TESTEX teams up with NICCA Chemicals Japan for its seminar

The Citarum river in Indonesia, is particularly affected, which prompted the government to introduce a river cleansing programme called the ‘Citarum Harum’.

NICCA Chemicals Japan, a ZDHC Contributor who has several facilites in Indonesia, gave a presentation on the company’s ‘Smart Dyeing Process’. The speaker Narihisa Takeuchi explained that using environmentally friendly chemicals makes processing more effective: less water is used which has a positive impact on the quality and quantity of waste produced. Further benefits include savings in time, energy and total cost. Testex’s chief marketing officer Marc Sidler explained how Eco passport by Oeko-tex certification can help to achieve this goal. It is an independent tool to test chemicals to promote green chemistry and offers a comprehensive platform to analyse compliance with MSRLs and RSLs. Eco passport is recognised by ZDHC conformance levels 1 and 3.

Sidler later presented the rest of the Oeko-tex portfolio, including a live demonstration of how traceability works with the Made in Green by Oeko-tex label and the buying guide which helps manufacturers find pre-certified textiles. The participants gave a very positive response to this part of the presentation. STeP by Oeko-tex, which provides a comprehensive analysis and assessment of production conditions in terms of the environmental performance and social responsibility, is also very relevant as a tool to improve wastewater discharge as it has now integrated Detox to Zero by Oeko-tex .This is an evaluation of wastewater and sludge to eliminate the release of toxic chemicals according to Greenpeace’s priority list.

A government representative from the Head of Rehabilitation and Prevention of Environmental Pollution (DLHK) in Bandung also took to the stage to emphasise the importance of the ‘Supervision and Law Enforcement of Business Actors in Bandung’. This regulation ensures that companies who violate rules relating to environmental management are sanctioned. However, the office also offers guidance to production facilites who have not yet met the requirements for the disposal of waste to watershed.

Overall, the aim of the seminar was to provide a better understanding of how environmental performance can be improved by having more control over the production process, and to encourage the textile industry to take more responsibility for the effects of textile production, in particular along the Citarum River.

Testex is a globally operating, independent Swiss testing and certification organisation with focus on textile and leather testing. Founded in 1846 and originally known as the ‘Seidentrocknungsanstalt Zurich’ (Silk Conditioning Institute), the Testex Group now operates more than 25 branches with more than 250 employees worldwide (including Testex and Oeti) from its head office in Zurich. Testex is a member institute of the Oeko-tex Association and the official representative in Australia, Canada, China, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Malaysia, New Zealand, the Philippines, Switzerland, South Korea and Taiwan.

Fibre2Fashion News Desk (PC)