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OFC SNW April-May-2020_HD_Sustainable News Magazine 07/04/2020 14:08 Page 1 April / May 2020 / May April SUSTAINABLE NONWOVENS Collaboration is key Nonwovens sector an essential partner in coronavirus fight Firm foundations Fibre technologies Home comforts Nonwovens as the Natural, renewable Latest developments bedrock of geotextiles and recycled staple fibres in the home textiles sector Published by Technical Innovation and Industry Best Practice THE COTTON EXPERTS. THE PUREST COTTON AVAILABLE FOR YOUR FEMININE hygiene baby care ADULT INCONTINENCE NOW 35% MORE HYDROPHOBIC Durable hydrophobic cotton delivering superior moisture & wetness control. NEW & IMPROVED! HYDROPHOBIC • IMPROVED DURABILITY - withstands rigorous hydroentangling processes NONABSORBENT - hydrophobicity promotes dryness and comfort NATURAL FIBER replaces synthetic and manmade fi bers in nonwoven applications ORGANIC & CONVENTIONAL COTTON - purifi ed with GOTS approved chemistry Pure, Clean, Natural Cotton fiber Breathable 100% Natural Safe & Trusted Biodegradable Sustainable Super Soft & Comfortable Hypoallergenic www.barnhardtcotton.com Editorial-April-May_HD_Layout 1 09/04/2020 11:36 Page 1 EDITORIAL Editorial office MCL News & Media, Hallcroft House, Castleford Road, Normanton, West Yorkshire, WF6 2DW, UK. Tel: +44 (0) 1977 708488 Fax: +44 (0)1924 897254 E-mail: [email protected] Appropriate response Web: www.nonwovensnews.com As the nonwovens industry steps up to Alliance using research underwritten by the plate to help deal with the pressures companies like Novolex - one of the Editor Haydn Davis | [email protected] of the coronavirus global pandemic, a country’s largest manufacturers of plastic familiar issue is rearing its head. film and packaging - and groups like the Consulting editor Such has been the ramping up of American Chemistry Council (ACC), Adrian Wilson [email protected] | [email protected] personal protective equipment which represents the world’s largest production such as masks, gloves, fossil fuel and chemical companies. Deputy editor Tony Whitfield | [email protected] gowns, head covers, and even shoe The vast numbers of PPE currently covers, that the amount of waste being used by health workers around the Consulting editor Calvin Woodings | [email protected] generation of single use plastics, albeit world are single-use in nature as it isn’t essential SUPs, is unprecedented. safe for them to be reused or recycled Global advertising David Jagger | [email protected] However, a knock-on effect of the because of fears over contamination. The virus has been the delay to key legislative result is that sustainability and waste Subscriptions & sales Paula Jones | [email protected] introductions on plastic prevention. generation will inevitably become a Governments and manufacturers are lower priority for the time being. Design Gavin Gibson | [email protected] developing contingency plans which However, as Edie, the climate change means that the implementation of and sustainability business publication EDITORIAL ADVISORY PANEL environmental legislation will inevitably notes, it is here where the key Dr George Kellie, Kellie Solutions have been placed on the backburner just distinctions within the debate need to Vanessa Knowles, Pebble International Ed Krisiunas, WNWN (Waste Not, Want Not) as many countries were poised to be reinforced. John Mowbray, Ecotextile News implement bans on single-use plastics, or As we have reiterated many times in Colin Purvis, Purvis Consulting SCS. introduce new systems to collect plastics. these pages, it is not necessarily that Stephen J. Russell, Nonwovens Research Group, University of Leeds. In the US, for example, both New York plastics are unrequired and unwanted, Dr Karl-Michael Schumann, InnovatorenGruppe and Maine have had to delay various with the current situation clearly Larry C. Wadsworth, US Pacific Nonwovens bans and charges on single-use plastics, demonstrating the benefits of Vicki Barbur, Advanced Innovation to April and January respectively. plastic-based nonwovens and the Subscriptions These delays are completely industry’s admirable and demonstrable Sustainable Nonwovens understandable. However, more ability to scale up production when Published six times per year in magazine and digital format. worryingly, a new briefing from demand rockets. Thankfully, many are Includes all digital back issues, premium web access, a weekly e-bulletin and access to our mobile app. Greenpeace USA claims that some urgently just wanting to ramp up Price starts from £160.00 including global airmail delivery industry groups are using the Covid-19 productivity to assist with the global E: [email protected] crisis to lobby that bans on plastic bags, responses to the pandemic. Electronic storage or usage for example, should be suspended. The warning signs are there though Permission of the publisher is required to store or Described as exploiting people’s fears that some elements within the plastics use electronically any material contained in this journal, including any article or part of an article. around Covid-19, Greenpeace says that industry are pushing to exploit loopholes the plastics industry and its surrogates to create pushbacks on legislation. Notice No responsibility is assumed by the publisher for any commercial have utilized older, industry-funded The balance surely comes in ensuring loss as a matter of products liability, negligence or otherwise, studies to publish op-eds and stories that new plastics production doesn’t or ideas contained in the material herein. claiming that reusables are somehow do what it historically has done, harm more dangerous than other options in the natural environment and drive ISSN: 2049-9043 grocery stores and elsewhere, despite climate change. new research from the National Institutes of Health, CDC, UCLA, and Princeton University showing that Covid-19 can live on plastic surfaces longer than others, for as long as two to three days. According to Greenpeace, this plastics www.mclnews.com industry PR push has been carried out by organizations like the Manhattan © Published by MCL News & Media 2020. Institute, the Competitive Enterprise All rights reserved. Institute, and the American Energy Haydn Davis, Editor Printed on PEFC™ certified paper. April / May 2020 | Sustainable Nonwovens | 1 Contents-April-May-2020_HD_Layout 1 09/04/2020 11:37 Page 2 www.nonwovensnews.com Insight: 24 Staple developments Expanding the processes for natural, renewable or recycled staple fibre-based nonwovens and the products made with them is currently a hot topic in the industry, writes Adrian Wilson. Features 29 Pollutant prevention Electronics giant Sony has developed rice husk fabrics for advanced filtration. 30 Firm foundations Needlepunched polypropylene nonwovens are the bedrock for the range of functional geocomposites manufactured by the UK’s GEOFabrics. 34 Fabrics on four wheels Nonwovens featured prominently in a recent conference exploring all aspects of textile materials for the automotive industry. Adrian Wilson reports. 39 Home comforts Sustainability and functionality are the key trends currently dominating the home and contract textiles market. 44 Perfect particles Martin Brunner, Christophe Roux and Michael Knerr of Omya International outline the company’s development of calcium carbonate designed for PP spunmelt and dry-laid nonwovens. 46 Sandler boosted by capacity expansion Nonwovens manufacturer Sandler has outlined its performance over the last year while also updating on its latest expansion activities following on from its 140-year anniversary. Every issue 12 Nonwovens News 48 Material Matters 54 News Extra 56 People 57 Trade shows and conferences 2 | Sustainable Nonwovens | April / May 2020 Contents-April-May-2020_HD_Layout 1 09/04/2020 11:37 Page 3 CONTENTS Key feature Collaboration is key in fight against COVID-19 The nonwovens and related industries are proving to be essential partners in the global fight against the coronavirus pandemic. Starts on page 4 April / May 2020 / May April 48 SUSTAINABLE NONWOVENS 46 Collaboration is key Nonwovens sector an essential partner in coronavirus fight Firm foundations Fibre technologies Home comforts Nonwovens as the Natural, renewable Latest developments bedrock of geotextiles and recycled staple fibres in the home textiles sector Published by Technical Innovation and Industry Best Practice FRONT COVER: Image: © LuckyStep | shutterstock.com 34 44 12 24 39 April / May 2020 | Sustainable Nonwovens | 3 Covid-19_HD_Layout 1 09/04/2020 12:13 Page 4 www.nonwovensnews.com Collaboration is key in fight against Covid-19 Nonwovens and other related industries are proving to be essential partners in the global fight against the coronavirus pandemic. DANA, the European nonwovens Industries are proving to be an essential the coronavirus is not always possible. industry association, has been partner in the fight against the corona Healthcare workers are therefore urged working closely with the services virus pandemic,” said EDANA general to apply standard precautions consis- Eof the European Commission to manager, Pierre Wiertz. tently with all patients – regardless of find solutions for the continued provision Nonwoven protective clothing was their diagnosis – at all times. These of essential medical and protective widely deployed to deal with previous include basic hand hygiene, respiratory equipment and to any bottleneck in the epidemic scares, including the 2003 hygiene, safe