#Chemical industry

2025-10-28

Archroma demonstrates sustainable performance without compromise at Performance Days 2025

Archroma, a global leader in specialty chemicals towards sustainable solutions, will showcase innovations that deliver sustainable performance for functional fabrics without compromise at PERFORMANCE DAYS 2025 in Munich this month.

The company's team of specialists will present breakthrough dyes and finishes that prove brands don’t need to choose between high-performance textiles and environmental responsibility, featuring solutions for sportswear, athleisure and workwear applications where durability, comfort and sustainability are equally critical.

"It is no longer true that you need to sacrifice high performance for sustainability," said Dhirendra Gautam, Vice President, Commercial, Archroma. "Whether it's colors that stay vibrant wash after wash, or softness that lasts without sacrificing absorbency, we're showing that brands can deliver the performance consumers demand while advancing their environmental commitments. This is especially critical for functional fabrics where performance is non-negotiable."

HIGH IQ® LASTINGCOLOR PRO: Durability Meets Sustainability

At Performance Days, Archroma will feature its HIGH IQ® LASTINGCOLOR PRO series, including LASTINGCOLOR PRO and LASTINGBLACK PRO, reinforcing the company's commitment to colors that perform without compromise.

The HIGH IQ® performance assurance program ensures that fabrics deliver sustainable performance for garments that stay looking new, wash after wash, with bright shades that retain their intensity and dark shades that stay dark. Powered by specially selected AVITERA® SE reactive dyes, the program helps mills and brands achieve superior color retention while reducing their environmental footprint by using up to 50% less water and energy in processing. For functional fabric applications where color durability is essential, from high-visibility workwear to activewear that must maintain its aesthetic appeal, the HIGH IQ® LASTINGCOLOR PRO retains their colors up to 50 repeated washes, and delivers performance, protection and comfort while meeting the textile industry's strict environmental regulations.

SILIGEN® D2W LIQ C: Solving the Softness-Absorbency Compromise

Performance Days will also give industry professionals a first chance to experience SILIGEN® D2W LIQ C, the industry's first truly durable silicone softener for cellulosic and cotton-lycra blended knits that maintains both luxurious softness and natural absorbency over extended use.

Historically, manufacturers had to choose between a durable softener that compromised the fiber's natural absorbency or a softener that preserved moisture-holding properties but quickly washed away. SILIGEN® D2W LIQ C eliminates this trade-off through Archroma's patent-pending micro-x chemistry, which creates a cross-linkable microemulsion that forms a stable silicone network within cellulosic fibers. This breakthrough ensures uniform softener distribution and locks in softness over time while maintaining wash resistance—ideal for functional textile applications where both comfort and moisture management are critical.

The innovation also represents a first in objective handfeel measurement, enabling mills and brands to quantify and communicate softness durability with unprecedented transparency.

Complete Portfolio for Functional Performance

Drawing on Archroma’s extensive portfolio, the team will also highlight PHOBOTEX® NTR-50 liq, a bio-based durable water repellent that is non-PFAS (per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances) and non-formaldehyde, as well as 50% renewable carbon content (based on ASTM D6866). PHOBOTEX® NTR-50 provides excellent water repellence on all kinds of fibers and also achieves a soft handle that makes fabrics more comfortable to wear. This makes it ideal for sports apparel and outdoor wear.

Rounding out the Archroma’s Performance Days showcase, the company will present EarthColors® technology, which creates colors from agricultural waste such as nutshells and cotton plant residues; and AVITERA® GENERATION NEXT, the latest extension to the revolutionary AVITERA® platform, bringing economical sustainability to dark shades, including black, navy and red.

Meet the Archroma Team at PERFORMANCE DAYS 2025

A leading trade fair with a tight focus on functional fabrics and sustainable textile innovations, PERFORMANCE DAYS is held twice a year to support seasonal sourcing. More than 3,000 specialist visitors, including designers, product managers and purchasing professionals, are expected to attend the October 2025 edition in Munich, alongside online attendees from around the world.

Visit Archroma in Munich at Booth H33 in Hall A1, Messe München for PERFORMANCE DAYS 2025 from October 29-30, 2025.

Archroma brings high-impact textile innovations to Colombiatex 2026

Archroma, a global leader in specialty chemicals towards sustainable solutions, is proud to announce its participation in Colombiatex 2026, one of the most influential textile and apparel industry events in the Americas. The event will take place in Medellín, Colombia, from January 27 to 29, where Archroma will welcome visitors at Booth PC006.

Archroma and HeiQ partner to bring revolutionary antimicrobial and odor-control solutions to textile industry

Archroma, a global leader in specialty chemicals towards sustainable solutions, and HeiQ, a Swiss deeptech materials innovator active in functional textiles and sustainable fibers, have entered into a co-marketing agreement that combines their complementary strengths to deliver advanced, planet-conscious anti-odor and antimicrobial technologies to brands, retailers, and textile mills worldwide.

How innovations drive BASF’s success

“Innovation has always been part of BASF’s DNA. Especially in these volatile times, it is crucial to leverage our innovative strength to develop competitive solutions that differentiate us as a company in our markets and give us a competitive edge,” said Dr. Stephan Kothrade, Member of the Board of Executive Directors of BASF and Chief Technology Officer, at the company’s Research Press Briefing held today. To achieve this, BASF implemented its “Winning Ways” strategy about a year ago with the clear goal of becoming the preferred chemical company to enable its customers’ green transformation.

Archroma wins 2025 ITMF Sustainability & Innovation Award for distressed denim breakthrough

Archroma, a global leader in specialty chemicals, has won the International Textile Manufacturers Federation (ITMF) 2025 Sustainability & Innovation Award for DENIM HALO, a revolutionary denim pretreatment and dyeing process. It gives brands and mills a simple way to produce highly sought-after distressed denim looks with a significantly reduced environmental footprint and cleaner chemistries.

Covestro showcases raw material solutions for a more sustainable, more productive textile industry

Covestro, a leading polymer manufacturer, is exhibiting a wide range of innovative material solutions for the textile industry at Techtextil 2024 in Frankfurt. Four different teams of experts are attending the show, with each presenting a selection of highlights from Covestro’s portfolio that can help textile manufacturers improve the productivity and sustainability of their operations and products.

MUNICH FABRIC START: Between Attitude and Sensuality

The future begins where we reimagine it. After seasons of restraint, Spring.Summer 27 marks a conscious counter-trend: optimism, sensuality, and creative freedom are replacing pragmatism and neutrality. Physical presence and individuality are regaining importance – as a response to uncertainty, exhaustion, and algorithmic predictability. The overarching theme of PLEASURE stands for fashion as an emotional space, as an expression of attitude and cultural reflection. Colours, surfaces, and materials become vehicles for self-confidence and joie de vivre.

organIQ seek: smart alternative to potassium permanganate

CHT Group announces new technical findings within its organIQ seek platform that significantly advance the transition toward permanganate-free denim bleaching. Through extensive industrial testing and application research, CHT confirms that organIQ seek can now be used with remarkable effectiveness as a substitute for potassium permanganate in spray bleach, while remaining aligned with sustainability expectations and cost realities in the European market. At the COLOMBIATEX in Medellín as well as at the Exintex in Puebla and the Kingpins Show in Amsterdam the CHT Group will present organIQ seek as an alternative to potassium permanganate.

PERFORMANCE DAYS: Focus topic shifts to the beginning of the value chain

Following the last Focus Topic in October 2025, which placed Textile-to-Textile Recycling at its core, PERFORMANCE DAYS continues to drive the conversation around circularity – this time with an expanded and more upstream perspective. The upcoming Focus Topic, “Textile to Textile: The Role of Collectors and Sorters,” presented during the spring edition on March 18–19, will spotlight one of the most essential yet often overlooked components of a functioning circular textile system: the efficient collection and sorting of post-consumer textiles.

Proven performance, optimised costs – the new RE 6 EL

Nowadays textile companies increasingly need to produce small production runs and respond to market changes with instantaneous pattern changes in order to operate profitably – meaning they require machines that offer maximum flexibility, reliability and cost efficiency. KARL MAYER understands the challenges of the market and is launching its new RE 6 EL. The Raschel machine offers the core strengths of the classic RSE 6 EL and essentially the same performance parameters, but has been further cost-optimised largely due to local production advantages. This makes the newcomer an efficiency champion in production, especially when it comes to frequent pattern changes.