The US corporation Dover, a Fortune 500 company, announced the acquisition of the Italian company MS who is the technology leader in digital ink jet printing for textiles. MS became famous with the LaRio printer, the fastest ink jet printer for textile printing.
Sustainable development integrates social, economic and environmental development. It is defined by the Brundtland Commission as “economic and social development that meets the needs of the current generation without undermining the ability of future generations to meet their own needs.” It does not stand in the way of future generations meeting their needs. Industrial Ecology, being a relatively new field, offers methods to assist corporations and organizations to carry out sustainable operations. The interactions between industries and their environment forms industrial ecology which does contribute to sustainable development. It tries to reduce the human impact on nature and aims at sustainable development.
With the increasingly important requirement for textile manufacturers to reduce pollution in textile production, the use of enzymes in the chemical processing of fibers and textiles is rapidly gaining wider recognition. Enzymes are non-toxic and eco-friendly. They can be safely used in a wide selection of textile processes such as de-sizing, scouring, bleaching, dyeing and finishing, where the traditional alternatives are very harsh chemicals whose disposal into the environment causes many problems. The article gives an introduction to enzyme technology.
Digital (ink jet) printing combines many advantages: easy coloration, direct printing off the computer screen, no screens, no colour kitchen, and attractive designs. Due to latest advances in printing speed technology a significantly accelerated growth of the technology is expected. The article outlines the drivers in this exiting market.
Greenpeace revealed a new investigation on hazardous chemicals found in childrenswear to increase the pressure on leading fashion brands, a campaign that started in 2011 as “Detox campaign”.
The second part of this article series gives information about alternative products, global regulations and environmental advantages, after the ban of APEO in Europe. Moreover, the results of the Greenpeace research about nonylphenol ethoxylate residues in textiles are discussed opposite the joined efforts of the ZDHC project.
The environmental activist group Greenpeace runs the Detox campaign requesting from international fashion brands to eliminate alkylphenol ethoxylates (APEOs) from their supply chain. In response to the Detox campaign, a group of international retailers has established a roadmap for “zero discharge of hazardous chemicals” (ZDHC) which has the aim of eliminating 11 substance groups between 2013 and 2020. At the present time, strong focus in the ZDHC programme is put on APEOs (alkylphenols and their ethoxylates), in particular on NPEOs (Nonophenol ethoxylates). This report will show the use, the risks and alternatives of APEOs.
Scientists from New Zealand, France, and Germany have solved the old "mystery" why mercury is liquid at room temperature. The study used advanced computer models of theoretical chemistry to prove that the low melting point is due to mercury's special electron structure, something that can only be explained through Einstein's special theory of relativity.
Greenpeace launched the Detox Catwalk, an interactive online platform assessing the progress made by major clothing companies towards a toxic-free future. ZDHC founders adidas, Nike and LiNing only rated as greenwashers.
The 2013 Nobel Prizes in natural sciences have been awarded by The Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences. In physics, the Nobel Prize was awarded for the theoretical model which gives mass to all particles. In chemistry, the Nobel Prize was awarded for pioneering work in computational chemistry. In medicine, the Nobel Prize was awarded for discoveries of machinery regulating vesicle traffic, a major transport system in cells.