Latest news with #Fibre2Fashion
Fibre2Fashion
2 days ago
- Business
- Fibre2Fashion
INEOS Phenol to permanently close Gladbeck site
INEOS Phenol, the world's largest producer of phenol and acetone, announced its intention to permanently stop production at their site in Gladbeck, Germany. Sky high European energy costs alongside Europe's punitive CO2 tax policy have combined to leave Europe uncompetitive against imported Chinese production and a global oversupply. After carrying out a detailed strategic review, the business intends to permanently exit the Gladbeck site at a date to be confirmed. Europe's lack of competitiveness has already led to the exit of several downstream consumers of phenol and acetone to such an extent that local demand no longer supports the operation of the Gladbeck site which dates from 1954 and requires significant future investment. Commenting, Sir Jim Ratcliffe, Chairman of INEOS said, 'This is the consequence of Europe's total lack of energy competitiveness and the blind devotion to carbon taxation which is leading to a mass deindustrialisation across the continent. Gladbeck is not the first and will definitely not be the last unless the regulators wake up and take action' INEOS Phenol will now enter into consultation with the works council, employees, customers and suppliers to exit the site in a safe, responsible and compliant manner. Note: The headline, insights, and image of this press release may have been refined by the Fibre2Fashion staff; the rest of the content remains unchanged. INEOS Phenol plans to permanently close its Gladbeck, Germany site due to high energy costs and EU carbon taxes, which have made Europe uncompetitive amid global oversupply and rising imports. The 1954 facility no longer has sufficient local demand. INEOS will consult stakeholders to ensure a safe, compliant exit and remains committed to its global phenol business. Fibre2Fashion News Desk (HU)
Fibre2Fashion
2 days ago
- Business
- Fibre2Fashion
UK's Innovia Films launches Rayoart GWP82 Matt HOP
Innovia Films, a material science pioneer and global producer of BOPP films, has announced the launch of the new Rayoart GWP82 Matt HOP which is an 82 micron thick / 3.2 mill high opacity BOPP film, with a newly developed matt print coating for improved scratch and chemical resistance. 'This new film has been designed for maximum visual impact. The matt finish gives a premium, glare-free look whilst giving excellent dimensional stability for easy conversion and better UV and latex printing' says Bron Hekkema, Business Unit Director Graphics. 'The enhanced adhesion anchorage ensures high-performance application on various surfaces and the optimised adhesive receptive layer provides a strong, durable bonding with improved pigmented adhesive compatibility' explains Pieter du Plessis, Market Development Manager Graphics. This application has been optimised for reduced material use and less environmental impact at end-of-life, with a reliable performance offering10-year indoor and 4-year outdoor durability when laminated. This new base film is plasticizer and chloride free and aligns with the growing need for PVC-free, lower impact materials across the graphics sector. Note: The headline, insights, and image of this press release may have been refined by the Fibre2Fashion staff; the rest of the content remains unchanged. Innovia Films has launched Rayoart GWP82 Matt HOP, an 82-micron high-opacity BOPP film with enhanced scratch and chemical resistance. Designed for premium, glare-free visuals and improved printability, it offers strong adhesion, indoor/outdoor durability, and is PVC-free. The film supports reduced material use and meets sustainability demands in graphics applications. Fibre2Fashion News Desk (HU)
Fibre2Fashion
4 days ago
- Business
- Fibre2Fashion
Marketing Manager Rivertex Technical Fabrics
Rivertex invests in R&D to create technically advanced, sustainable solutions Rivertex Technical Fabrics, founded in 1980 and part of the Switzerland-based Winter Group, is a leading global supplier of technical coated and laminated fabrics and films. Renowned for its commitment to innovation, quality, and sustainability, Rivertex serves a broad range of markets with high-performance textile solutions. Reinforcing its dedication to environmental responsibility, the company recently launched Rivercyclon 450 FR—the world's first fully recyclable flame-retardant polypropylene fabric. This mono-material alternative to PVC sets a new benchmark in both fire safety and sustainability, further establishing Rivertex as a pioneer in technical textile innovation. In a conversation with Fibre2Fashion, Boris Gaasbeek, Marketing Manager at Rivertex, discusses the company's innovation strategy, product development philosophy, and how it is shaping the future of sustainable technical textiles. Rivertex positions itself as a trusted partner in technical fabrics. How do you maintain transparency and reliability across such a diverse global client base? Rivertex maintains transparency and reliability through close collaboration with customers, offering expert guidance, and ensuring that products are fit-for-purpose. Our global presence, combined with local knowledge and a focus on clear, honest communication, supports a consistent client experience across regions. How has the affiliation with Winter Group influenced your global reach and access to technology or resources? As part of the Winter Group, we benefit from enhanced global distribution, technical collaboration, and access to a broad network of innovation resources. This partnership supports Rivertex in reaching new markets and accelerating product development. Rivertex emphasises producing fit-for-purpose rather than over- or under-engineered products. Can you share how this philosophy shapes your product development? The fit-for-purpose approach ensures that each fabric meets specific application needs without unnecessary complexity or environmental burden. For example, Rivertex replaces multi-polymer PVC fabrics with simpler, recyclable alternatives like Rivercyclon, helping customers meet performance and sustainability targets. How do you ensure continuous innovation while maintaining quality and cost-efficiency? Rivertex invests in R&D to create technically advanced, sustainable solutions. Innovations like Rivercyclon (a mono-polymer, recyclable fabric) result from this focus. We balance innovation with efficiency by developing durable, compliant, and lightweight alternatives to over-engineered fabrics—often simplifying material composition to reduce cost and environmental impact. How has the adoption of solution dyeing technique influenced Rivertex's product portfolio and production strategy? Solution dyeing reduces water usage, energy consumption, and emissions. It has enabled Rivertex to offer more sustainable coloured fabrics while improving UV resistance and colourfastness. This technique aligns with our environmental strategy and enhances product appeal for eco-conscious markets. What motivated Rivertex to develop a flame-retardant fabric based entirely on polypropylene, and how long did the R&D process take? The motivation was to create a recyclable, non-toxic alternative to PVC-coated fabrics. Rivercyclon 450 FR was designed to meet fire safety standards while aligning with sustainability goals. Its development took over one year of R&D to overcome technical challenges. Rivercyclon 450 FR is a first in terms of combining flame retardancy with full recyclability. What technological challenges did you face in achieving this? Key challenges included incorporating flame retardant properties into polypropylene—a polymer not naturally fire-resistant—without compromising recyclability. Ensuring compliance with standards while maintaining processability and cost-efficiency was also a major hurdle. How significant is the material's mono-polymer design for recyclability, and are there systems in place to collect and recycle the material at end-of-life? The mono-polymer design is critical, making it easier to recycle than multi-material fabrics. While global collection systems are still developing, Rivertex promotes collaboration with clients to ensure responsible end-of-life handling and supports closed-loop initiatives. How does Rivertex ensure its fabrics remain recyclable and acceptable to most recycling companies? Rivertex develops fabrics like Rivercyclon using a single polymer—in this case polypropylene—ensuring compatibility with standard recycling systems. By avoiding composite materials, we simplify the recycling process, making end-of-life management more feasible for customers. With increasing global demand for sustainable construction and event materials, how do you plan to scale production and ensure global availability of Rivercyclon 450 FR? Rivertex is scaling production by investing in manufacturing capacity and leveraging our global network. We are also educating markets on Rivercyclon's benefits to accelerate adoption in different application areas. How is the demand for sustainable technical textiles evolving across different industries? Demand is growing across tents & structures, sun-shading, transport, industrial, marine and medical sectors. Clients are seeking materials that meet performance standards while supporting circularity and reducing environmental impact. Rivertex is responding with innovative, compliant, and recyclable products. What role do regulatory standards (e.g. REACH, OEKO-TEX, ISO) play in shaping innovation and competitiveness within the technical fabrics sector? These standards drive innovation by setting safety, environmental, and quality benchmarks. Rivertex aligns with REACH, OEKO-TEX, and ISO to ensure product compliance, gain customer trust, and access regulated markets. How are advances in coating technologies, fibre engineering, and lamination influencing the future capabilities of technical textiles? New coatings and lamination techniques enable lighter, stronger, and more sustainable fabrics. Fibre engineering allows customisation of performance traits like breathability, durability, and fire resistance. Rivertex adopts these to meet changing industry needs while reducing environmental impact. What are the biggest hurdles the industry faces in recycling or reusing technical fabrics, especially those used in sectors like medical, defence, or outdoor gear? The main challenges include complex material compositions, contamination risks, and lack of recycling infrastructure. Rivertex addresses this by designing mono-material fabrics like Rivercyclon and working on partnerships for end-of-life solutions. How is digitalisation—such as smart fabrics, digital twins, or AI-driven performance testing—reshaping R&D and product development in technical textiles? At Rivertex, we closely follow developments in digitalisation, including innovations like smart fabrics, digital twins, and AI-driven performance testing. While we are not actively applying these technologies in our current product development processes, we recognise their potential to transform the technical textiles industry. As these tools mature and align more closely with our sustainability and performance goals, we are open to exploring their integration into future R&D initiatives. DISCLAIMER: All views and opinions expressed in this column are solely of the interviewee, and they do not reflect in any way the opinion of
Fibre2Fashion
7 days ago
- Business
- Fibre2Fashion
Apurva Kothari No Nasties
At No Nasties, sustainability is built into every stitch, seam, and shipment When Apurva Kothari left his Silicon Valley consulting job, he was not chasing trends—he was answering a moral call. Moved by reports of farmer suicides in India, particularly among cotton growers trapped in cycles of debt and chemical dependency, he founded No Nasties in 2011—India's first Fairtrade-certified, 100 per cent organic clothing brand. What began as a personal response to an agrarian crisis has since evolved into a pioneering force in ethical fashion. Built on direct partnerships with small-scale farmers in Maharashtra and Andhra Pradesh, No Nasties ensures fair wages, promotes organic farming, and champions carbon-negative practices. With a focus on transparency, vegan principles, and a real-time tree-planting tracker—now crossing 234,000 trees—the brand is reshaping how fashion can intersect with climate responsibility and consumer trust. In this conversation with Fibre2Fashion, Kothari shares the journey of No Nasties, the realities of building clean fashion in India, and how saying 'no' to fast fashion can become a radical, regenerative act. Sustainable fashion is often criticised for being accessible only to a niche audience. What do you think is holding back large-scale adoption of conscious fashion in markets like India? Clean fashion is expensive—and that is the problem. It takes time to grow organic cotton. Yields are lower, the process is slower, and there are no chemical shortcuts. That drives up costs—but also protects the soil, the farmer, and the future. I started No Nasties in 2011 after learning about farmer suicides in Vidarbha. The root cause? Bt cotton—GMO seeds pushed by Monsanto and backed by the government. They promised big yields but delivered debt and despair. Over a decade later, our organic farmers are finally earning fair prices. That is the good news. The hard truth? Fast fashion is still winning. It is cheap, easy, and everywhere. In a country with a rising middle class and growing consumer appetite, ethics often lose to affordability. Until we stop treating clothes as disposable, sustainable fashion will remain niche. We do not need more stuff—we need better stuff. Made well. Worn longer. Valued more. There is growing conversation around greenwashing in the fashion industry. How can consumers truly differentiate between genuinely sustainable brands and those just using sustainability as a marketing tool? Ask better questions. We do it when buying a car, a phone, or even groceries. Why not clothes? Where was it made? Who made it? Who paid the real price for that ₹199 tee? What river did the dye destroy? Greenwashing thrives on apathy. Brands can only fool the people who are not looking closely. If you care where your money goes, make it ask for answers. Certifications like GOTS, Fairtrade, and OEKO-TEX are increasingly common. But do you think the industry relies too much on third-party validation instead of direct accountability? Certifications like GOTS, Fairtrade, and OEKO-TEX matter. They set a much-needed baseline. They help weed out the worst offenders and give consumers a shorthand for trust. But they are not the full picture. A label does not tell you who made your clothes, how they were treated, or how much damage was done along the way. At No Nasties, we are working to go beyond the tag. We track the carbon footprint of every product—from farm to doorstep—and offset it by 300 per cent. So far, we have removed, by offsetting 620907.96 kg of CO2e. We believe accountability should be visible, not just certified. Show me your factory. Show me your soil. Show me your numbers. How are innovations in materials—like bio-based textiles or textile recycling—reshaping the future of sustainable fashion, and what excites you most in this space? The most exciting thing? Waste is turning into raw material. Old clothes becoming new ones. Fabrics that leave no footprint. Fashion finally learning how to clean up after itself. At No Nasties, we are setting up our own Lab—a space to experiment with upcycling, bio-based blends, and circular design. Because sustainability is not enough. It is time fashion evolved. What challenges did you face while introducing Fairtrade and organic practices in the Indian apparel industry? When we started No Nasties, no one was talking about Fairtrade or organic in fashion. It was not trendy—it was confusing. We had to explain what GMO seeds were, why soil health mattered, and how a t-shirt could be 'fair'. It felt like shouting into the void. But it was a conversation worth starting. And today, we are proud that what was once radical is now baseline. The industry caught up. The vocabulary changed. Now we are pushing the next conversation: carbon offsets, climate-positive action, and regenerative and circular fashion. We are building new solutions that meet the customer where they are—simple, traceable, meaningful. It is not easy. But we have done it before. And we are doing it again. What does your commitment to carbon neutrality involve on a practical, day-to-day level? At No Nasties, we track the carbon footprint of every product—from farm to doorstep—and offset it by 300 per cent. So far, we have removed over 620,900 kg of CO₂e. That means partnering with verified platforms like Veritree and Green Story to ensure real trees are planted and real offset projects are funded around the world. On the ground, it is detailed SOPs—recording everything from garment weight to electricity usage. Working with Fairtrade and GOTS-certified factories helps too—there is a standard of care built into every step. We also have a growing pipeline of sustainability projects in motion—from returnable packaging to building a fully circular system at No Nasties. It is not just about offsets. It is about better systems. And we have an amazing team making it happen, every single day. In what ways does your brand engage with vegan and plastic-free principles across operations and packaging? At No Nasties, every detail is intentional. Our clothes are made with 100 per cent organic cotton. Buttons? Coconut shells and corozo nuts. Elastic? Natural rubber—not synthetic. Our packaging walks the talk too: 100 per cent recycled paper boxes, recycled paper tags, and soy-based, earth-friendly inks. No plastic. No animal products. No compromise. Because sustainability is not just a label—it is built into every stitch, seam, and shipment. How does No Nasties ensure fair wages and ethical working conditions for the farmers and workers in its supply chain? We work exclusively with Fairtrade and GOTS-certified factories—because third-party accountability matters. But we do not just go by paperwork. We visit in person. We meet the teams. We walk the floors to ensure that working conditions are genuinely safe—no exposure to harmful chemicals or toxic dyes, access to healthy food, and crèches available on-site. For us, it is not just about audits—it is about energy. We believe in building relationships based on trust, transparency, and shared values. If the vibe is not right, it is a no. Fair wages and safe working conditions should be the baseline, not the bonus. And we are here to make sure they are. How did the idea for the Real-Time Tree Count come about, and how has it been received by customers? We are always looking for ways to make our sustainability efforts real—and easy to understand. We already work with verified platforms like Veritree and Green Story that fund impact projects across India, Indonesia, Madagascar, Kenya, Haiti and more—from mangrove replanting to large-scale reforestation. The real-time tree count was the next step. We plant three trees for every product sold, and we wanted that to show up live on our website—so customers can literally 'see' the impact they are part of. Your real-time impact on climate-change. The response? Incredibly positive. Up next: showing exactly where those trees are planted. Because at No Nasties, we believe it is not real unless it is visible. What sets the Bloom collection apart from previous No Nasties ranges? For Earth Day, we wanted to really focus on our Live Tree Counter. We worked backwards from there and built the idea of 'EVERY DAY WE PLANT TREES AROUND THE WORLD. EVERYDAY THE EARTH BLOOMS.' ON THE SEASON: It is summer! It is our season, our way of right as No Nasties—a brand designed to reverse climate change—to launch a collection perfect for the 40-degree sweltering heat. It is a statement—as a planet heats up, we continue to cool it down with our tree planting drive and carbon negative existence. ON THE PRINT: We love vintage prints and retro vibes in general—we are 90's kids! So, when it came to the summer collection, we went back to our moodboard with chintz and summer flowers and developed our signature Bloom print with Illustrator Nupur Panemanglor. We really wanted to deliver the idea of "EVERY DAY WE PLANT TREES AROUND THE WORLD. EVERYDAY THE EARTH BLOOMS.' The next best thing to fauna is flora! That is where the idea 'bloomed'. With physical stores in Assagao, Panjim, and Bengaluru, how important is in-person retail to your brand's growth and customer experience? In-person retail is everything. There is nothing like watching someone 'feel' our fabric for the first time and instantly get why it matters. The softness, the quality—it clicks. But it is more than just texture—it is trust. Our stores are where people meet the team, hear the full story, and see the humans behind the brand. That connection? You cannot replicate it online. Because real change only happens when we are in this together. And it starts face to face. Lastly, with climate change accelerating, how do you see the role of fashion evolving—from being a major polluter to potentially becoming a force for environmental restoration? Fashion helped break the planet. It can help heal it. At No Nasties, we have gone from organic clothing to climate-positive impact. Every product's carbon footprint is tracked—and offset by 300 per cent. We plant three trees per order. Over 237,900 so far. It is not a rocket science. It is just intention, technology, and action. Say 'no' to plastic. No to toxic dyes. No to unfair prices. Start by saying 'no'. Start by planting one tree. DISCLAIMER: All views and opinions expressed in this column are solely of the interviewee, and they do not reflect in any way the opinion of
Fibre2Fashion
13-06-2025
- Business
- Fibre2Fashion
BASF shifts Rheovis range to bio-based EA at Ludwigshafen & Bradford
BASF, a global leader in the supply of additives to the coatings industry has completed the transition to bio-based Ethyl Acrylate (EA) for its Rheovis range manufactured at Ludwigshafen and Bradford sites. Now, the Rheovis range has a 14C-traceable biogenic content of up to 35% according to the ASTM D6866-18 analytical standard and a reduced Product Carbon Footprint (PCF1) of up to 30% compared to versions based on fossil feedstock. This development underlines BASF's commitment to support customers in achieving their sustainability goals. The chemical composition and technical specifications of the new bio-based products remain unchanged. Sylvain Pascal Huguenard, Vice President of Global Business Management for Additives, BASF , commented 'This feedstock switch underlines BASF Additives' commitment to enable formulators to complete their green transition while ensuring supply reliability and efficiency. BASF's optimized process and Verbund concept are key levers to ensure further reduction of our Product Carbon Footprint (PCF).' BASF has transitioned to bio-based Ethyl Acrylate for its Rheovis range at Ludwigshafen and Bradford, achieving up to 35 per cent biogenic content and 30 per cent lower carbon footprint. The switch supports customers' sustainability goals without altering product specifications. BASF's biocide-free Rheovis HS 1101 and HS 1153 offer enhanced performance and eco benefits. Joachim Burger, Head of Sales, Additives EMEA, BASF added, 'Built on BASF's commitment to sustainable solutions, our upgraded bio-based Rheovis products will support the development of more sustainable products. We are excited to be part of this journey with formulators and will continue to formulate the future together.' Our recently launched HASE rheology modifiers, the biocide-free Rheovis HS 1101 and Rheovis HS 1153 have been intentionally developed with this higher biogenic content, providing customers with improved performance and sustainability features. In addition to the 14C-traceable biobased content, the BASF Biomass Balance (BMB) approach can be applied to further reduce the Product Carbon Footprint (PCF) of a product. BASF offers a comprehensive portfolio of bio-based raw materials, providing solutions for various applications. This enables formulators to improve the biogenic share of their products and develop differentiated offerings that cannot be achieved with fossil resources. Note: The headline, insights, and image of this press release may have been refined by the Fibre2Fashion staff; the rest of the content remains unchanged. Fibre2Fashion News Desk (HU)
