In light of the recent Chicago Tribune series, “Playing with Fire” about the deceptive campaigns waged by manufacturers of flame retardants, it seems that with each call we get, we end up talking about flame retardants. We think that’s skewed, because flame retardants, though certainly something we wouldn’t want to live with, are not the only monsters in the …
We love being outdoors. I’ve been told that the most popular outdoor activity in the U.S.A is picnicking. I would think barbeque must be a close second. So we love fabrics that we can use outdoors – you know the ones that resist fading, are stain resistant and can be cleaned with mild soap and water? They …
Design decisions influence our health. Our children start life with umbilical cords infused with chemicals that affect the essence of human life itself – the ability to learn, reason and reproduce. Google’s project coordinator for real estate, Anthony Ravitz, said that Google is trying to use safe building materials because: By focusing on the “health …
The idea of digital printing on textiles has been around for some time. Carpet inkjet printing machines have beenused since the early 1970s. Digital ink jet printing of continuous rolls of textile fabrics was shown at ITMA in 1995. Again at ITMA in 2003, several industrial inkjet printers were introduced to the marketplace which made digital …
Given the large size of the printing industry, and the extraordinary volume of chemicals it consumes, it is not surprising that it also generates a significant amount of pollution. Gaseous emissions have been identified as the second greatest pollution problem (after effluent quality) for the textile industry – and these are largely generated in printing. Speculation …
Yes, we’re still talking about the printing process! As I warned you, it’s complicated. For the past two weeks we’ve concentrated on the first two steps of the basic 5 steps in printing a fabric, which are: 1. Preparation of the print paste. 2. Printing the fabric. 3. Drying the printed fabric. 4. Fixation of …
It is well known that the “finishing” of a fabric is where a great deal of the environmental impact occurs – it uses the most water, chemicals and energy. “Finishing” includes not only the application of treatments to make fabric perform in a certain way (i.e., to be free of something, such as static, wrinkles, …
Last week we reviewed the ways enzymes are helping to give textile processes a lighter footprint while at the same time producing better finished goods – at a lower cost. Seems to be a win/win situation, until you begin to unpeel the onion: It begins with the production of the enzyme: Enzymes have always been …
Humankind has used enzymes for thousands of years to carry out important chemical reactions for making products such as cheese, beer, and wine. Bread and yogurt also owe their flavor and texture to a range of enzyme producing organisms that were domesticated many years ago. In the textile industry, one of the first areas which …
I just read an article about “green marketing” and how the manufacturer should downplay the green aspects of a product because “very few Americans have ever bought stuff because they want to save the planet.”[1] And I agree that most people just want their stuff, not a sermon. But when I hear something along the …
OEcotextiles 