Two global fiber producers, the Lenzing Group and Birla Cellulose, and Turkish denim manufacturer Isko have become contributing members of the ZDHC Roadmap to Zero Program.
The organization said the addition of these companies will contribute to its vision of widespread implementation of sustainable chemistry, driving innovations and best practices in the textile, apparel and footwear industries. ZDHC also noted that the addition of Birla Cellulose and Lenzing Group marks a significant program expansion into the area of raw material production, starting this year with man-made cellulosic fibers. With Isko on board, ZDHC increases its uptake across regions with its first contributor from Turkey.
By joining ZDHC, companies commit to chemical management best practices and leading the adoption and implementation of ZDHC tools, which include the ZDHC Wastewater Guidelines, the ZDHC Gateway and the ZDHC MRSL. The Wastewater Guidelines set a unified expectation on wastewater quality for the entire textile and footwear industry. The Gateway is an advanced search engine for formulations that are conforming to ZDHC’s MRSL, supporting textile and leather manufacturers to find safer alternatives and drive substitution of hazardous chemicals. The MRSL is a list of chemical substances banned from intentional use in facilities that process textile materials and trim parts in apparel and footwear.
ZDHC said by joining, the companies “become part of a collaborative industry approach to drive harmonization and reduce duplication and confusion of standards within the value chains.”
With the addition of these three companies, the number of contributors to the ZDHC Roadmap to Zero Program now totals 95, comprising three categories–24 signatory brands, 56 value chain affiliates and 15 associates. The new contributors all join in the category of Value Chain affiliates from the Textile Industry.
Birla Cellulose, headquartered in India, is the pulp and fiber unit of The Aditya Birla Group. It produces VSF, a natural man-made fiber from wood pulp.
Lenzing Group, based in Austria, produces fibers from renewable raw material wood with environmentally friendly and innovative technologies. Its products are marketed under brands that include Tencel, Veocel, as well as innovations like Refibra recycling technology, Lenzing Ecovero and Tencel Luxe branded lyocell filament yarn.
Isko has a production capacity of 250 million meters of denim fabric each year in a 300,000-square-meter factory. It has integrated production from yarn to finishing. ISKO is part of the Sanko Holding and a trademark of Sanko Tekstil.