InsideOutdoor | SPRING/SUMMER 2024 4 Easier Being Green The latest in eco-friendly ingredients In addition to the innovative new outdoor products that hit the market every spring/summer, component suppliers are making the world a better place with breakthroughs in sustainable and eco-friendly textiles and materials. Here’s a sample of the latest developments from the supply chain’s leading material scientists, engineers and designers. Intracom Showcases Several Technologies Specialty chemicals provider Archroma has introduced a new biobased durable water repellent (DWR) designed to provide robust rain and stain protection on all kinds of fibers while achieving a very soft handle and avoiding undesired effects such as yellowing and chalk marking. PHOBOTEX NTR-50 LIQ performs especially well on synthetic fibers and their blends, making it ideal for outdoor apparel and outerwear, said the company. The new DWR is based on 50% renewable carbon content and is free of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) and formaldehyde. It is also crosslinker-free, which means while offering good wash durability on its own, it can be combined with a crosslinker like ARKOPHOB NTR40, which has a biocarbon content of 40%, to further boost wash and/or dry-cleaning resistance. PHOBOTEX NTR-50 LIQ also has excellent runnability, said Archroma, which ensures reproducible performance and high production safety, even at elevated temperatures. This is helpful for mills seeking to solve challenges including running issues, such as roller build-up and strong chalk marking or harsh handle. Thermore Offers Sustainable Stretch Insulation The Thermore Group recently announced the debut of its most dynamic stretch insulation in its five decades of innovation. Made from 50% post-consumer recycled polyester, Freedom offers ground-breaking stretch in four levels of warmth, ranging from 60 to 150 grams per square meter, for a multitude of uses. Dynamometer testing shows that Freedom insulation has incredible elasticity and recovers to 100% of its pre-stretch size time after time, said Thermore. It is bluesign and Global Recycled Standard certified. It’s machine washable, can be dry cleaned, is easy-care for the consumer and design friendly for product developers with its high resistance to fiber migration. At the recent Functional Fabric Fair in Portland, Ore., Sympatex showed three new products – a plain weave, a dobby and a twill – all sourced from e.dye, a solution-dyed polyester color system with more than 5,000 colors and a sophisticated color-matching process for garment textiles. “Because e.dye actually puts the color inside the yarn, adding the new products to our portfolio gives us three major advantages: saving water, producing less CO2, using less chemicals,” said Anja Palic, product manager for Sympatex. “Moreover, since the pigment becomes an inherent component of the yarn (in contrast to traditional processes where the yarn is produced and then colored), solution dyeing yields fibers with exceptional color fastness.” These fibers resist bleeding or fading even with prolonged use or exposure to sunlight, Palic continued. “Since there is no dyeing process, which has many different influencing factors on color accuracy, reproducibility is guaranteed with dope dyed goods when reordering.” Sympatex Showcases Doped Dye Innovations
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