ALEXANDRIA, Va. — January 24, 2017 — Following months of discussions and coordination among TRSA and the New York City government to mitigate the regulatory impact, a new law goes into effect January 31, 2017 that licenses and sets standards for commercial and on-premise laundries serving hotels, hospitals, restaurants and other businesses within the city.

Since press reports spurred this bill, TRSA worked to inform city officials about actual practices, to prevent unnecessary burdens on commercial laundries operating within and serving customers in New York City. For example, rather than have the Commissioner of the Department of Consumer Affairs (DCA) establish standards of cleanliness for linens, uniforms and other textiles, those standards will be based TRSA’s industry-leading Hygienically Clean certification.

Following earlier teleconferences and webinars, TRSA organized a meeting on January 11 of laundry operators and city officials at the Department of Consumer Affairs offices to discuss implementation.

Several key issues were discussed:

• There are two licenses, one for laundries operating within New York City and a second for laundries delivering within the city including those operating in the surrounding states.
• These licensing requirements apply to both commercial and on-premise laundries including on-premise laundries in hotels, gyms and other businesses.
• All laundries are required to tag delivery trucks and thousands of laundry carts with a company’s license number. Laundries operating within the city are open to DCA inspection while only the vehicles delivering from laundries processing outside the city may be inspected.
• The application process requires that all laundries certify legal compliance with safety and wage requirements for the jurisdiction in which they operate.

“Hotel laundries are liable under the new law, whether they realize it or not,” said TRSA President and CEO Joseph Ricci. “In terms of hotels, roughly 70-75 percent of the hotels actually have laundries that would require licensing.”

TRSA expects the new licensing and regulations to impact more than 50 commercial laundries serving New York City and hundreds of smaller, on-premise laundries operated by hotels, gyms and other businesses. TRSA is available to assist laundries that serve city businesses with any questions about compliance.

TRSA represents an $18-billion industry employing nearly 200,000 people at more than 1,500 facilities nationwide. The industry reaches every major business and industrial region and municipality in the country.

Most Americans benefit at least once a week from the cleanliness and safety provided by the industry—through its laundering and delivery of reusable linens, uniforms, towels, floor mats and other products for the healthcare, hospitality and industrial/manufacturing sectors. TRSA member companies’ services minimize environmental impacts on air, water and solid waste disposal while reducing costs for millions of customers.

TRSA’s industry-leading Hygienically Clean certifications recognize textile services companies’ commitment to cleanliness through laundry plant inspection and third party, quantified biological testing. The certification process verifies plant processes used in these facilities meet appropriate hygienically clean standards and best management practices (BMPs) across all laundry customer market segments.

Posted January 25, 2017

Source: TRSA

KING OF PRUSSIA, Pa. — January 25, 2017 —“For several decades, Arkema has been a well-known supplier of Rilsan® Fine Powders specialty polyamide powder coatings,” said Adrien Lapeyre, global market manager for Arkema’s technical polymer powders. “We are now pleased to add a new range of Kynar® fluoropolymer powder coatings to enhance our portfolio and to position purselves as true solution providers for the industry,” said Lapeyre. “Until now, our flagship polyamide 11 powder coatings have enabled us to become the industry benchmark for heavy duty durability, impact resistance and flexibility. We now add extreme chemical resistance and inertness to our list of features,” he noted.

Kynar® PVDF is very well known globally as a premium fluoropolymer brand offering extreme resistance to chemicals, UV exposure, acids and bases. Included in the new powder product line are Kynar Flex® 2850 PC and Kynar® ADX Flex 281targeting applications which require varying levels of flexibility, adhesion, and differing application methods. Both spray and dip coating options are available as well as primerless options using Arkema’s patented Kynar® ADX technology. Kynar Flex® 2850PC can be spray applied in thicker layers than most fluoropolymers, making it a ‘process friendly’ powder coating.

The new Kynar® PVDF powder coatings should be considered for the protection of small metal chemical storage tanks, high purity manufacturing components, valves, pumps, ducts, and other chemical handling or mining equipment subjected to acids, halogenated chemicals, petrochemicals, continued abrasion, and continuous exposure temperatures of up to 95°C. Kynar Flex® 2850 PC powder coatings copolymer resin may be safely used in articles intended for repeated contact with food, per Title 21, Code of Federal Regulations, Chapter 1, part 177.2600, and is USP Class 6 compliant for applications in the biotech industry.

Posted January 25, 2017

Source: Arkema

ZURICH — January 20, 2017 — OEKO-TEX® is pleased to announce that it is joining the Zero Discharge of Hazardous Chemicals (ZDHC) Program. OEKO-TEX® has long supported the vision of globally implementing sustainable/green chemistry and best practices in the textile, apparel, and footwear industries in order to protect consumers, workers, and the environment. OEKO-TEX® looks forward to collaboration with other leading brands and contributors that are also members of the ZDHC Program. Collectively, we believe that industry-wide change in responsible chemicals management, sustainability, and transparency is possible.

Since 1992, OEKO-TEX® has been committed to helping companies produce safer textiles and operate more sustainably. After twenty-five years, the STANDARD 100 by OEKO-TEX® is the global benchmark for textile products that have been tested to be free from harmful levels of more than 300 concerning chemicals. The latest annual update to the STANDARD 100, announced earlier this month, includes changes that more fully support the ZDHC goals.

“OEKO-TEX® has long been committed to helping companies reduce the use of toxic chemicals throughout their supply chains,” says Georg Dieners, OEKO-TEX® General Secretary. “We look forward to engaging actively with the ZDHC and its other members to achieve the milestones set forth in the Joint Roadmap to eliminate hazardous chemicals from the supply chain by 2020.”

Posted January 23, 2017

Source: Oeko-Tex

WASHINGTON — January 23, 2017 — Walmart, The Walmart Foundation and The U.S. Conference of Mayors recently announced this year’s U.S. Manufacturing Innovation Fund grant recipients at the 85th Winter Meeting of the U.S. Conference of Mayors in Washington.

Six leading research and academic institutions were awarded a total of nearly $3 million in grants by the Fund for their work focused on innovations in textile manufacturing. The Fund focuses on the development of domestic manufacturing with a specific goal of making it more feasible, sustainable and competitive to make consumer goods in the U.S. The Innovation Fund has now provided a total of $10 million in grants since launching in 2014. This is the third and final round of grants for the Innovation Fund.

The grant recipients were selected for their ability to address two key challenges that currently present barriers to increased domestic manufacturing. These challenges are

• Reducing the cost of textile manufacturing, including home textiles and apparel, in the U.S. by addressing obstacles throughout production
• Improving common manufacturing processes with broad application to many types of consumer products

“Advancing the production or assembly of consumer products in the U.S. is the number one goal of the Innovation Fund,” said Kathleen McLaughlin, president of the Walmart Foundation and chief sustainability officer for Walmart. “As these projects come to fruition over the next few years, we hope the research not only enables cost-effective solutions for manufacturers, but also improves the sustainability of the U.S. textile industry.”

“America’s cities are the economic engines of this nation and America’s mayors know the importance of economic growth and job creation in their cities,” said Tom Cochran, CEO and executive director of The U.S. Conference of Mayors. “The final round of innovation projects we launch today, like those we’ve launched over the past two years, are specifically designed to grow manufacturing in our cities and to fuel the economic growth this nation depends on.”

The 2017 Walmart U.S. Manufacturing Innovation Fund grant winners are:

• Washington State University to establish an environmentally friendly process to recycle cotton waste by fiber regeneration using a wet spinning technique.
• North Carolina State University to create a universal and sustainable commercial textile dyeing method that doesn’t use salt or alkali; doesn’t produce effluent; and produces more than 95 percent savings of both energy and water.
• Clemson University for development of sustainable polyester fibers that achieve a high level of water and oil repellency.
• Oregon State University to develop a sustainable, cost-effective dyeing and printing of smart fabrics process.
• Texas Tech University to support research on various aspects of textile manufacturing, dyeing efficiency and specialty finishes.
• University of Massachusetts Lowell to develop magnetic dyeing technology to address the technical and environmental issues of current dyeing techniques.

Support for the Innovation Fund is part of Walmart’s broader commitment to help revitalize U.S. manufacturing. In January 2013, Walmart announced a commitment to buy an additional $250 billion in products that support U.S. jobs by 2023.

These commitments represent a significant investment that will help accelerate the pace of U.S. manufacturing. By making production in the U.S. more cost-effective and efficient, the global retailer believes it can bring American consumers more American-made products and ultimately create jobs in communities across the country.

Posted January 24, 2017

Source: Walmart Foundation

WASHINGTON — January 20, 2016 — The National Council of Textile Organizations (NCTO) congratulates President Donald Trump on his inauguration as the 45th President of the United States of America.

“NCTO congratulates President Trump on his inauguration,” said NCTO President & CEO Auggie Tantillo. “The U.S. textile industry is eager to partner with him to stimulate American jobs, production and exports.

“From fibers to finished fabrics, American companies make the highest quality and most innovative textiles in the world. Given a level playing field, U.S. textile industry is primed for expansion,” Tantillo added as he noted the sector’s comeback from the 2008 financial crisis despite intense competition from Asian suppliers that often benefit from state subsidies and cents-on-the-hour wage rates. Since the end of the recession in mid-2009, U.S. textile production has grown by 21 percent.

“NCTO also would like to thank President Obama for his service to our great nation. U.S. textile manufacturers are grateful for his administration’s work to improve the industry’s competitiveness,” Tantillo said.

Pointing out that President Obama created and funded a fiber and textile manufacturing innovation center, the Advanced Functional Fabrics of America (AFFOA), and that his administration opened a direct and very sincere line of communication with NCTO on sensitive policy matters, Tantillo remarked, “The U.S. textile sector had a legitimate and impactful seat at the policy table in recent years, a privilege greatly appreciated.”

Posted January 23, 2016

Source: NCTO