The textile industry uses lots of water, chemicals and energy. 20% of industrial water pollution comes from textile processing.

Detergents, lubricants and bleaches are used to pretreat fabric. Dyeing uses numerous auxiliary chemicals, and many fabrics are treated with chemicals to provide functional benefits such as water repellency and easy care attributes.

A Textile Guide, released by European NGO Chemsec earlier this year, provides easy-to-follow steps designed to help manufacturers and brands identify hazardous chemicals and start the process of finding safer alternatives. It has a host of information about textile processing and a database of restricted chemicals that provide critical information for brands. Here is how it works.

Find

The first section provides tips to help companies find what chemicals are used in production.

1. The Guide includes an overview of the chemicals used in each step of textile processing from fiber manufacturing to finished fabric.
2. The user is encouraged to collaborate with textile groups and industry associations to share knowledge.
3. Brands should ask their suppliers about chemical management practices including the presence of safety data sheets, adherance to the GHS and the process they follow to meet chemical regulations.

Evaluate

The second section focuses on the evaluation and identification of hazardous chemicals.

1. Chemicals are entered into a database containing 3500 restricted chemicals.
2. The chemical name, CAS number or even functional substance (e.g. flame retardant) can be entered. If the chemical is considered problematic, it will be highlighted as red in the database.
3. Based on the evaluation, hot spots, red chemicals or priorities can be identified.

Act

The final part is to provide actions to help brands move towards safer alternatives.

1. A restricted substance list RSL can be established and incorporated into purchasing agreements.
2. Hazardous chemicals can be substituted with safer alternatives by using an alternatives assessment approach.
3. The Guide points to chemical companies such as Dystar, Archroma and Huntsman that have already established positive lists of chemicals that adhere to brand RSL’s and the ZDHC MRSL.

Why I like the Guide

Simply put, it is very solution oriented. It contains a wealth of information to help brands and manufacturers, both large and small, address hazardous chemicals in products and supply chains. For example.

1. It offers an overview of the textile processing steps with typical chemicals used in each step.
2. It provides safer alternatives to specific production processes. For example, enzymes and peroxide may replace chlorine compounds for bleaching.
3. It provides a list of chemical companies who already formulate with chemicals not present on restricted lists.
4. It is specific to textile processing

Impact to your business

Questions to Consider:

• Does your company sell apparel?
• Do you need help identifying chemicals of concern in your supply chain?

For help with any issue associated with chemicals, contact Amanda Cattermole at (415) 412 8406 or Amanda@cattermoleconsulting.com. We can help you develop powerful solutions to protect your company and brand reputation that result in safer products manufactured in cleaner supply chains.

Tips and Insights contains information to help you make informed chemicals management decisions. Each post highlights a particular topic and includes questions for you to consider .