Chemicals

India’s textile industry is under scrutiny as a new report reveals alarming levels of nonylphenol (NP), a toxic and persistent chemical, in garments and river systems near major production hubs. Widely used in textile processing, NP poses serious health and environmental risks. Experts warn that lack of regulation could harm public safety and jeopardise India’s textile exports amid rising global scrutiny.

As the European Commission aims to simplify REACH – the most complex chemicals legislation in the world — the textile and clothing industry, represented by EURATEX, has called for a more efficient and coherent regulatory framework as a key essential to safeguard the competitiveness and innovation capacity of EU industry.

A report claiming to be the first ever on the environmental impact of denim aims to guide the garment finishing industry towards greater environmental responsibility by identifying challenges, uncovering opportunities, tracking progress, and promoting transparency through a comprehensive examination of environmental metrics.

Pili has a mission—it produces decarbonised alternatives based on renewable resources for sustainable industrial applications. Pili President Jérémie Blache explains how Pili uses hybrid processes combining industrial fermentation and organic chemistry to manufacture sustainable, high-performance colour ranges for the textiles industry.

ZDHC Foundation’s Roadmap to Zero Programme has urged suppliers and brands working across the fashion landscape to assess chemical management practices, including chemical recovery, wastewater management and air emissions for the MMCF Module.

The European Commission’s proposal to restrict PFAS or ‘forever chemicals’ is at serious risk of being hijacked by corporate lobbying, warns a Corporate Europe Observatory’s analysis of newly-released documents that reveal industry's influencing tactics. The conclusion is clear: it’s time for a lobby firewall to protect PFAS decision-making from corporate lobbying.

A UNEP-led integrated programme (IP) has been launched to promote sustainable supply chains in the fashion industry in a bid to address the impact of the sector on biodiversity loss, chemicals and waste, climate change, international waters, and land degradation.

As demand for sustainable solutions grows across all sectors, a collaborative UK Alliance for Sustainable Chemicals and Materials (UK-ASCM), has been launched as it unites industry leaders, academia, and innovation hubs to advance the UK’s sustainable chemicals and materials sector.

Spanish manufacturer Jeanologia, which has been at the cutting-edge of denim production since the beginning, is celebrating the 25th anniversary of its laser technology. Carmen Silla, Marketing Director at Jeanologia, talks about the technology, supply chains and clean production.

A collaborative, multi-stakeholder initiative, Road Map to Zero, has come up with the ZDHC Dissolved Pulp Guidelines V1.0 that aims to drive positive change in the dissolved pulp industry toward sustainable chemical management. It addresses integrated expectations for feedstock sourcing, chemical recovery, discharged wastewater and air quality for manufacturing facilities producing dissolved pulp from wood as a feedstock.