Environmentally friendly fabric finishes

Fabric finishing has a large impact on the environment. Important issues with which finishing companies need to deal are energy and water consumption, air emissions, water emissions, the chemical load of the water, and waste (i.e., textile waste and chemical waste). Reduction of water emissions is driven by the Water Framework Directive targeting 2015 as the year for getting all EU waters into good condition. To avoid waste and energy consumption, new finishing chemicals are being developed that are reusable, water free, biobased, or biodegradable. Changes in regulation led to the ban and restriction of hazardous substances currently used for finishing, which in turn has put pressure on the finishing companies to fulfill all requirements.