-based fuels for transport and aviation, CO₂-based building blocks, bulk and fine chemicals as well as advanced CCU technologies.

Carbon Capture and Utilisation (CCU) is one essential pillar for the supply of renewable carbon besides biomass utilisation and recycling. The transition to the direct use of CO₂ as one alternative carbon source is needed as a key element to substitute fossil sources, to fight climate change and to shift towards sustainable and climate-friendly production and consumption. For providing the full benefits of CCU technologies the use of renewable energy is indispensable.

Especially the supply of green hydrogen is crucial for the production of CO2-based fuels for transportation and aviation as well as for bulk and fine chemicals.

The “Conference on CO₂-based Fuels and Chemicals 2022”, 23–24 March 2022, Cologne, Germany. As a hybrid conference it combines a “live” in-person event with a “virtual” online component, www.co2-chemistry.eu.

• Textile Exchange report shows growth of preferred fiber and materials market needs to be accelerated
• With post-pandemic fiber production increasing, the transition to preferred fibers and materials must be a non-negotiable decision, notes Textile Exchange.

According to a new Textile Exchange report, the market share for preferred fiber and materials grew significantly in 2020. The Preferred Fiber and Materials Market Report 2021 outlines the market for plant fibers such as cotton, hemp, and linen; animal fibers and materials such as wool, mohair, cashmere, alpaca, down, silk, and leather; manmade cellulosics (MMCFs) such as viscose, lyocell, modal, acetate, and cupro; as well as synthetics such as polyester, polyamide, and more.

The report is a unique annual publication about global fiber and materials production, availability, and trends, including those associated with improved social and environmental impacts, referred to as ”preferred.” The comprehensive report includes quantitative data, industry updates, trend analysis and inspiring insights into the work of leading companies and organizations as they create material change.

The results show that between 2019 and 2020 the market share of preferred cotton increased from 24 to 30 percent and recycled polyester from 13.7 to 14.7 percent. Preferred cashmere increased from 0.8 to 7 percent of all cashmere produced while Responsible Mohair Standard certified fiber expanded from 0 to 27 percent of all mohair produced worldwide in its first year of existence in 2020. The market share of FSC and/or PEFC certified MMCFs increased to approximately 55-60 percent. While the market share of recycled MMCFs is only 0.4 percent, it is expected to increase significantly in the following years.

Brands’ increased interest in the use of preferred fibers and materials was also demonstrated by 75 percent increase in the total number of facilities (to 30,000) around the world becoming certified to the organization’s portfolio of standards in 2020. However, the report also notes that despite the increase, preferred fibers only represent less than one-fifth of the global fiber market. Less than 0.5 percent of the global fiber market was from pre- and post-consumer recycled textiles.

Indeed, global fiber production has almost doubled in the last 20 years from 58 million tonnes in 2000 to 109 million tonnes in 2020. While it is not yet clear how the pandemic and other factors will impact future development, global fiber production is expected to increase by another 34 percent to 146 million tonnes in 2030 if the industry builds back business as usual. If this growth continues, it will be increasingly difficult for the industry to meet science-based targets for climate and nature.

Textile Exchange aims to be the driving force for urgent climate action, and its Climate+ strategy calling for the textile industry to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 45 percent by 2030 compared to a 2019 baseline in the pre-spinning phase of textile fiber and materials production, while also addressing other impact areas interconnected with climate such as water, biodiversity, and soil health.

The Lenzing Group has been awarded Platinum status in EcoVadis’ CSR rating. The assessment comprehensively covers the four main CSR (Corporate Social Responsibility) practices: the environment, fair working conditions and human rights, as well as ethics and sustainable procurement.

In the previous three years, Lenzing had already received outstanding ratings in all categories, and was awarded Gold status in 2018, 2019 and 2020. “We are very proud to have now achieved the step up to the Platinum level after several Gold ratings in the past few years. At Lenzing, we always think beyond fibres and take responsibility for our children and grandchildren – for whom we do our best in order to constantly improve ourselves. This attitude forms part of our strategic principles and we will continue to work hard to make a sustainable contribution to the environment and to society”, notes Stefan Doboczky, CEO of the Lenzing Group.

The Lenzing Group’s ambitious climate targets form an essential part of its strategy and responsibility to future generations. In 2019, Lenzing became one of the world’s first fiber manufacturers to commit to reducing CO2 emissions per ton of product by 50 percent by 2030, and even becoming climate-neutral by 2050. The Science Based Targets Initiative, a recognised organisation in the area of climate-relevant target-setting, has scientifically validated Lenzing’s climate targets.

This scientific validation also forms one of the essential criteria that EcoVadis highlights in its rating. In addition, the responsible procurement of raw materials – according to social and ecological aspects – was also highlighted as a further core element in the company’s sustainability strategy, as well as support for external environmental initiatives (Sustainable Apparel Coalition, Fashion Industry Charter for Climate Action) and initiatives on labour and human rights issues (Sustainable Apparel Coalition).

Some of the newly added substances are used in consumer products such as cosmetics, scented articles, rubber and textiles. Others are used as solvents, flame retardants or to manufacture plastics products. Most have been added to the Candidate List because they are hazardous to human health as they are toxic for reproduction, carcinogenic, respiratory sensitisers or endocrine disruptors.

Companies must follow their legal obligations and ensure the safe use of these chemicals. They also have to notify ECHA under the Waste Framework Directive if their products contain substances of very high concern. This notification is submitted to ECHA’s SCIP database and the information will later be published on the Agency’s website.

Background
The Candidate List includes substances of very high concern that may have serious effects on our health or the environment. These substances may be placed on the Authorisation List in the future, which means that companies would need to apply for permission to continue using them. The Candidate List has now 219 entries – some of these cover groups of chemicals so the overall number of impacted chemicals is higher.
 
Under the REACH Regulation, companies may have legal obligations when their substance is included – either on its own, in mixtures or in articles – in the Candidate List. Any supplier of articles containing a Candidate List substance above a concentration of 0.1 % weight by weight has to give sufficient information to their customers and consumers to allow safe use.
 
Importers and producers of articles containing a Candidate List substance have six months from the date of its inclusion in the list (8 July 2021) to notify ECHA. Suppliers of substances on the Candidate List (supplied either on their own or in mixtures) have to provide their customers with a safety data sheet.
 
As of 5 January 2021, suppliers of articles on the EU market containing Candidate List substances in a concentration above 0.1% weight by weight must notify these articles to ECHA’s SCIP database. This duty comes from the Waste Framework Directive.
 
More information on these obligations and related tools are available here.

Although affected by the Covid-19 pandemic, ITMA ASIA + CITME, which takes place mid-June in Shanghai, will see a convincing participation of VDMA member companies. 56 exhibitors from Germany will exhibit at this year’s edition of Asia’s major fair for textile machinery. Due to the pandemic and travel restrictions, this is much less than in 2018, when 99 exhibitors from Germany were present. The booked space of German companies has almost halved compared to 2018. Nevertheless, Germany is still the second largest exhibitor nation after China.

At a virtual VDMA press conference early June, these renowned VDMA member companies* presented their highlights for the Asian market:

• Oerlikon Polymer Processing Solutions Division
• Truetzschler Group
• Neuenhauser
• Saurer
• Karl Mayer
• Groz-Beckert
• Herzog
• Lenze
• Mahlo
• Sedo Treepoint
• Thies

Instead of visiting the show personally, the VDMA offers a virtual trip to Asia. The established "Textile Machinery Webtalk" series via the newsroom IndustryArena will focus on ITMA ASIA in the run-up to the fair: VDMA Webtalks meet ITMA ASIA.

*See attached document for more information.

Following the European Commission’s update of the 2020 New Industrial Strategy: ‘’Building a stronger Single Market for Europe’s Recovery’’, the European Social Partners for the Textile, Clothing, Leather, and Footwear (TCLF) sectors came together to call for support via a dedicated strategy.  The Strategy aims to help guide the TCLF industries through the current green and digital transition, while facing tough global competition, stressing the need to safeguard the industries and protect jobs in Europe.

On 25 May, employers’ and workers’ representatives for the European TCLF sectors met with the European Commission to discuss the current challenges facing the TCLF industries and potential EU action to help support the sectors and their workers.  Following discussions on the terrible impact of COVID-19 on the sectors and the need for a strong EU action, the Joint Statement: ‘’The future industrial strategy of the EU Textiles Ecosystem (TCLF sectors)’’ was adopted.

The Joint Statement highlights the need for a dedicated strategy with support at national and EU level to help the TCLF sectors survive following the COVID-19 pandemic, while they continue to face tough, and, sometimes unfair, global competition. The Social Partners of the TCLF industries fully support the EU’s ambitions for a green and digital transition of the sectors, but insist on concrete European measures to help the industries transform while the continues to suffer from an unlevel global playing field.

Specific joint demands include: full engagement with Social Partners in both the recovery and the transition of the industries, support for the EU Pact for Skills for the relevant ecosystem, a revision of the GSP which doesn’t negatively impact the sectors and its workers, support to decarbonise the sectors, careful consideration of the Due Diligence Legislation and quality dialogue with Social Partners ahead of the EU Sustainable Products Initiative and the Consumer Agenda to ensure that all policy gaps are addressed. Special attention must also be given to the forthcoming EU Textiles Strategy which should fully represent the needs of the EU’s entire textiles ecosystem.

A broad coalition of industry organizations and labor unions, representing a broad spectrum of manufacturers and workers who stepped up to make essential personal protective equipment (PPE) throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, sent a letter to Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) and Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) expressing strong support for the inclusion of robust domestic procurement policies for PPE in the U.S. Innovation and Competition Act (USICA) currently being considered by the Senate.

See the coalition’s full letter here.