Standards & Regulations
The effect of REACH on carbon fiber and PAN textile production
Polyacrylonitrile (PAN) is a polymer with exceptional resistance to sunlight and chemicals. It is usually used as textile owing to its soft and wool-like touch. Most PAN textiles are produced by the wet-spinning process, where the polymer is dissolved in a solvent to be then extruded into a bath of fluid. The polymer solidifies in …
A reprieve for viscose as European Commission publishes new SUPD
Viscose fibers are no longer classified as “plastic” under the European Commission’s long-awaited guidelines on single-use plastic products, which were finally published on May 31 after several months of delay. Earlier drafts of the Single-Use Plastics Directive (SUPD), which aims to combat environmental problems caused by single-use plastic products, had categorized some regenerated cellulosic fibers …
The textile recycling black hole
New legislative measures aimed at protecting the environment within the European Union are likely to make things extremely difficult for synthetic fiber producers in the coming years. The European Green Deal will see €750 billion pumped into a wide range of projects with the overall aim of making the entire continent climate neutral by 2050. …
Mixed messages – the UK is at odds with the rest of Europe once again, this time over flushability
The further development of plastic-free and flushable products will be key themes at INDA’s World of Wipes (WOW) 2020, which will now be an all-virtual event Aug. 24-27. For my own presentation at the event, I provided the half-jokey title “London: Why do all the problems start in the pesky UK’s capital?” back in January. …
The changing landscape of risk in the textile industry
The textile sector of today looks very different than the textile sector of the past. So too are the risks that come with operating in the industry, and the insurance strategies that help manage those risks.