Ecological aspects of textile production have become an increasingly significant concern for retailers and brands as they seek to protect their brand integrity and minimize the environmental impact of their supply chains.

Combined with consumer demand for greener products, demand for greener processes means that brands, retailers and mills need a reliable and trustworthy partner skilled in innovation and ecology expertise.

As an acknowledged leader in ecological expertise for the textile coloration sector, DyStar is therefore the ideal partner environmental issues for the whole of the textile supply chain. DyStar products and technologies not only make textiles more colourful and attractive, but also support the sustainability initiatives of the textile and apparel industries.

DyStar through its antecedent companies was a founder member of ETAD in 1974 and has a long history of commitment to highest standards of hazard communication safe handling, use and disposal of textiles dyes and chemicals. It is also a signatory to the global chemical industry’s Responsible Care program and operates manufacturing sites to the ISO 14001 standard.

econfidence from DyStar

In 2003 DyStar created its econfidence program to cover product safety and ecology issues associated with the manufacture and marketing of its products. The econfidence program now comprises several interconnected elements.

The econfidence commitment assures customers of the highest possible levels of product quality and environmental responsibility and is backed up by the most extensive eco testing program of any textile chemical supplier.

All DyStar products are marketed in full compliance with world-wide chemical legislation. For example, all DyStar product components (over 5000 individual chemicals had considered) have been pre-registered under the EU REACH Regulation.

The econfidence partnership with retailers and brands enables collaborative communication on Restricted Substance Lists and ecology issues in manufacturing. DyStar gives advice coloristic consequences of eco restrictions and detailed product selection guidance e.g. via its well known econfidence brochures.

econfidence in processing

DyStar offers Best Available Technology to reduce resource consumption and effluent loadings.

For many years the DyStar innovation processes have addressed both environmental concerns and economic realities - such as saving resources, saving costs and also meeting the short lead times demanded from the textile supply chain.

In the area of organic cotton, DyStar was one of the first companies to get its products accredited for use on GOTS - approved cotton and has recently updated its list of approved products to Version 2.0.

DyStar has also recently published guidelines on reducing resource use in the exhaust dyeing of the two fibres that dominate the textile industry viz cotton and polyester.

econfidence programs- hangtags

For those mills and retailers wishing to differentiate their product in the market, DyStar offers a range of hangtags to particular fibre processing scenarios. The licence agreement for the hangtags includes a commitment to use DyStar products and a requirement for ecological testing to ensure that basic eco standards are met.

Through the acquisition of Texanlab in 2007 DyStar extended its Textiles Services offer to include testing, in particular eeo-testing. Texanlab is an approved tester for CPSIA, EU Ecolabel, GOTS and many individual brands and retailers such as IKEA and Esprit.

In future from January 2010 onwards, PTJ will publish special series on sustainability, DyStar experts will describe in more detail the efforts that the company is making to improve the sustainability of all aspects of textile supply chain.