If you’ve been following us on Twitter, then you may be aware that we’re concerned about the use of virgin wood pulp to make toilet paper, paper towels, and tissues. Even more vocal than we are, for almost five years Greenpeace’s “Kleercut” campaign has been pressuring Kimberly-Clark, makers of Kleenex, to stop using fiber from endangered forests. Last week, Kimberly-Clark and Greenpeace called a truce and are now working together to protect those very same trees.

big changes by 2011

On August 5, Kimberly-Clark announced they are working towards using 100 percent of their wood fiber from environmentally responsible sources. While they didn’t say when that would happen, they did commit to two important goals by the end of 2011:

• 40 percent of its North American tissue fiber -- representing an estimated 600,000 tons–is either recycled or Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) certified, an increase of more than 70 percent over 2007 levels
• eliminate the purchase of any fiber from the Canadian Boreal Forest that is not FSC certified

greenpeace lends a hand

In exchange for these dramatic moves towards sustainability, Greenpeace is not only calling off the Kleercut campaign, but actively worked with Kimberly-Clark to develop these new sustainable sourcing standards.

Scott Paul, Greenpeace USA forest campaign director said of the announcement:

These revised standards are proof that when responsible companies and Greenpeace come together, the results can be good for business and great for the planet. Kimberly-Clark’s efforts are a challenge to its competitors. I hope other companies pay close attention.

And we agree with Mr. Paul! Let’s see if Procter & Gamble or Georgia Pacific follow Kimberly-Clark’s example. Perhaps sustainable sourcing will carry over to other industries. Which do you think might be next?

Ford Motor Company just announced that it is taking its 3-Wet painting technology global. The 3-Wet technology is part product, part process. Developed collaboratively by Ford and its suppliers, the 3-Wet technology eliminates the prep stage in a paint shop, allowing three layers of paint (primer, base, and enamel) to be applied one after another while each layer is still wet.

This results in a remarkable 20-25 percent savings in painting time while still, according to Ford, producing a superior product. Tim Weingartz, manager of Paint Material and Strategies for Ford, says:

The durability is every bit as good as Ford’s expectation for performance during customer usage, and we lead the industry…It’s not just to industry standards–it’s to Ford standards.

In addition to faster painting times, the new system reduces energy use by consolidating all the painting machinery necessary into a single integrated booth. With all the savings in energy, reduced labor and materials, Ford could save an estimated $10-$35 per vehicle by switching their paint shops to this new technology. If deployed globally – as Ford has begun to do in India, Mexico, Romania, and China – the company could see an annual savings of over $100 million.

This technology boasts some environmental advantages as well. By using the 3-Wet process there are 6,000 to 8,000 fewer metric tons of CO2 emissions per year compared with waterborne painting systems or conventional high-solvent-borne systems respectively. There is a also a five percent emissions savings of volatile organic compounds (VOCs).

The 3-Wet process is not the only sustainable, green development Ford has made in the past few years. In several facilities, they have installed what they refer to as a “fumes-to-fuel” system, which converts paint shop emissions into energy for the entire plant.  Ford says the “carbon beads are used to capture the VOCs, resulting in clean exhaust air. The VOCs are then released from the carbon beads and processed for use in the fuel cell. The fuel cell converts the VOCs into electricity.” The power generated by this process is about 1,500 kW of energy daily, or enough to power 150 homes. Fumes-to-Fuel will also eliminate 88 percent of the carbon dioxide emissions, and virtually all nitrous oxide emissions from the paint shop.

To see what else Ford had achieved in their quest for sustainability, we took a look at their latest sustainability report and found some notable and worthy figures.

1. Ford reduced their global water use by 24 percent from 2000 to 2006. Which is about 6.8 billion gallons.
2. Since 2000, they have cut energy at their global facilities by 34 percent, and CO2 emissions by 45 percent.
3. Accelerated the development of battery electric vehicles (BEV) and plug-in hybrids (PHEV), which they plan on introducing in North America from 2010 to 2012.
4. Introduced the EcoBoost™ engine technology on new Lincoln MKS, Ford Flex and other vehicles to follow. EcoBoost uses gasoline turbocharged direct-injection technology to deliver up to 20 percent better fuel economy, 15 percent fewer CO2 emissions, and superior driving performance compared to larger-displacement engines.

Some have said that Ford is the “greenest” American car maker. They certainly have implemented a number of sustainable practices, and have for years–even before it was popular. What do you think, do they have what it takes to become the “greenest global” car maker?

photo credit: Ford Motor Company / Flickr

In a follow-up to our prior post on Wal-Mart’s sustainability index, we are taking a look at the 15 questions Wal-Mart will ask its suppliers.

When Wal-Mart announced their Sustainability Index, they outlined the implementation as a three-part process. The initial phase consists of Wal-Mart surveying its suppliers around the globe, and asking them to answer 15 questions in four categories: energy and climate, material efficiency, natural resources, and people and community. Today we are discussing the first two categories and how AirDye® technology can give suppliers the best chance for an excellent score on the sustainability index.

Looking first at “energy and climate” policies, Wal-Mart would like to know:

1. Have you measured your corporate greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions?
2. Have you opted to report your greenhouse gas emissions to the Carbon Disclosure Project (CDP)?
3. What is your total annual greenhouse gas emissions reported in the most recent year measured?
4. Have you set publicly available greenhouse gas reduction targets? If yes, what are those targets?

It is easy to set an internal goal of reducing GHG emissions and energy use. The difficult part is modifying operations to achieve those goals. For suppliers of textiles to Wal-Mart, using AirDye technology to dye and decorate could reduce their GHG emissions by up to 84 percent, not to mention this process uses up to 87 percent less energy. A simple, cost effective solution with significant and measurable results.

Under the “material efficiency” category, the questions are:

1. If measured, please report the total amount of solid waste generated from the facilities that produce your product(s) for Walmart for the most recent year measured.
2. Have you set publicly available solid waste reduction targets? If yes, what are those targets?
3. If measured, please report total water use from facilities that produce your product(s) for Walmart for the most recent year measured.
4. Have you set publicly available water use reduction targets? If yes, what are those targets?

Using AirDye also helps in this category, because it not only uses no water at the point of coloration, it reduces both working loss and excess inventory. AirDye simply uses air to dye and decorate synthetic fabric, bypassing the liquid state of dye altogether. Instead of mixing dye with water and placing it on the surface of a fabric, our process transforms dye from a solid to a gas, eliminating the liquid state and therefore the need for water.Traditional processes can see working loss rates of 10-15 percent, but with AirDye, working loss rates are around one percent. Additionally, AirDye improves material utilization by allowing manufacturers to run smaller lots. Without the imposed overages of traditional methods, the supply chain is automatically more sustainable. Suppliers can also carry less inventory, as AirDye allows for easy and fast reordering of an exact product amount.

Another significant advantage of  this revolutionary process is that the local water supplies are not polluted due to dyeing and solid waste is drastically reduced. Thus eliminating a major sources of pollution in the textile industry, and allowing manufacturing to take place in more strategic locations.

These questions are aimed at creating transparency and measurable practices, helping Wal-Mart compare companies, and better manage their suppliers. The answers will help quantify where companies currently stand. If your company is a Wal-Mart vendor and you’re using AirDye you can feel confident that you are leading the pack with sustainable production, backed by Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) research, with quantifiable, verifiable benefits.

According to a new study conducted by Miller Zell, our nation’s retailers are missing the boat when it comes to offering eco-friendly products. In fact, the survey finds that half of all shoppers are willing to pay more for green goods and they universally dissatisfied with the sustainability information.

An interesting finding from the study uncovers a higher willingness of lower income shoppers to pay a premium for green products. In fact they are more likely to pay for eco-friendly items than middle or upper income consumers. Why are lower income shoppers more willing to shell out a higher percentage of their hard-earned cash for “green goods”? Some speculate that this is due to Gen Y Millennials who have just entered the workforce, and who make up a disproportionate percentage of the lower income bracket.

The Miller Zell study also indicates that there is an opportunity for companies to supply more green information at the shelf level. On average, 40 percent of consumers desire more information about green products, with Gen Y Millenials listed as the most interested segment. Although consumers yearn for an increased amount of quality information, retailers are not delivering. The overall availability of in store information on green products received a D- from those who participated in the study. All of this is good timeing for Wal-Mart’s new sustainabilty index labels. The team in Arkansas seem to, once again, know exactly what consumers are looking for.

photo credit: Miller Zell study Stores Not Doing Enough to Sell Green

This year’s Aachen-Dresden International Textile Conference, November 26-27, in Germany, will focus on sustainability. The organizers believe that the industry needs to make a paradigm shift away from planning and controlling productivity, to designing products and processes that promote the responsible use of resources. The sessions of will concentrate on:

• Sustainable creation of value in view of technology, new materials, and functionalization
• Apparel and ready-made manufacturing
• Textile machinery–saving of energy and resources

The speakers list is quite impressive. They include leading innovators in the textile industry: Hanneke Boerstoel of Teijin Aramid/NL, speaking about the production of high-performance fibers made from renewable resources; Kurt van Wersch of Monforts, discussing innovative management of resources in continuous dyeing and finishing; and Arnold Schneller of BASF, enlightening attendees of the conference to the innovations in bioplastics. This year’s contributors are certainly a fitting choice for a change of theme from productivity management to sustainability.

Professor Martin Moeller, director of DWI at RWTH Aachen University, explains why the forum is devoted to sustainability:

…growth eventually meets a limit, and is subject to up and downturns, or needs a re-orientation. ‘Sustainability’ as a concept for development thus gains further importance.

We are pleased to see the conference tackle this subject to which we have devoted years of hard work. Naturally, we’re eager to see real industry changes come from conference. We look forward to learning just what new processes are on the horizon for the textile industry, and how they compare to AirDye® technology.