Clariant supports water saving efforts in textile manufacturing

Singapore, March 22, 2013 - Clariant, a world leader in specialty chemicals, supports the textile industry's efforts toward sustainable freshwater management with the publishing of water-saving tips and technologies in a special edition of its "News Chat" newsletter.

Titled “Each Drop Counts – chemical solutions for reduced water consumption”, the publication provides guidance to textile customers willing to join a rising global effort to address water scarcity, as illustrated by initiatives such as the United Nations’ World Water Day on March 22, 2013, theGreenpeace “Detox” Campaign, or the sector’s brands and retailers’ Joint Roadmap towards Zero Discharge of Hazardous Chemicals.

New ONE WAY Score Cards, featured in the publication and on the Clariant website, demonstrate the percentage savings in water and energy consumption, chemical usage, time, carbon dioxide emissions and BOD/COD ratio achievable with its cutting-edge technologies compared to conventional processes. Clariant’s unique ONE WAY sustainability toolbox provides textile mills, manufacturers, brands and retailers with reliable facts and measurements to assist their selection of products and processes that aim at reconciling the twin objectives of ecology and economy.

The Score Cards highlight trail blazing savings potential, such as:

• “Advanced Denim”, an award-winning dyeing process allowing potential savings of 92% in water consumption and 45% in energy consumption compared to conventional denim dyeing processes;
• The “SWIFT” continuous dyeing process for PES/CEL Blends, which can help achieve up to 45% less CO2 emissions and 50% less water use compared to the conventional process;
• The “Ultra low liquor ratio cellulosic dyeing” process which can show reductions of up to 43% in energy consumption and 25% in water consumption compared to the benchmark process;
• The “BLUE MAGIC” process for discontinous treatment that can allow savings of up to 50% in water, 40% in energy and 50% in time compared to classical bleaching processes.

The contribution of Clariant’s technologies to global water saving efforts is already evident. In 2012, Clariant calculated that its Advanced Denim technology saved an estimated 700 million liters of water, yet it is used in only an extremely small part of worldwide jeans’ production.

And the company is definitely living by its own creed:. In May 2012, Clariant started operating what it believes is the first-ever sustainable effluent treatment (SET) facility for a textile operational site. The facility is located in Jamshoro, Pakistan.

Emrah Esder, Head of Marketing for Chemicals at Clariant’s Textile Chemicals Business Unit, comments: “With the ONE WAY toolbox we are going the extra mile to encourage and support greater resource saving by the textile industry. It puts transparent and reliable facts about how new available technologies help answer brands’ and retailers’ requirements for more sustainability – at controlled cost levels – at their fingertips.”

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