COPENHAGEN / BOSTON - Biotech start-up Octarine Bio and cell programming platform Ginkgo Bioworks have outlined the latest progress in their partnership aimed at producing natural dyes for the textile industry. First announced in May 2023, the work…
FUKUI - A research team from the University of Fukui in Japan has developed a decolourisation process in which supercritical carbon dioxide effectively penetrates polyester fabrics to remove dyes. Known as supercritical fluid dyeing, the extracted…
BRUSSELS - Environmental campaigners are urging the European Commission to take effective action on chemicals including restrictions on the use of PFAS and revising the REACH regulation. It comes after European Union (EU) environment ministers met…
PRATTELN – Speciality chemical supplier Archroma is claiming a breakthrough with the launch of its new 'NTR Printing System' which it says makes bio-based pigment printing commercially possible for the first time. Bio-based pigment printing is…
NEW YORK - Discarded textiles could be used to create waterproof coatings for new clothes while also reducing the use of PFAS - the so-called 'forever chemicals', new research suggests. The findings from a team of researchers at Cornell University…
GOTHENBURG - Manufacturers which continue to base their production on the large scale application of hazardous chemicals - and ignore more sustainable alternatives - will struggle to remain profitable, according to a new study. Entitled 'A…
CHARLOTTE - Recycling specialist Re-Matters and ‘sustainable’ textile colouration technology firm Colourizd have formed a strategic partnership aimed at promoting circular value streams in the textile industry. The collaboration will see…
WASHINGTON – An inactivated microbial-based pesticide that is degradable, yet shows efficacy similar to conventional synthetic-based treatments, has been honoured by the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). California-based Pro Farm Group – a…
IZMIR - A research team from the Department of Textile Engineering at Ege University in Turkey has been studying the effects of finishing processes on physical properties of knitted fabrics produced using recycled cotton fibres. Following a series…
BRUSSELS – The European Commission has adopted new measures to restrict the use of undecafluorohexanoic acid (PFHxA) and PFHxA‑related substances, which in effect signals the end of the use of 'C6' chemicals used in the textile industry for water…
COPENHAGEN - Safe and sustainable alternatives could reduce the use of PFAS - the so-called 'forever chemicals' - in textiles and enhance reuse and recycling, according to a new report from the European Environment Agency (EEA). EEA, an agency of…
SINGAPORE - Textile chemicals supplier DyStar is claiming significant reductions in its greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions in its latest sustainability report. The company's 'Integrated Sustainability Report for FY2023/24' reports total Scope 1 and…
ITATIBA - Textile chemical company Erca has been named as the first Brazilian company to become a system partner of chemical management specialist Bluesign. Bluesign works with its system partners, which include brands, manufacturers and chemical…
ST GALLEN – Textile chemical management specialist Bluesign has published figures showing the extent to which it partner companies have reduced their environmental impact. The latest collective environmental impact figures cover the period 2019-2023…
LUDWIGSHAFEN - BASF is to switch its production of (meth)acrylate, a key ingredient in the production of acrylic fibres and for chemicals for the textile coating sector, to a bio-based process. The chemical giant said that instead of its traditional…
HÜRTH – A new flagship production facility that makes plant-based building blocks for polyester, polyamides, and a wide range of chemicals such as plasticisers has been completed in The Netherlands. Part of the European Horizons 2020 project, the…
BRUSSELS – Campaigners have renewed calls to clarify REACH chemical regulation after European Commission President-elect Ursula Von der Leyen referenced it as one of her main political priorities.
PRATTELN – Speciality chemical supplier Archroma has been awarded a ‘gold’ rating by global sustainability performance agency EcoVadis, placing it in the top 5% of over 130,000 companies assessed for their corporate social responsibility (CSR).…
CALIFORNIA – A team of US scientists have discovered a species of bacteria that can break down certain PFAS substances that were previously thought to have almost unbreakable chemical structures.And while the identified bacteria are only able to…
STOCKHOLM — Swedish textile dyeing innovator Coloreel, known for its sustainable instant thread dyeing technology, has filed for bankruptcy. The company said it had been unable to scale quickly enough to secure the backing needed from investors and…
ARZIGNANO - Italian testing and certification company Analytical has announced a strategic partnership with GoBlu International, the company behind the BHive digital data management platform. The two companies said they planned to work together to…
BIRMINGHAM – Researchers have suggested for the first time that PFAS (per- and poly-fluoroalkyl substances), dubbed ‘forever’ chemicals, can be absorbed through human skin. The study, titled ‘Dermal bioavailability of perfluoroalkyl substances using…
BRUSSELS – The Dutch government and EU member states France, the Czech Republic, and Ireland recently presented new EU proposals to decarbonise the chemical sector by replacing fossil fuel-derived chemistry with biomass, CO2, and recycled materials.…
ST. GALLEN – Bluesign and the Sustainable Chemistry for the Textile Industry (SCTI) are to donate their jointly developed Sustainable Chemistry Index (SCI) methodology to the ZDHC Foundation – and the wider textile industry – in a move aimed at…
COLUMBIA - A US city is suing more than 40 textile companies and chemical manufacturers which it claims have polluted the municipal water supply with PFAS (per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances). Columbia, the state capital of South Carolina, could…
DHAKA - Water sources in areas of Bangladesh that are close to textile and clothing mills are rife with high levels of PFAS (per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances) ‘forever chemicals’, new research suggests. The report, ‘Persistent Threat: PFAS in…
SEOUL - Toxic substances up to 428 times permitted levels were found in children's shoes, bags and a belt sold by Chinese-owned fast fashion giant Shein, according to officials in the South Korean capital of Seoul. Seven of the eight children's…
MINNEAPOLIS - Claros Technologies, a supplier of PFAS (per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances) ‘forever chemical’ analytical and destruction technologies, has raised $22 million in new funding. The company will use the fresh investment to continue…
TIVERTON – UK technical fabrics supplier Heathcoat Fabrics explains to Ecotextile News how it produced a new range of recycled nylon fabrics dyed with natural dyes, which it calls a ‘ground-breaking development’. Ordinarily, nylon fabrics are dyed…
PRATO – A new study from an Italian-based testing laboratory claims that a routine test for the presence of PFAS in textiles – designed to meet tough new regulation such as California AB 1817 – is badly flawed. The problem is that the ‘untargetted…
AMSTERDAM – The ZDHC Foundation, which works towards the zero discharge of hazardous chemicals, has published its Commodity Chemicals Guide version 1.0 aimed at promoting best practice in textile dyeing and finishing sector. This latest guide from…
CAMBRIDGE – Chemical sector innovator Alchemie Technology has received a £750,000 ($945,000) grant from Innovate UK to help it scale up its low carbon, textile finishing technology in Taiwan. The funds will be put towards its partnership with…
LONDON - UK start-up DyeRecycle, which has developed technology to recycle synthetic dyes from textile waste, has raised more than $1.2 million in pre-seed funding, and $1 million in equity-free match funding from Innovate UK. Founded in 2022,…
Alarm bells are ringing in the European textile recycling and chemical sectors after a recent Brussels event where clear-the-air talks between regulators and industry stakeholders raised the prospect of financial ruin for some – and a missed…
SYDNEY - Australian textile technology startup Xefco has raised AU$10.5 million (US$6.9m) to commercialise production of its patented water-free textile dyeing and finishing solution. The company will use the investment to double its team and scale…
VIENNA – A research team at the Vienna University of Technology (TU Wien) in Austria is exploring the use of filters made from cellulosic waste to remove potentially harmful dyes from textile wastewater. The researchers have used waste materials,…
PRATTELN – Speciality chemical supplier Archroma has launched a new bio-based, PFAS-free durable water repellent (DWR) finish for the sportswear, fashion and home textiles sectors. Phobotex NTR-50 LIQ has been designed to provide high levels of…
ST GALLEN - A team from the Swiss Federal Laboratories for Materials Testing and Research (Empa) has developed a water-repellent coating process for textiles which, the team says, can provide an alternative to the use of fluorine-containing PFAS…
LUDWIGSHAFEN – BASF, which supplies chemicals, thermoplastics, and synthetic textile fibres has for the first time demonstrated an electric steam cracking furnace powered by renewable energy that can be used to make pre-cursors to make polyester and…
ST GALLEN – The Swiss chemical management specialist Bluesign has partnered with Italian chemical firm Soko Chimica, and compatriot denim brand Dondup as it pushes further into the global denim market. Soko, which has a strong focus on chemicals for…
PRATTELN – Speciality chemical supplier Archroma and Cotton Inc. have renewed their eight-year collaboration which includes the production of sulphur dyes produced from textile waste materials. Archroma and the US-based cotton NGO began working…
SAN FRANCISCO – The BHive textile chemical management platform will now incorporate the RSL-listed substances of the textile and footwear industry advisory body the AFIRM Group. The two organisations have signed an agreement that incorporates the…
PRATTELN – Archroma has partnered with ColorDigital to bring the textile chemical specialist’s library of engineered colour standards to the DMIx ‘phygital’ platform, which is designed to connect fashion brands and retailers with a range of…
TALLAHASSEE – Scientists have created a new way to make recyclable plastics through the combination of CO2 and lignin into a low-cost renewable replacement for petroleum-based polymers for a range of products including textiles.The new material is…
AMSTERDAM – Japanese digital print machinery manufacturer Mimaki has launched a textile pigment transfer printing system that is claimed to make significant savings on wastewater. The system, named “Trapis”, will be available commercially later this…
CAMBRIDGE – Chemical sector innovator Alchemie Technology has announced the opening of its first in-market production and demonstration facility in Nantou, Taiwan. Dedicated to working with woven polyester fabrics, the facility will be used to…
PRATTELN – Dutch fashion brand G-Star Raw has joined speciality chemical supplier Archroma and Chinese garment supplier Advance Denim in a joint commitment to the production of ‘aniline-free’ denim. In other words, denim dyed with indigo where any…
CAMBRIDGE - Sparxell, the UK-based developer of high-performance, sustainable plant-based pigments for the textile dyeing sector, has completed a $3.2 million funding round. Consisting of a mixture of seed investments, grants and awards, the funding…
ALBUQUERQUE – US textile treatment specialist Green Theme Technologies (GTT) is expanding its water and PFAS-free finishing platform into the key South Korean market after striking a deal with functional textile manufacturer, Hwasung International.…
ADELAIDE – A research team at Australia’s Flinders University claims to have discovered a new way to break down and remove potentially hazardous textile dyes in wastewater. A wide range of chemical industries, including textiles, dye manufacture and…
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