Not all che­mis­try is the same …

Wit­hout dyes, the­re can be no colou­red, high-per­for­mance fabrics – but the sel­ec­tion and use of the neces­sa­ry che­mi­cals are car­ri­ed out by us with spe­cial care and due con­side­ra­ti­on of eco­lo­gi­cal standards.

Our che­mi­cals management

Che­mi­cals manage­ment is one of the most important are­as of our envi­ron­men­tal manage­ment. Due to the pro­duc­tion loca­ti­on in Ger­ma­ny, Ger­man and Euro­pean legis­la­ti­on alre­a­dy sets a high stan­dard for envi­ron­men­tal pro­tec­tion and occu­pa­tio­nal safe­ty. All dyes and auxi­lia­ries used are kept in a che­mi­cal regis­ter, and employees in the rele­vant are­as are trai­ned accor­din­gly. When sel­ec­ting pro­ducts, the focus is not only on sui­ta­bi­li­ty and qua­li­ty but also on other fac­tors, e.g. emis­si­on data, AOX con­tent and also pro­duct cer­ti­fi­ca­ti­ons. The con­sump­ti­on of dyes and auxi­lia­ries in our pro­duc­tion depends on various fac­tors: Desi­red colour and colour inten­si­ty, com­po­si­ti­on and gram­mage of the fabric, as well as finis­hing and qua­li­ty requirements.

Con­sump­ti­on of dyes and auxiliaries

2018/2019 2019/2020 2020/2021
Annu­al consumption 1 291 313 kg 1 296 028 kg 1 368 044 kg
per batch 430 kg 408 kg 412 kg
per meter 137 g 133 g 137 g
Resi­du­al liqu­or per meter 8 g 13 g 11 g
Not all che­mis­try is the same
“By using our cau­st­ic reco­very plant, a cau­st­ic rege­ne­ra­te with up to 75 % was­te cau­st­ic can be obtained.”

Our stan­dards

For more than 25 years, our pro­ducts have been cer­ti­fied accor­ding to the OEKO-TEX® STANDARD 100. Ket­tel­hack was one of the first com­pa­nies to be cer­ti­fied accor­ding to this stan­dard in 1992. Sin­ce then, we have had our ran­ge of fabrics tes­ted every year by a labo­ra­to­ry for com­pli­ance with the spe­ci­fied limit values.

In addi­ti­on, we are a mem­ber of the Part­ner­ship for Sus­tainable Tex­ti­les and have thus com­mit­ted our­sel­ves to com­ply­ing with the ZDHC stan­dard on the use of che­mi­cals. This means that all dyes and auxi­lia­ries used meet the requi­re­ments of ZDHC-MRSL 2.0.

The OEKO-TEX®STeP MRSL also covers all che­mi­cals that are ban­ned for inten­tio­nal use under the cur­rent ZDHC MRSL. In addi­ti­on, the STeP che­mi­cals list also includes all sub­s­tances and para­me­ters requi­red under the ZDHC Efflu­ent Directive.

ZDHC stands for Zero Dischar­ge of Hazar­dous Che­mi­cals and is an asso­cia­ti­on of tex­ti­le and foot­wear manu­fac­tu­r­ers. The ZDHC stan­dard is a so-cal­led Manu­fac­tu­ring Rest­ric­ted Sub­s­tances List (MRSL for short). The organisation’s goal is to redu­ce pol­lut­ants in pro­duc­tion towards zero. The cur­rent ZDHC MRSL 2.0 is accom­pa­nied by various hand­outs on the con­cre­te imple­men­ta­ti­on of the requirements.

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Our che­mi­cal management

Pre­cis­i­on work is required!

Cer­ti­fied dyes and auxi­lia­ries, lots of expe­ri­ence – and a trai­ned eye. The dye­ing pro­cess used depends on the raw mate­ri­al. While disper­si­on dyes reach the insi­de of the fib­re through a ther­mal pro­cess, vat dyes and reac­ti­ve dyes build a che­mi­cal com­pound with the fibres.

“You may hear talk about ‘good’ che­mi­cals and ‘bad’ che­mi­cals, but the truth is that che­mi­cals are neither good or bad. What mat­ters is the con­text, how and whe­re they occur and how they’­re used.” 

Che­mis­try for Dummies 

You want to know more about che­mi­cals in the tex­ti­le industry?

Then “Deto­xing the Fashion Indus­try for Dum­mies” is just the thing for you! This hand­book by ZDHC Direc­tor Frank Michel sim­pli­fies com­plex issues and offers valuable insights into the tex­ti­le che­mi­cals world along the way.

Under­stan­da­ble for ever­yo­ne, available free of char­ge for ever­yo­ne! You can find more info → here

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Our envi­ron­men­tal management
Fur­ther artic­les on the topic

Summary analysis in 2020/2021

Chemical Consumption

The total consumption of dyes and auxiliaries in the past business year increased slightly, as expected. This is mainly due to the changes in the production profile (increase in coloured goods and increase in average weight) - see also ->here.

The relative input per metre produced also increased slightly. This can also be explained by the high share of coloured goods. This assumption is confirmed by the fact that the share of 2-bath production in the production volume has also increased compared to previous years (in 20/21: 11.2% compared to previous year 19/20: 9.8%). The share of residual fleets per metre produced has slightly decreased - and this despite a slight increase in the number of lots driven and despite the increase in 2-bath production.

OEKO-TEX® Standard 100

Der OEKO-TEX® Standard 100 ist eine Produktzertifizierung die sicherstellt, dass „alle Bestandteile dieses Artikels […] auf Schadstoffe geprüft wurden und der Artikel somit gesundheitlich unbedenklich ist. […] Im Prüfverfahren [werden] zahlreiche sowohl reglementierte wie nicht-reglementierte Substanzen, die der menschlichen Gesundheit schaden könnten [geprüft]. Vielfach gehen die gesetzten Grenzwerte für den STANDARD 100 über nationale und internationale Vorgaben hinaus.“ (Quelle: www.oeko-tex.com)

OEKO-TEX® Standard 100

The OEKO-TEX® Standard 100 is a form of product certification that ensures that "every component of this article […] has been tested for harmful substances and the article therefore is harmless to human health." […] In the test they take into account numerous regulated and non-regulated substances, which may be harmful to human health. In many cases the limit values for the STANDARD 100 go beyond national and international requirements." (Source: www.oeko-tex.com)

Infographic
Development of water consumption in m3

The high level of water consumption in production brings with it a corresponding volume of waste water. Compliance with the limit values from the Waste Water Ordinance is ensured by the indirect discharge permit. The daily control of the mixing and equalisation basin by our employees, as well as through the regular inspections by the responsible monitoring authorities, give us the necessary security. 

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