ALEXANDRIA, Va. — July 7, 2017 — Crescent Laundry, Davenport, Iowa, has again achieved Hygienically Clean (HC) Healthcare certification, reflecting their commitment to best management practices (BMPs) in laundering as verified by on-site inspection and their capability to produce hygienically clean textiles as quantified by ongoing microbial testing.

Crescent was first certified in 2014. Recertification confirms the organization’s continuing dedication to infection prevention, compliance with recognized industry standards and processing healthcare textiles using BMPs as described in its quality assurance documentation, a focal point for Hygienically Clean inspectors’ evaluation. The independent, third-party inspection must also confirm essential evidence that:

• Employees are properly trained and protected;
• Managers understand regulatory requirements;
• OSHA-compliant; and
• Physical plant operates effectively.

Certified facilities pass three rounds of outcome-based microbial testing, indicating that their processes are producing Hygienically Clean Healthcare textiles and zero presence of yeast, mold and harmful bacteria. To maintain their certification, laundry plants must pass quarterly testing to ensure that as laundry conditions change, such as water quality, textile fabric composition and wash chemistry, laundered product quality is consistently maintained.

This process eliminates subjectivity by focusing on outcomes and results that verify textiles cleaned in these facilities meet appropriate hygienically clean standards and BMPs for hospitals, surgery centers, medical offices, nursing homes and other medical facilities.

Hygienically Clean Healthcare certification acknowledges laundries’ effectiveness in protecting healthcare operations through testing and inspections that scrutinize quality control procedures in textile services operations related to the handling of textiles containing blood and other potentially infectious materials.

Certified laundries use processes, chemicals and BMPs acknowledged by the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, Association for the Advancement of Medical Instrumentation, American National Standards Institute and others. Introduced in 2012, Hygienically Clean Healthcare brought to North America the international cleanliness standards for healthcare linens and garments used worldwide by the Certification Association for Professional Textile Services and the European Committee for Standardization.

Objective experts in epidemiology, infection control, nursing and other healthcare professions work with Hygienically Clean launderers to ensure the certification continues to enforce the highest standards for producing clean healthcare textiles.

“Congratulations to Crescent Laundry on their recertification,” said Joseph Ricci, TRSA president and CEO. “This achievement proves their ongoing commitment to infection prevention and that their laundry facilities take every step possible to prevent human illness.”

Posted July 7, 2017

Source: TRSA

USTER, Switzerland — July 6, 2017 — It all started as three pages in the German textile magazine Melliand in 1957. Today, the global benchmarks known as USTER^® STATISTICS have legendary status throughout the industry as an objective measure of quality. This article marks the 60^th anniversary of Uster Statistics — 6 decades of a unique and free benchmarking service for the textile field. Their development over the decades provides a reliable monitor of how quality demands in textiles have increased. For example, a typical yarn with a 50-percent quality rating back in 1964 would need to register much better evenness to reach the same level half a century later. This comparison is made using Uster Statistics Percentiles for comparing the quality of spinning mills worldwide. Looking ahead, the ongoing expansion of Uster Statistics will continue with the inclusion of many more quality parameters such as Hairiness Length Classification in the 2018 edition.

Spinners themselves were behind the origins of Uster Statistics in the 1950s, as they saw the benefit of benchmarking their yarn quality against competitors in other mills. Uster had earlier introduced the first yarn evenness tester in 1948, and was therefore an obvious choice to answer the spinners’ request. This led to the publication of the so-called Uster Standards, the forerunner of Uster Statistics, which listed only unevenness data as U% and CV figures for carded and combed yarn.

From cotton to blends

Evenness remains one of the essential quality standards for the industry today – although the number of other yarn parameters now measured has grown over time, in line with the launch of further Uster instruments for yarn quality improvement. By 1997, standards for fibers were added, based on the Uster AFIS. The statistical data has also become much more comprehensive, extending to take in a wider range of fiber materials, including wool, viscose, polyester and even blends.

In 1957, Uster Statistics included just three quality parameters, contained in two chapters across only six pages, including six graphs. The latest 2013 edition of Uster Statistics covers 101 quality parameters in 123 chapters, using over 2,500 graphs. “The standards are far more than figures to compare yarn quality around the world,” says Gabriela Peters, Product Manager Yarn Testing within Uster Technologies. “Uster Statistics have become a common language of quality for yarn producers and yarn users.”

The famous red lines…

Uster Statistics Percentiles (USP) were introduced in 1965 — and today everybody in the industry recognizes the familiar red lines, indicating values for a 5%, 25%, 50%, 75% and 95% standard. The USP figure is a rating for a particular parameter, based on comparisons with the quality level being produced by mills worldwide.

Today yarns are often spot-market internet purchases. Missing specifications based upon objective values lead to a serious deterioration in the quality of garments or other textile products that is why also leading yarn traders insist on clear specifications for yarns and Uster Statistics offer the references. The famous red lines show their relevance along the textile value chain. Uster Statistics actually bridges the gap between yarn producers and yarn users, enabling them to talk about quality in a way that is understood by all.

The change in evenness

Standards for evenness testing have been available for 60 years and it is interesting to note how much the values behind this standard have improved. The evenness of yarns has become better and better over the long term. Taking a typical ring-spun yarn of 100% combed cotton, 20 tex (Ne 30), a USP rating of 50% could be achieved in 1964 with a CVm of 15.2. To be at the same level, a similar yarn in 2013 would have required a CVm value of 12.6. This changing requirement is clearly shown by comparing fabrics made from yarn with these parameters. Sample A, with a USP 50% value for CVm in 1964, exhibits a much more ‘cloudy’ appearance than Sample B, which would have rated a USP value of 50% for CVm 49 years later. The fabric in Sample A demonstrates that the yarn used would be regarded as much less acceptable under today’s increased quality expectations.

This trend underscores the fact that customers over the years have become more and more demanding about yarn evenness, in tandem with the quality improvements made possible by the technological progress in spinning machinery. At the same time, the evenness testing instrument has become much more sophisticated — with advanced technology and sensors now providing the most accurate testing results. With the essential support of Uster Statistics as a tool for daily testing routines, the latest-generation Uster Tester 6 is the ultimate in user-friendly and intelligent quality assurance. Its integration of all test data enables the automatic production of quality reports with a clear presentation of the USP values.

The one and only

What makes Uster Statistics unique is the fact that no other company has attempted to establish its own system of collating and publishing textile quality standards. The Statistics will be continuously developed in the future – with an important addition already planned for the next edition in 2018 to include hairiness length values measured by the new HL sensors, launched with Uster Tester 6.

The entire textile chain – yarn producers, their customers downstream, as well as traders and machine manufacturers – acknowledge that Uster Statistics has played a key part in establishing the Uster name as a synonym for quality standards in the textile industry. “I congratulate Uster Technologies on the 60th anniversary of Uster Statistics and I pay tribute to the company’s achievements in setting the standards we all use in our routines,” says S.P. Oswal, Chairman, Vardhaman Textiles Ltd.

Literally, Uster Statistics are the only way to compare yarn quality objectively – and the textile industry can depend on their continued assistance for the next 60 years and beyond.

Posted July 6, 2017

Source: Uster Technologies AG

LONDON — July 6, 2017 — Greycon were appointed by Tatrafan to implement a trim optimization solution after a careful evaluation of the current slit optimization system at Tatrafan’s plant in Svit, Slovakia. Tatrafan is a BOPP (Bi-Oriented Polypropylene) packaging film producer part of the Terichem Group and produce 17,000 metric tons of packaging film per year.

After a successful pilot where some of the benefits from Greycon’s solution included; reduction of trim waste and optimisation of knife changes. Tatrafan could see the benefits to implementing Greycon’s trim optimisation solution, X-Trim. X-Trim was integrated with Tatrafan’s Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) system, SAP.

Jari Kaukiainen, Sales Manager for EMEA states; “Tatrafan represents a great example where the benefits became obvious through a small pilot project before the implementation. This is one of those supercool aspects with the X-Trim solution, as it is possible to run X-Trim as a stand-alone solution for a period and afterwards integrate it seamlessly with SAP, showing Tatrafan a significant improvement almost from day one.”

“We were very happy to continue on from the successful pilot project and move Greycon’s state of the art optimizing tool into daily production at Tatrafan. It is the combination of the various efficiency improvements such as waste minimization, optimization of knife changes, minimization of number of patterns as well as managing different winder types combined with the easy-to-use trim solution which make a difference in Tatrafan’s daily production processes” comments Martin Lach, Managing Director at Tatrafan.

Posted July 6, 2017

Source: Greycon

MASON, Ohio — July 5, 2017 — Downlite — a down and feather processor and supplier of responsibly-sourced performance fills to the outdoor, home furnishings and hospitality markets — has embarked on its latest sustainability program. The company recently engaged an outside organic recycling company to utilize the large waste feathers that traditionally end up in landfill, and instead, treat them for soil compost.

Much of the by-product Downlite’s collaborative recycling company receives for compost is food waste that has a high moisture content. The dry feathers help make the compost more manageable when mixed with other matter. Additionally, feathers have an added pore space that degrade the organic matter of the compost more efficiently. Lastly, feathers are rich in keratin, a protein that slowly releases nitrogen when added to compost. The slow release of nitrogen allows for long-term plant growth stimulation.

Downlite’s composting program is the most recent in a series of ongoing environmental and sustainable initiatives. Last fall, the company installed a waste water recycling system (WWRS) to treat and recycle water used to process down. To date, Downlite’s WWRS has successfully allowed the company to treat and recycle over 20 million gallons of water — exceeding company expectations.

“Our sustainability efforts go well beyond our sourcing and production processes, they also serve as the foundation for new products that we create for our partners,” said Chad Altbaier, vice president, Downlite Outdoor. “To help manage the upward costing pressure down is now facing, we will be introducing exciting hybrid insulations involving natural and recycled materials, which offer the dual benefit of enhancing the performance of the material, while being grounded in our core value of environmental stewardship. We look forward to announcing more information about our performance hybrid fills soon.”

At the forthcoming Outdoor Retailer Summer Market, Downlite will present its new GRS certified re/charged down™, which the company introduced earlier this year. Not only is re/charged down 100-percent recycled, it is also 100-percent post-consumer, thus eliminating tons of material going into a landfill. re/charged down provides unprecedented performance levels for 100-percent recycled down due to its ability to ‘boost’ the down to a higher cluster and resulting fill power. Downlite is proud to have already commercialized this product with its outerwear brand partners for the FW18 season, and will be donating 1-percent of its sales to 1% for the Planet.

Posted July 5, 2017

Source: Downlite