Clariant, Cotton Incorporated Cooperate On Wrinkle-Free Technology
Foam Eco Care is a new wrinkle-free cotton fabric finish introduced by Switzerland-based specialty
chemicals manufacturer Clariant International Ltd. The company worked for two years with Cary,
N.C.-based Cotton Incorporated to develop the technology, which comprises a resin-based foam finish
application that offers increased productivity and reduced chemical usage the companies report.
According to the developers, the foam application of Foam Eco Care is a more sustainable, resource-efficient way to impart a wrinkle-free finish to fabrics than conventional application methods, and mills will not need to make significant investments to begin using the finish.
"What we had achieved under ideal lab conditions had to be reproducible within the commercial environment of ordinary textile mills," said Georg Lang, head of PG Finishing, Clariant. "Foam application machinery is now generally used within modern textile mills and adapting to Foam Eco Care should not be difficult, nor require any serious investment. Where mills need to introduce foam application equipment, which can be used for purposes other than just durable press finishing, the payback time would be very short."
The finish was tested extensively at mills in Italy using 130 gram-per-square-meter (g/m 2) cotton poplin fabric and a 345 g/m 2 desized and scoured denim fabric. The mill trials easily reproduced results found in the laboratory setting.
According to Clariant and Cotton Incorporated, benefits of Foam Eco Care include: excellent durable press ratings; increased abrasion resistance and fabric strength; less complicated application than traditional moist crosslinking processes; low-temperature curing, which reduces energy usage; reduced water consumption during processing; faster drying speeds; and low formaldehyde emissions.
"You could say that Clariant's Foam Eco Care proves the old adage that two heads are better than one," said Ken Greeson, Senior Textile Chemist at Cotton Incorporated. "This new process has major advantages over conventional pad application and we are sure it will be welcomed right across the industry."
October 11, 2011
According to the developers, the foam application of Foam Eco Care is a more sustainable, resource-efficient way to impart a wrinkle-free finish to fabrics than conventional application methods, and mills will not need to make significant investments to begin using the finish.
"What we had achieved under ideal lab conditions had to be reproducible within the commercial environment of ordinary textile mills," said Georg Lang, head of PG Finishing, Clariant. "Foam application machinery is now generally used within modern textile mills and adapting to Foam Eco Care should not be difficult, nor require any serious investment. Where mills need to introduce foam application equipment, which can be used for purposes other than just durable press finishing, the payback time would be very short."
The finish was tested extensively at mills in Italy using 130 gram-per-square-meter (g/m 2) cotton poplin fabric and a 345 g/m 2 desized and scoured denim fabric. The mill trials easily reproduced results found in the laboratory setting.
According to Clariant and Cotton Incorporated, benefits of Foam Eco Care include: excellent durable press ratings; increased abrasion resistance and fabric strength; less complicated application than traditional moist crosslinking processes; low-temperature curing, which reduces energy usage; reduced water consumption during processing; faster drying speeds; and low formaldehyde emissions.
"You could say that Clariant's Foam Eco Care proves the old adage that two heads are better than one," said Ken Greeson, Senior Textile Chemist at Cotton Incorporated. "This new process has major advantages over conventional pad application and we are sure it will be welcomed right across the industry."
October 11, 2011
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