Texcare features sustainability – from fibre to machine
A textile’s sustainability is determined on the one hand by its manufacture, but above all by its usage stage. The textile-care sector and its supplier industry are therefore thoroughly committed to improving the general ecological and ethical conditions under which they operate.
Efficiency of resources and sustainability will be central topics at Texcare International, the leading international trade fair, in spring 2016. The latest developments in mechanical engineering and detergent chemistry will further encourage the proper use of resources. An influential role will also be played by the industry associations, which will be bringing the subject of ecological sustainability to the accompanying Texcare Conference.
The textile-care sector and its supplier industry are pursuing a philosophy of sustainability and protection of resources. Textiles and clothing, plant and machinery, care processes and detergents minimise our ecological footprint, reduce the use of resources, and improve social conditions in general, from the fibre to the laundry. “A successful concept of sustainability includes the optimum interplay of sustainability principles and collaboration by players who are pursuing the same goal”, explains Robert Long, Secretary General of the Textile Services Association (ETSA), based in Brussels. “Products and processes should have a minimum impact on the environment and still be efficient. At the same time they must enjoy a high level of functionality, which guarantees a business’s success. This, in turn ensures jobs under good social conditions.”
Intensive exchange between practitioners
A major step in implementing comprehensive sustainability is an effective network. It bundles the industry’s requirements, encourages the exchange of ideas between all partners involved, and multiplies pioneering results, to the benefit of all. “We see Texcare International as a major institution for this knowledge transfer. It showcases the latest developments in sustainability and efficiency of resources. The Texcare Conference is a major forum, too”, emphasises Long, who has been appointed to assist in the Texcare Forum programme. “Featuring environmental efficiency as a central topic, the conference aims to show numerous examples of best practice and establish sustainability more firmly in the industry.”
Sustainability platform for mechanical engineers
When it comes to environmentally friendly and resource-efficient processes, plant and machinery play a vital role in textile care. Modern technologies reduce consumption and material residue of energy, water and heat in a laundry or dry cleaner’s. “If you are to have sustainability, however, the commitment shown by machinery manufacturers must go beyond the development of economical process technologies”, says Günter Veit, chairman of VDMA Garment and Leather Technology. “It includes a resource-efficient production process, which in turn is part of a responsible environmental strategy.” Through its “Blue Competence” initiative, the VDMA has created a seal of approval for mechanical engineers who are jointly lobbying for sustainability. “When like-minded people come together, they reach their goal more rapidly. Regular exchange of experience between the businesses associated in the initiative is creating constant, cross-sector improvements in resource-efficient processes and high-performance products. In this way German mechanical engineering is setting new standards of sustainability which, from Frankfurt am Main – the location of Texcare International – will be carried across the whole world”, explains Veit. Visitors to the fair will recognise the partners in the initiative from their “Blue Competence” trademark.
Fit for the future, thanks to sustainable products
Along with a large number of new developments in machinery for a resource-sparing, commercial treatment of laundry, Texcare International will be showing further aspects of a responsible type of textile care which is fit for the future: textiles for buildings and clothing collections which have been produced under ecological and ethically sound conditions; detergents, equipment materials and cleaning products with a high efficiency factor and low environmental impact; logistics processes and intelligent networks for a transparent materials flow, optimised in every respect; pioneering research results which will radiate out into a modern industry. Bringing together all parameters at Texcare International will further reduce the ecological footprint created in the usage stage of textile products and secure the future of a high-earning industry.