As from 1 January 2013 the leading clothing retailer Hennes&Mauritz(H&M)will totally turn to a fluorocarbon-free water-repellent product called Bionic-Finish Eco,which they have already been using since 2010 for finishing children's clothing and sportswear.The product,made by the Rudolf Group,contains a mixture of"comb"polymers and highly-branched polymers which are called dendrimers.Since 1995,H&M have been actively working to reduce the use and impact of hazardous chemicals.
Hennes&Mauritz,with more than 76,000 employees in 38 countries,increased their turnover by ca.15%last year.They purchase their goods from 700 suppliers of the textile industry,who are located in more than 20 countries in Europe,the Mediterranean region and Asia.Besides the Inditex group,H&M are the largest textile manufacturer in Europe.
Recently,critical reports on PFTs(perfluorinated surfactants)have been frequently published.PFT is the generic term for all fluoro-organic compounds with a surfactant character.The best known representatives of this group are perfluorooctane sulfonic acid(PFOS)and perfluorooctanoic acid(PFOA).These substances are watched because they are not degraded in the environment and,as far as toxicity is concerned,have not been thoroughly examined yet.
In media discussions about this very complex topic water,oil and soil repellents based on fluorocarbons,by mistake,have been often named as a source of these substances.Perfluorooctane sulfonic acid(PFOS)and perfluorooctanoic acid(PFOA)are not at all used for impregnating textiles,but are found at most in smallest quantities as byproducts when manufacturing fluorine-containing impregnating agents.A majority of PFTs reach nature by way of fire-extinguishing foams,galvanic processes and PTFE-coatings.
The Rudolf Group has made every effort to eliminate these byproducts and has succeeded in developing PFOS and PFOA-free fluorocarbon water repellents with the so-called C6-generation.Despite these efforts,what is decisive for all parts of the textile chain,especially for brand manufacturers,is how public and consumers will in future react to this product optimisation.
The entirely fluorocarbon-free Bionic-Finish Eco will open up new perspectives to the clothing sector.
Rudolf GmbH,manufacturer of textile auxiliaries and specialty chemicals,recently became a bluesign supporter.For the traditional family business the environment-friendly use of chemical auxiliaries is-along with the best client service-top of the list.
Source:
http://www.fibre2fashion.com/news/apparel-news/newsdetails.aspx?news_id=116280
