ECOTEXNANO
Safe use of nanomaterials in the textile finishing industry.
As the project is has now ended, we are pleased to showcase you the main results of the ECOTEXNANO project:
- Report on proposal for updating the Reference Document on Best Available Techniques (BREF) for the Textiles Industry (current TXT BREF from July 2003).
- Report on proposal for updating REACH Regulation (Regulation (EC) No 1907/2006 of the European Parliament and of the Council on the Registration, Evaluation, Authorisation and Restriction of Chemicals).
- Report on proposal for updating other EU policies:
- Regulation (EU) 528/2012 concerning the making available on the market and use of biocidal products.
- Regulation (EC) N° 1272/2008 on classification, labeling and packaging of substances and mixtures (CLP).
- Innovative tool that improves the knowledge on risk assessment of nanomaterials and promotes the safe use along their life cycle. It allows calculating the environmental, health and safety impacts of a future textile.
More will come soon when the Final report is finalised
Are you textfile finisher or do you sell finished fabrics?
Would you like to know what environmental impacts have you finished textiles?
Do you know how to assess the risk of the substances that you use?
Are you under REACH regulation?
Here is a free tool that helps you better understand your processes. The tool is currently in a validation process and should be ready in March 2017.
You can give your feedback through this questionnaire. Your input would be highly appreciated!
ECOTEXNANO presented a poster during the LCA Symposium in Montpellier, 20-22 September 2016
SETAC, the Society of Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry, is a non-profit, worldwide professional society open for all individuals and institutions working with the study, analysis, and solution of environmental problems, the management and regulation of natural resources, environmental education, and research and development. The mission of SETAC is to support the development of principles and practices for protection, enhancement and management of sustainable environmental quality and ecosystem integrity. Read more about SETAC!
On the 30th of March, the EcoTexNano consortium met in LEITAT facilities in Terrassa (Spain) for the 30M meeting of the project. Different ongoing actions were discussed such as the life cycle assessment of nano-textiles and conventional finished textiles, the risk assessment of the current processes and the environmental impact assessment. In addition, partners discussed about the pilot scale trials and the latest development of the EcoTexNano tool..
In fall 2013 EcoTexNano started its exploration towards the safe use of Nanomaterials in textile finishing operations. By now the project has entered its third-, and final year. By the end of 2016 EcoTexNano will provide a support tool for the textile finishing industry, to assess the risks for human health and the environmental impact of using nanomaterials in textile finishing operations.
Pilot productions
The core of EcoTexNano consists of pilot scale productions. During these small scaled production runs, the fabrics have been treated by either “conventional finishing“ or “nano-finishing”, allowing the quantification of the difference in environmental impacts and risks for human health. The applied finishes have provided the fabrics with one of the following functionalities; Antibacterial, UVprotection, Soil release or Flame retardancy.
The data collected during the production trials serves as the baseline for the risk analyses (RA) and life cycle analyses (LCA) that are being performed throughout the project. Examples of such data are the number of nanoparticles in the air (Risk Analyses) and the raw materials used, energy consumption, water consumption, (hazardous) waste streams and air emissions for Life cycle assessment.
Pilot trials were performed at Piacenza, the manufacturer of luxurious woolen fabrics, and Vincolor, the subsidiary finishing department of Crevin (upholstery manufacturer).
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On the 2nd of December, the technological center ITENE organised a joint workshop on risk assessment and risk management strategies applied to nanomaterials in Madrid. The workshop included results from the projects on nanomaterials and nanosafety such as SIRENA, REACHnano, ECOTEXnano and GUIDEnano. To see the programme of the workshop, click here.
Some presentations are already available. Click on the links below to download them:
- EcoTexNano: Innovative tool to improve risk assessment and promote the safe use of nanomaterials in the textile finishing industry
- EcoTexNano: A tool for the safe use of nanomaterials in the textile finishing industry
- REACHnano: Tools to support the chemical safety assessment of Nanomaterials under REACH: REACHnano toolkit
