NEW YORK CITY — September 13, 2018 — Cotton Incorporated’s “Cotton’s Fashion Delivered Runway Show” delivered on a unique fashion moment, presenting ready-to-wear looks from the catwalk straight to consumer doorsteps during the 2018 New York Fashion Week, all with just a few clicks. The runway show was also a first-of-its-kind for Cotton during the iconic weeklong celebration of fashion. Amid the backdrop of fall’s latest styles, Cotton’s Fashion Delivered Runway Show connected today’s trendsetters with versatile cotton looks that they can get now via a “watch now, shop now” runway experience.

The runway show came to life at the Angel Orensanz Theater in the Lower East Side of New York City on September 10. Fashion influencer and model, Rocky Barnes, and fashion journalist, model, and presenter, Louise Roe, along with Amazon Alexa hosted the show and shared their go-to cotton looks straight from the runway.

“Cotton’s Fashion Delivered Runway Show has the common thread of really fusing versatility, style, and comfort, and you can’t say that for many different fabrics and brands,” said presenter Louise Roe. “It is doing everything in one, which is … thumbs up!”

All the looks featured in the show, as well as an expanded, curated collection of over 300 cotton-rich styles, are now available for purchase in a dedicated online shop on Amazon.com/ShopCotton until Wednesday, October 11, while supplies last.

The show made history for the brand with its first Fashion Week runway show debut, highlighting the latest cotton trends, while promoting the convenience and easy accessibility of purchasing the items straight from the runway on Amazon, making for a great consumer experience.

“This promotion broke new ground,” said Marissa Barlin, director of Strategic Alliances for Cotton Incorporated. “Cotton’s Fashion Delivered Runway Show is the archetype for how brands should approach fashion retailing, giving consumers a front row seat to a memorable experience and the ability to purchase the looks they want on Amazon through their mobile devices — a simple, seamless experience.”

The event marks another innovative consumer experience spearheaded by Cotton Incorporated, which has worked since 1970 to make cotton The Fabric of Our Lives®.

Posted September 14, 2018

Source: Cotton Incorporated

BÖNNIGHEIM, Germany — September 12, 2018 — As an accredited test laboratory with more than 1,000 staff worldwide, Hohenstein belongs to one of 18 institutes run by the OEKO-Tex® company and specialises in testing for toxic substances in textile products and textile components. Established two years ago, the ECO PASSPORT by Oeko-Tex certification serves to examine textile chemicals used as aids in production. The article details the certification process using the example of Total’s Lissolfix coning oil.

The Eco Passport by Oeko-Tex certification

The Eco Passport certification, conducted exclusively by Hohenstein in Germany, supplements the existing Oeko-Tex certifications such as STANDARD 100
 by Oeko-Tex. For over 25 years, Standard 100 has been examining raw, intermediate and finished textile products for toxic substances and certifying textile products that pose no threat to health. The Eco Passport certification follows a two-step process to analyze whether dyes, equipment, aids and other chemicals used in textile production can be classified as safe. Coning oils used to texture yarns may obtain Eco Passport certification as production-specific aids.

The importance of the Eco Passport by Oeko-Tex certification

Two years on from the certification’s introduction, the Oeko-Tex community has been able to certify more than 3000 products of over 400 customers worldwide.
The certification makes it easier for companies manufacturing and selling textiles in accordance with Standard 100 by Oeko-Tes to procure textile aids. It enables them to meet the market requirements for safe, non-toxic textiles, ensures that their textile-production staff are protected, help protecting the environment and the end consumer. For Total as an oil producer, the Eco Passport certification means one extra step to adapt to the industry’s requirements and offer eco-friendly oils in order to set itself apart from its competitors.

Eco Passport by Oeko-Tex certification process

Hohenstein and the applicant work in close consultation throughout every stage of the certification. If possible, the applicant should have an existing quality-assurance system complying with ISO standards. The textile chemicals are tested in two to three stages at Hohenstein’s testing laboratory.

Stage I: Compliance screening

In the case of initial certifications, applicant queries are clarified before the application is lodged. Once the application has been checked, safety data sheets and the composition of the product to be certified are analysed and examinations conducted to determine whether any prohibited substances are used in production. If they are, the manufacturer is given an opportunity to adjust the composition accordingly. In the case of Total’s Lissolfix coning oils, no regulated substances are used meaning the composition did not need to be adjusted.

Stage II: Analytical verification

If there are no abnormalities during the initial test, a laboratory test is conducted comparing the components with the limit values regarding toxic substances in textile products. If, for example, the test specimen’s packaging has resulted in contaminants, a new test specimen may be sent to the laboratory for examination. The parameters of the examination vary according to the product. In the case of Total’s Lissolfix APZX 1350 / 1500 / 4800 coning oils, the test specimen was checked for parameters such as heavy metals, formaldehyde, phthalates, and chlorinated, organotin and volatile organic compounds.

Stage III: Sustainability check

The summer of 2018 sees a third stage added to the process. In the interests of sustainability, this stage will address environmental protection and OHS and involves on-site checks at the producer’s premises. It will initially only be conducted at the applicant’s request.

Validity of the Eco Passport certification by Oeko-Tex

The Eco Passport by Oeko-Tex certification is valid for one year. Extensions may be requested no earlier than three months prior to the certification’s expiry. This will involve re-assessment of the documents and a simplified laboratory test in order to ensure quality has remained consistent. The toxins’ limit values or the textile chemicals’ production conditions may also have changed in the meantime, necessitating another test to meet the requirements. If changes are made to the certified product during the certification’s validity period, the certificate holder is obliged to report the change and, if necessary, provide a new test specimen for testing. As an oil manufacturer for the industry, Total is one of the first providers of coning oils to have its Lissolfix APZX 1350 / 1500 / 4800 products certified, and is already planning additional Eco Passport by Oeko-Tex certifications.

Posted September 14, 2018

Source: Hohenstein

DALTON, Ga. — September 13, 2018 — Shaw Contract, a global flooring manufacturer, has officially joined the World Green Building Council’s Net Zero Carbon Buildings Commitment as part of the momentous Global Climate Action Summit in San Francisco, celebrating 37 founding signatories.

Troy Virgo, Director of Sustainability and Product Stewardship, Shaw Contract, said: “The challenges of climate change are global in scale and require a global response. No one company can solve problems at this scale by itself, but we can each contribute to an effort that enables all of us to create a net zero future. Shaw Contract is proud of this latest partnership with the World Green Building Council to create a cleaner, healthier and more livable planet that stands to improve quality of life for all through the Net Zero Carbon Buildings Commitment.”

The Net Zero Carbon Building Commitment drives the scale and pace of action necessary to reduce carbon emissions and requires a transformation in the way we design, build and operate buildings.

The aim is to inspire industry and governments to develop aggressive strategies to start the actions necessary for change, and to fulfill their obligations within the Commitment. Signatories are required to evaluate their current energy use and associated emissions across their portfolios; identify opportunities to reduce energy wastage and improve energy efficiency; power their buildings from renewable energy sources; and report on progress against decarbonisation targets. All signatories will be expected to meet high verification standards, in the lead up to and in the year of achievement of net zero carbon emission buildings, and report annually on progress.

In an unprecedented statement of coordinated action from business and cities, states and regions, the 37 signatories, made up of 11 businesses, 22 cities and four states and regions, gathered at a dedicated session to signal the start of a leadership movement towards a decarbonized built environment. Combined, these organizations are committed to eliminating 244 million metric tons of carbon emissions equivalent (CO2e) from their buildings. That is the equivalent of 52 million cars off the road for one year.

Businesses across the world and throughout the building and construction supply chain, have set ambitious targets to eliminate operational carbon emissions from their building portfolios of over 10 million square meters by 2030. This will create a wider market transformation to enable net zero carbon buildings by 2050.

Leaders from some of the world’s biggest cities have committed to enact regulations and/or planning policy that will require all new buildings within their jurisdiction to operate at net zero carbon from 2030, and all buildings, including existing, to operate at net zero carbon by 2050. Some cities, along with state and regional governments, have additionally committed to ensure the municipal assets they own, operate and develop are net zero carbon by 2030.

Their collective commitment provides strong evidence that industry, mayors and governors are willing to take drastic action to prevent catastrophic climate change and create more comfortable, healthy and future-proofed environments for their employees and residents to occupy. WorldGBC welcomed the following founding signatories of the Commitment:

• Business, recruited from the Green Building Council network – Majid Al Futtaim, property developer in the Middle East; Integral Group, global engineering firm; Signify (formerly Philips Lighting), lighting manufacturer; Cundall, global engineering firm; Kilroy Realty, real estate investment trust; Frasers Property Australia, major developer; AMP Capital Wholesale Office Fund, property investment fund; Berkeley Group, residential property developer; Shaw Contract – Commercial division, flooring manufacturer; GPT Wholesale Office Fund, property investment fund; and Stockland, property developer.
• Cities, recruited in partnership with C40 – Copenhagen, Denmark; Cape Town, Durban, Johannesburg & Tshwane, South Africa; London, UK; Los Angeles, New York City, Newburyport, Portland, San Francisco, San Jose, Santa Monica & Washington DC, USA; Medellin, Colombia; Montreal, Toronto & Vancouver, Canada; Paris, France; Stockholm, Sweden; Sydney, Australia; and Tokyo, Japan.
• States and regions, recruited in partnership with The Climate Group as secretariat for the Under2 coalition – Baden-Württemberg, Germany; Yucatan, Mexico; Navarra and Catalonia, Spain.

The Net Zero Carbon Buildings Commitment has been developed in partnership with a wide stakeholder group including Green Buildings Councils, The Climate Group and C40. Last month, C40 announced that 19 cities from their network will join the Commitment across 9 countries. The Commitment forms part of EP100, a global corporate leadership initiative for energy-smart companies, delivered by The Climate Group in partnership with the Alliance to Save Energy. Businesses signing the Net Zero Carbon Buildings Commitment become EP100 members.

Posted September 14, 2018

Source: Shaw Contract