Textile chemistry

2014-10-01

Working together for sustainable coated textiles

Waterborne polyurethane raw materials evaluated and certified

Bayer MaterialScience and bluesign technologies are joining forces for a sustainable textile industry and want to advance their initiative globally. The two companies have agreed to enter into a strategic alliance for this purpose. The objective is to ensure safe production processes and working conditions along the entire value chain.

Bluesign technologies is a global leader in evaluating the use of chemicals in the textile industry. The bluesign® system defines criteria for chemicals use, including the responsible use of resources, effective hazardous materials management and the elimination of all dangerous substances.

Bayer MaterialScience recently set a milestone in innovative and sustainable textile coating with the introduction of INSQIN®, an integrated and complete package for the textile industry based on waterborne polyurethane technology. The package encompasses all aspects of materials development, right through to production by certified manufacturers. This approach redefines the idea of collaboration within the value chain.

Years of commitment to sustainability

“Bayer MaterialScience has been supporting its customers for a long time now in achieving goals of both innovation and sustainability,” explains Nicholas Smith, global head of Textile Coating at Bayer MaterialScience. “With our waterborne, totally solvent-free polyurethane raw materials, users currently can greatly improve industrial hygiene, cut energy consumption by 50 percent, and water use by as much as 95 percent.”

The new partnership with bluesign technologies fits in perfectly with Bayer MaterialScience's comprehensive sustainability concept, which aims to improve people's lives while at the same time conserving resources and minimizing the impact on mankind and the environment.

bluesign® database provides information on Bayer products

The company has had the waterborne polyurethane dispersions in its Impranil® line tested and certified under the bluesign® system. Textile manufacturers in search of chemicals with bluesign® certification can now find information on these products in the bluefinder database, that currently has data on some 5,000 chemicals used in the industry.

Pic: Nick Smith, Global Head of Textile Coatings

“We are very pleased to welcome a worldwide leading raw materials supplier like Bayer MaterialScience as a bluesign® systems partner,” says its initiator and CEO Peter Waeber. “The company increases the range of certified substances that customers in the textile industry can use to achieve production operations that are compatible with both people and the environment. Bayer also supports our goal of further establishing the bluesign® system as a global standard for a sustainable textile industry with the best possible consumer protection.”

The bluesign® system gives consideration to substance lists with restricted use and advises manufacturers on how to minimize hazards to people and the environment. By jointly using the system, participants can cut costs along the processing chain and meet new market demands more quickly. The “bluesign® approved” label is accepted by both brand owners and major wholesalers.