SUSTAINABILITY AND ECO-FRIENDLY TEXTILES - DEVELOPMENTS THAT WILL DEFINE THE NEXT DECADE FOR THE TEXTILE AND PRINTING INDUSTRY
“2020 was undoubtedly a year of stellar progress - as the pace quickens - we can all look forward to 2021, when new discoveries will be made, and where self-regulation will grow to meet consumer demand. But there can be no doubt that the Textile and Print Industry will continue on its unstoppable path to a Sustainable and Eco-Conscious future.”
In spite of the pandemic, or perhaps even accelerated by the pandemic? (we go with the later) issues of sustainability have continued to dominate the psyche of the consumer.
As the collective mindset has developed further, encouraged by the universal challenge of the Covid-19 virus, increased importance has been attached to sustainable fabrics, how they are made, what innovations have occurred and what new regulation has arisen to monitor this progress. Navigating the sustainable textile landscape currently is no easy task.
In 2020 we have witnessed heightened activity in the development and launch of sustainable fabrics as the marketplace accelerates to meet the requirements of the consumer and increasingly - the inevitable reality - of the eventual application of legislation across the globe. Much of this activity has been seen at the product level, material science and at a technical level, but increasingly pressure mounts for industry change from numerous NGO pressure groups.
As we look forward to 2021 the enormous strides made by textiles on the sustainability agenda in 2020 have created an impetus for change that cannot be ignored.
As the groundswell of public opinion has shifted irreversibly to embrace sustainability and all its aspects, so, the Textile Industry has risen to meet the challenge and doubled down on the many challenges that face it.
2020 was undoubtedly a year of stellar progress - as the pace quickens - we can all look forward to 2021, when new discoveries will be made, and where self-regulation will grow to meet consumer demand. But there can be no doubt that the Textile and Print Industry will continue on its unstoppable path to a Sustainable and Eco-Consciousness future.
Looking back as we move forward into the next decade and perhaps the decade of historic change within the Textile Industry - we recognise, and round up, some of the significant innovations, new product launches and campaigns by NGO’s of the last year as detailed below.
Product Review
Eastman Naia™ And Dupont Biomaterials Collaborate To Launch New Sustainable Fabric Collection: To meet a growing demand for sustainable fashion options, Eastman and DuPont Biomaterials announced the launch of a fabric collection made with sustainable, biobased materials. The collaboration blends Naia™ from Eastman and DuPont™ Sorona® fibers to create garments with exceptional stretch and recovery, luxurious drape and a smooth, soft hand feel. <<Learn More >>
Duvaltex Launches Its New CLEAN IMPACT TEXTILES™ The Industry's First Recycled Biodegradable Textiles for Commercial Interiors. This not only represents the first Recycled Biodegradable Polyester textile for commercial interiors, but also a major step forward in establishing an advanced bi-circular economy model for textiles whereby polyester fabric, at the end of its useful life, can flow through either a biological or technical cycle. This innovative technology allows Duvaltex to create high performance fabrics that are long-wearing in commercial interiors, but that can biodegrade in landfills and wastewater conditions at a rate similar to that of natural fibers (tested under ASTM D5511). This is achieved through the addition of a biocatalyst in the yarn extrusion process that enables anaerobic digestion in landfill and wastewater treatment conditions.<<Learn More >>
Hyosung and Lenzing Collaborate To Launch New Sustainable “Home Everywhere” Collection: Nowadays, more consumers look for comfortable, versatile, and sustainable apparel that can be worn for multiple occasions and last longer. Riding on this trend, global fiber producers, Lenzing and Hyosung, have teamed up to develop a Home Everywhere collection of performance fabrics that feature their renowned fibers and yarns to offer consumers comfortable, sustainable and attractive loungewear and activewear. <<Learn More >>
Premier Digital Textiles Announce Their Environmentally Certified Textile Collection: In tune with industry trends and demands, and in partnership with their longstanding connections amongst the world’s most prestigious mills, the textile specialists and fabric technologists within the Premier Digital team have created a substantial offering of fabric print bases that offer the manufacturer viable, sustainable alternatives to the world’s most popular woven and knitted textiles. Certification is paramount, and as we move into an era of transparency within the global supply chain, sourcing confidence is essential. Premier Digital Textiles have worked tirelessly to provide accurate certification, and importantly, a collection with the provenance that the consumer now demands. <<Learn More >>
Recycled and Sustainably Sourced Materials Take Centre Stage in The New H&M Dress Collection: The majority of pieces in the collection has been made entirely from recycled or sustainable sourced material, such as organic cotton, Tencel™ or recycled polyester and pieces in blends are made from at least 50 percent sustainable sourced materials. <<Learn More >>
Teijin Frontier's New High-Stretch SOLOTEX® ECO-Hybrid Fiber—Made with Plant Derived and Recycled Materials SOLOTEX® ECO-Hybrid represents a new line in Teijin Frontier's polytrimethylene terephthalate (PTT) fiber SOLOTEX® family. SOLOTEX® ECO-Hybrid filament yarn and textile will be introduced as a featured product for 2020 autumn/winter fashion apparel, offering many possibilities for enhanced sportwear, uniforms and more. <<Learn More >>
Esprit Selects Earthcolors® By Archroma For Its Newest “I am Sustainable” Capsule Collection: Esprit creates laid-back, high-quality essentials that reflect its core values of sustainability, equality and freedom of choice. The brand developed its first eco-conscious collection made of 100% organic cotton, back in the early 90’s. <<Learn More >>
Spinnova—Bergans’ Circular & Reusable “Collection of Tomorrow” Awarded Sustainability Achievement of 2020 By ISPO. Spinnova and Bergans of Norway have been awarded Sustainability Achievement of the Year 2020 for their Collection of Tomorrow by ISPO, the world’s largest trade fair for sporting goods and sportswear, as well as the by the Scandinavian Outdoor Award jury. The award-winning Spinnova-Bergans collaboration called Collection of Tomorrow is a fully circular, subscription-based takeback and reuse concept that’s revolutionary in the apparel industry. <<Learn More >>
Toppan Of Tokyo Launch Sales Of Game-Changing Recyclable Event Banners: Joint development with Dow enables material recycling and reduction of landfill waste. Toppan Printing , a global leader in communication, security, packaging, décor materials, and electronics solutions, has today launched sales of “ecocracy,” a recyclable fabric for banners and signage developed by combining Toppan’s processing technologies with Dow’s plastics expertise.
Ecocracy adds to Toppan’s line up of increasingly eco-friendly solutions for a sustainable society by enabling banners and signage recovered after events have concluded to be re-pelletized as a recycled resin, which can then be blended with timber from wood waste to produce wood-plastic composite materials for such items as benches, floors, and plant pots. <<Learn More >>
Technical Review
Huntsman's ERIOPON® E3-SAVE Advances Sustainable Polyester Production Saving 130 Million Liters Of Water in One Year: As global interest in sustainable textile production continues to soar, mills that have adopted Huntsman Textile Effects’ all-in-one ERIOPON® E3-SAVE textile auxiliary for polyester processing, which launched one year ago, have collectively saved more than 130 million litres of water. <<Learn More >>
Siegwerk’s UV/LED De-Inking Technology Receives APR Recognition For Improving The Recyclability Of PET Bottles: With its AQUANTUM Alkali Strippable Primer and SICURA UV/LED ink technology Siegwerk sets a new standard for the recycling of PET bottles: It significantly facilitates the deinking of UV/LED-printed PET shrink sleeves further improving the quality of recycled PET bottles according to the Association of Plastic Recyclers (APR).The technology has been accredited as the first UV/LED solution of its kind by the Association of Plastic Recyclers (APR), the national trade association of the US plastics recycling industry, that meets its guidelines for the quality improvement of recycled PET bottles. <<Learn More >>
Dupont Adds Ligasep™ Degasification to Water Treatment Solutions Through Exclusive Partnership With Sun Chemical And DIC Corporation: To better serve its diverse global customers, DuPont Water Solutions has entered into an exclusive global partnership with Sun Chemical and its parent company, the DIC Corporation, to bring membrane degasification modules to market. The degasification of liquids is becoming increasingly critical to several water treatment processes, including industrial demineralization, oil and gas production, microelectronics manufacturing, textile and pharmaceutical production, and drinking water treatment. The membrane degassing modules —branded Ligasep™— are now part of DuPont’s leading portfolio of water purification and separation technologies, including ultrafiltration, reverse osmosis and ion exchange resins. <<Learn More >>
Sustainable Greentex Print Sytem Trademarked By Standfast & Barracks: Standfast & Barracks has now trademarked its innovative direct-to-fabric Greentex pigment printed collection, Ecofast™, which is sustainable and has highest lightfastness in its class. <<Learn More >>
Jeanologia’s Eco-Efficient Technologies Reshape The Denim Industry Innovations in textile finishing improve the denim manufacturing process by reducing water consumption and environmental impact. The Jeanologia laser, G2 ozone and e-flow system offer design possibilities and garment finishes, while saving water, energy and chemicals, and eliminating waste and toxic emissions. <<Learn More >>
Tejidos Royo Waterless Denim Dyeing Process Adopted By Gap And Wrangler Aware of the need for change in the textile industry, TEJIDOS ROYO, in collaboration with Gaston Systems Inc. and Indigo Mill Designs (IMD) has managed to modify the process of conventional indigo dyeing, creating a unique dyeing process capable of dyeing without water , minimizing significantly its environmental impact and obtaining a unique color in the market. <<Learn More >>
NGO/Pressure Group Review
Green Deal—EU Commission Adopts New Chemicals Strategy Towards A Toxic-Free Environment: The European Commission adopted the EU Chemicals Strategy for Sustainability. The Strategy is the first step towards a zero-pollution ambition for a toxic-free environment announced in the European Green Deal. The Strategy will boost innovation for safe and sustainable chemicals and increase protection of human health and the environment against hazardous chemicals. This includes prohibiting the use of the most harmful chemicals in consumer products such as toys, childcare articles, cosmetics, detergents, food contact materials and textiles, unless proven essential for society, and ensuring that all chemicals are used more safely and sustainably. <<Learn More >>
Leading International Chemical Companies Unite To Accelerate Sustainability For The Textile Industry: Seven of the world’s leading chemical companies have come together to launch Sustainable Chemistry for the Textile Industry (SCTI). With a commitment to collaboration, innovation and transformational change, the new alliance aims to lead the textile and leather industries towards a more sustainable future. . <<Learn More >>
Fashion's Crucial Role In Biodiversity Loss As UN Officials Call For Action To Preserve The Natural World : During the United Nations 75th General Assembly streaming dialogues and interviews focused on the power of science, solutions and solidarity to transform our world, UN officials working to preserve the natural world are also urging “action now” ahead of the crucial biodiversity summit where world leaders are expected to declare their countries’ commitments to nature and a post-2020 biodiversity framework. <<Learn More >>
Leading NGO’s Unite As The Fashion Conveners To Accelerate Sustainable Transformation Of The Apparel And Accessory Industry: Apparel Impact Institute (Aii), Fashion for Good (FFG), Global Fashion Agenda (GFA), Fashion Makes Change (FMC), Responsible Business Coalition at Fordham University (RBC), Sustainable Apparel Coalition (SAC), Textile Exchange, Fashion Industry Charter for Climate Action, and ZDHC announce a new collaboration. The industry’s leading subject matter experts have united as the Fashion Conveners. Spurred by the vulnerabilities the global pandemic brought forward, the group recognises the urgency to accelerate the transformational changes needed to reduce the environmental and social impacts across fashion. The Fashion Conveners will function as a global coalition, working individually and collectively to accelerate action through high-level partnerships, developing strategies and initiatives across the various sub-sectors of industry. <<Learn More >>
The Global Fashion Agenda & Mckinsey Report Says That The Fashion Industry Will Produce Double The Paris Agreement Emission Levels By 2030 A report from Global Fashion Agenda, working with Mckinsey says that if the fashion industry does not accelerate its response to climate change, it will by 2030 produce around twice the volume of emissions required to align with Paris Agreement global warming pathways. From rising sea levels, to extreme rainfall and more powerful heatwaves, the consequences of climate change can no longer be ignored, either by society or the fashion industry, which will see many impacts on its operations in the years ahead. Contributing nearly 3% of the global GDP, fashion’s long-term success is wholly dependent on a healthy planet and people, the security of natural resources, and the safety, health, and prosperity of its workforce and their communities.<<Learn More >>
World Wildife Fund And Google Partner On Fashion Sustainability Platform: A brand new data-enriched, decision-making platform will help drive responsible sourcing decisions in the fashion industry. Google today announced a partnership with WWF Sweden to help create an environmental data platform that will enable more responsible sourcing decisions in the fashion industry. This collaboration will bring together projects from each organisation, drawing on the unique strengths of both. Now more than ever, the fashion industry is answering the call to sustainability. <<Learn More >>
Amazon Launches Its ‘Climate Pledge Friendly’ Labelling Scheme As It Ramps Up Its Sustainability Agenda: The company has labelled more than 25,000 of its products as "Climate Pledge Friendly," indicating that each of those products align with Amazon's "Climate Pledge," a commitment to having a net-zero carbon footprint by 2040, 10 years ahead of the Paris Agreement. <<Learn More >>
Messe Frankfurt And The U.N. To Work Together Promoting Sustainability In The Textile Industry: 100 guests from the press, business, politics and associations met at the headquarters of the United Nations to learn how the Texpertise Network of Messe Frankfurt, the Conscious Fashion Campaign and the United Nations Office for Partnerships (UNOP) plan to collaborate in furthering the implementation of their Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) in the fashion and textile industry. <<Learn More >>
