Firms are looking to reduce the ecological footprint of textile printing

Adopting sustainable practices across the value chain, right from procurement of materials to the processing and manufacturing of textiles, has gained much needed attention in the last few years. In this interview, Suhas More, Commercial Director – SAMEA, Huntsman Corporation, explains how the need for energy efficiency and cost management is fuelling the demand for printed textiles.

How is your company catering to the needs of printing in the textile industry?
Huntsman Textile Effects focuses on providing innovative solutions to the textile industry through technology advancements in four key areas — aesthetics, durability, functionality, and performance. Our textile dyes, chemicals and digital inks provide the latest enhancing capabilities to finished textile of all major fibers, including cotton, polyester, wool, nylon, silk and acrylic. With respect to printing, we provide advanced digital inks to textile printers of various fabric blends which help achieve an unlimited array of complex colours and patterns while offering cost savings and resource optimisation.

Our portfolio of digital inks includes our next-generation solutions NOVACRON ADVANCE and ERIOFAST VISTA, designed for remarkable coloristic performance at reduced energy consumption, LANASET and TERASIL inks, primarily used for apparel and sportswear, and LYOSPERSE, TERASIL and NOVACRON inks for apparel and home textiles. We also have digital ink solutions that have been developed keeping in mind the fast-growing segments of soft-signage and technical textiles.

How are textile companies adopting sustainability in printing processes?
Adopting sustainable practices across the value chain, right from procurement of materials to the processing and manufacturing of textiles, has gained much needed attention in the last few years. More manufacturers are shifting to newer machines and processes that enable companies to reduce the ecological footprint of textile printing. One of the key benefits of our offerings for this sector is that we help companies further their sustainability efforts while also enabling cost-reduction and maximization of yield. We believe this provides the industry with a real imperative to make the shift to new innovative technologies. The rise in demand for printed textiles has majorly been fuelled by this coupling of energy efficiency and cost management.

How is your company helping Indian textile firms to meet their requirement of eco-friendly textile printing?
The Indian textiles and apparel market is growing at an unprecedented rate and contributes to 7 percent of the country’s industrial output. As output grows, it is essential that the sector comes together to minimise the impact of operations on the environment. The dyeing and finishing needs of textile manufacturers in 36 countries around the globe, including USA, Germany and China are met through our manufacturing facility in Vadodara, Gujarat. Nearly 35% of the products manufactured at the site are used locally.

Digital printing offers high-resolution prints with unlimited colour combinations and utilises less amount of ink, electricity, and water as compared to other traditional techniques. Huntsman Textile Effects is one of the leading providers of integrated textile solutions for every aspect of digital printing right from Preparatory and Digital Inks to finishing segments. Our Novacron XKS HD and NOVACRON ADVANCE ranges offer superior performance and enhanced reliability along with higher definition compared to similar inkjet preparations.

What are your plans to further tap the textile printing market in India?

In line with the government’s vision to make India more self-reliant, we aim to continue expanding our presence across the country, while further building on our existing product portfolio to meet the needs of diverse markets across the globe. As always, we will continue supporting our customers all over the world through the development of innovative, ecological solutions that help reduce environmental footprint and enhance resource optimization. We are also developing and introducing new products from time to time to cater to evolving customer needs, while also enhancing quality and enabling cost optimisation. Our innovative Novacron P range Dyes & Lyoprint printing range auxiliaries meet key requirements, combining performance and functionality with aesthetics and fashion. Together with our long-standing expertise across Digital & Traditional printing, we are well placed to support the current and future needs of the textile mills, brands & retailers.