How to mitigate the environmental impact caused by flame retardants?

On the 1st of July, a new project called LIFE-FLAREX started aiming to carry out an analysis of the environmental impact of the best technologies currently available that are alternative to toxic Flame Retardants (FRs) used in textile finishing processes. The project will concentrate on those that are halogenated, and demonstrate which are the best alternatives: the less toxic and with lower environmental impact but at the same time those that will keep the required properties of the fabric.

The project is coordinated by AEI Textils, a non-profit association, which has the aim of joining all Catalan companies and organizations related directly or indirectly to the technical textiles sector and which form a specialized productive area with competitive advantages.

Specifically, the objectives of the LIFE-FLAREX project are:

• To apply the substitution principle to FR chemicals listed on the REACH SVHC and Candidate lists on the basis of i) PBT character, ii) high production volumes, iii) widespread use and iv) potential exposure of general population
• To demonstrate and evaluate at industrial scale the feasibility of suitable chemicals for replacing FR, in the home textile sector, that can support the application of REACH legislative framework on the substitution principle environment
• To encourage the substitution of halogenated FR so that at the end of the project their use in the home textile sector has been reduced by 10% and by another 10% in the following 3 years.