36 Eco-standards for dyeing and furnishing

K Kalaiarasi

Introduction

• For the last few decades awareness on sustainable development and green textiles has taken place and development is planned to reverse the natural resource destruction and conserve a healthy environment.
• Ecological considerations are becoming important factors in the marketing of consumer goods including textiles all over the world. Exports of textile goods must therefore be in a position to adopt their goods and processing techniques to comply with new environmental regulations being introduced in their target/niche markets

Ecology in textiles

• Production ecologyconsiderations on the environment during the production of goods
• Human ecologyconsiderations on the human during usage of the product
• Disposal ecologyconsiderations on the degradation or reuse of the product

ECOSTANDARDS

Eco-standards are norms that are formulated to address towards solving or dealing with environmental problems (economic and social aspects incorporated as well)

The norms are developed on analysing the product’s entire life cycle (cradle to grave approach) ie., from extraction of raw material to disposal after use

Eco labels

• Eco labelling is a voluntary scheme, which can be chosen to label the product by the producers, importers and retailers.
• Eco labels are an official symbol that shows that a product has been designed to do less harm to the environment than similar products.Different Eco-labels

Textile wet processing industry is mainly assessed by OekoTex standards 100

OEKO-TEX is a worldwide consistent, independent testing and certification system for raw, semi-finished, and finished textile products at all processing levels, as well as accessory materials used. Examples of articles that can be certified: raw and dyed/finished yarns, woven and knitted fabrics, accessories, such as buttons, zip fasteners, sewing threads or labels, ready-made articles of various types (garments of all types, domestic and household textiles, bed linen, terry products and much more).

Criteria

On the basis of its comprehensive and strict catalogue of measures, with several hundred regulated individual substances, the STANDARD 100 by OEKO-TEX® takes account of:

Important legal regulations, such as banned Azo colourants, formaldehyde, pentachlorophenol, cadmium, nickel, etc.

Numerous harmful chemicals, even if they are not yet legally regulated. Requirements of Annexes XVII and XIV of the European Chemicals Regulation REACh as well as of the ECHA SVHC Candidate List insofar as they are assessed by expert groups of the OEKO-TEX® Association to be relevant for fabrics, textiles, garments or accessories. Discussions and developments that are considered to be relevant are taken into account as quickly and effectively as possible through updates to the STANDARD 100 by OEKO-TEX® requirements.

Requirements from the US Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act (CPSIA) regarding lead. Numerous also environmentally relevant substance classes

Laboratory tests and product classes

The OEKO-TEX tests for harmful substances are fundamentally based on the respective purpose of the textiles and materials. The more intensive the skin contact of a product and the more sensitive the skin, the stricter the human-ecological requirements that need to be complied with.

Accordingly, a distinction is made between four product classes:

Product class I:

Articles for babies and toddlers up to 3 years of age (underwear, rompers, clothing, bed linen, terry products etc.)

Product – class II:

Articles that are worn close to the skin (underwear, bed linen, t-shirts, socks etc.)

Product class III:

Articles used away from the skin (jackets, coats etc.)

Product class IV:

Decoration/Furnishing materials (curtains, tablecloths, upholstery covers etc.) Product related eco standards

• To specify textile products with more than 0.5% formaldehyde
• Total prohibition on use of Pentachlorophenol(PCP)Halogenic carriers Chlorine Bleaching  Carbon tetrachloride – stain removers 1,2 Dichloro ethane – solvent, stain remover Pentachlorobiphenyl – plasticiser, carrier , fire retardant 1,1,1 trichloroethane – solvent
• To be phased out Chlorinated paraffins Dibutyl phthalate Nonyl phenol ethoxylates Octochloro-styrene etc
• Heavy metals and pesticides Limits are prescribed for Arsenic (As) , Lead(Pb), Cadmium (Cd), Mercury (Hg), Copper, Nickel, Chromium III, Cobalt, Zinc

• Azo dyes Some azo dyes release specific amines as a result of reduction of cleavage bonds. Four aromatic amines are definitely known carcinogens 2-naphylamine

• Benzidine
• 4-aminodiphenyl
• 4-chloro-o-toulidine
• 20 such amine releasing azo dyes are banned

Toxic and harmful substances used in textile processing

Eco test standards for furnishing

Interior textiles such as net curtains, curtains, decorative textiles, textile furniture coverings and table linen significantly contribute to a feel-good atmosphere in modern homes. There is (almost) no limit to the variety of these products. Whether materials, colours or patterns – a range of different collections is always available in the shops. The required functionalities vary from product to product: Curtains and window decorations feature excellent light fastness and keep their brilliant colours for years, upholstery coverings are made of durable materials for long product life, table linen captivates with colours and patterns as well as functionality such as washable coatings.

Sustainable” or “environmentally-safe” or “eco-friendly” furnishings are made and distributed in ways that protect our planet. SFC members take immediate steps to minimize carbon emissions, waste stream pollutants, un-recyclable content and primary materials from unsustainable sources from any product platform under their control.

Sustainable Furnishing CouncilThe goals of sustainable furnishing council is to

• To raise awareness of the sustainability issue
• To assist companies in adopting good practices To serve as an information clearinghouse
• To provide a symbol of assurance for consumers

Sustainability assessment standards for furnishing also provide a means to track incremental changes to the products’ sustainability profile. These standards are intended to provide a consistent framework in which to compare and assess the sustainable nature of different products that perform similar functions.

Trends in the criteria of sustainability assessment standards include:

Multi-attribute assessment of the product/product category of interest Life-cycle based consideration of the product/product category of interest Science-based, verifiable criteria Assessment of corporate governance and social responsibility indicator reporting Product performance assessment as baseline criteria Consideration of relevant international criteria, or is adaptable to international markets Most sustainability assessment standards have been designed, in part, to satisfy the following criteria: Product design, encouraging manufacturers to integrate environmental and life-cycle thinking into the product(s) design process. Product  manufacturing,  encouraging  manufacturers  to  quantify the  environmental

impacts from their manufacturing, and then act to reduce or remove those impacts. Long-term value, encouraging manufacturers to maximize product(s) longevity.

End of life management, ensuring that existing and new resilient flooring products can be collected, processed, recycled, and/or composted within the existing materials recycling infrastructure.

Corporate governance, encouraging corporate social responsibility in the forms of providing a desirable workplace, being involved in the local community, and demonstrating financial health.

Innovation, to give manufacturers the opportunity to be awarded points for exceptional performance above the requirements set forth in the standard.

Eco3 Home

Eco3Home is a label for home furnishings in the USA. Products are manufactured by companies that commit to all three initiatives (health, safety, and environment) to achieve the label. This means they are working to incorporate eco-friendly business practices into:

1.   Core manufacturing operations

2.   Global operations

3.   Product design and development

Furniture and furnishing (Fire safety regulations) – U.K

The Furniture and Furnishings (Fire Safety) Regulations 1988 (amended 1989 and 1993) are UK law and are designed to ensure that upholstery components and composites used for furniture supplied in the UK meet specified ignition resistance levels and are suitable labelled. There are six main elements contained within the Regulations:

1.Filling materials must meet specified ignition requirements

2.Upholstery composites must be cigarette resistant

3.Covers must be match resistant (with certain exceptions as outlined in Section 8.2 and Appendix A5)

4. A permanent label must be fitted to every item of new furniture (with the exception of mattressesand bed-bases)

5.A display label must be fitted to every item of new furniture at the point of sale (with the exception of mattresses, bed-bases, pillows, scatter cushions, seat pads, loose covers sold separately from the furniture and stretch covers)

6.The first supplier of domestic upholstered furniture in the UK must maintain records for five years to prove compliance. The requirements regarding testing and labelling of items are detailed in Schedules 1-7 of the Regulations. Schedules 1-5 provide detailed information regarding the testing requirements for foam and non-foam fillings, composites, interliner’s and covers. Schedules 6-7 provide detailed information regarding the display and permanent labelling of the final item.

Soft home furnishing testing includes fibre identification, feather and down testing, flammability testing in addition to colour fastness, dimensional stability, appearance retention.

Eco – auditing

Eco-auditing is a systematic, documented, periodic and objective review of the facility, operation, practices and products related to meeting environment requirements.

It is an assessment of a textile unit to their conformance with norms

Two categories of eco-audit

•      Product audit

•      Production audit Product audit

•      Assessment of conformance of the textile product to the eco-parameters

•      Use of the textile goods

•      Pollution caused by their use

•      Disposal and recyclability after use

Production audit

• Raw materials, dyestuff and other textile auxiliaries used.
• Energy
• Water
• Working conditions
• Pollution of air , water and soil

Precautions

• Procure dyestuff and auxiliaries from reputed manufacturers
• Obtain Safety Data sheets from the manufacturer
• No loose packages
• Check for red / negative/ banned list of chemicals
• Use latest shade cards
• Go for eco-auditing
• Insist on liability declaration for raw materials.

Conclusion

It is the responsibility of the producer, retailer and consumer to manufacture and use green textiles to make a sustainable development of the textile industry

Dyes and chemical manufacturers and the textile processing industry to come together and arrive at a meaningful solution to tackle the problem

REFERENCES and URLs

1. Lopmundra Nayak, and P S Nayak: A Part of Ensuring Eco-Standard, Clothesline, July 2004.
2. http://www.ecolabelindex.com/ecolabels/?st=category,textiles
3. Dr R B Chavan: Eco-friendly Specially Chemicals in Garment Finishing.
4. https://www.textilestandards.com/