The General Association of the German Textile and Fashion Industry eV, Textil+Mode, criticizes the chemicals policy of the European Union and Germany: around 12,000 chemical substances could soon be banned and the restriction procedure for PFAS (per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances) started in March alone includes 10,000 substances.
For the industry association, this amounts to a ban on the production of technical textiles in Germany and Europe and thus an end to the production of companies that manufacture special textiles. Textil+Mode is therefore demanding a clear signal for textile production in Germany from the conference of economics ministers on June 21st and 22nd.
Special textiles cannot (yet) do without PFAS
It’s about special textiles and not outdoor clothing, which is already being produced across the board with fluorine-free alternatives. In other words, suits for firefighters, bulletproof vests for the police, virus-repellent textiles in medicine, membranes for hydrogen production, highly effective environmental filters and more that have to meet the highest statutory safety and performance standards and are already among the highest environmental and environmental standards in Germany and Europe safety requirements are established.
“The goals of the Green Deal cannot be achieved without a strong, efficient and innovative textile industry. If the chemicals policy in Brussels and Berlin is not changed, Germany as an industrial location will lose its textile industry and with it, to a dramatic extent, high-quality products that protect people and the climate,” comments Uwe Mazura, General Manager of the Textil+mode Association, in a statement.
Industry association calls for responsible use of PFAS
The problem is that despite intensive research in the field of special textiles for the use of PFAS, there are still no remotely effective alternatives. “Therefore, the responsible use of PFAS for special applications of technical textiles must also be possible in the future,” demands the industry association.
“Blanket bans are useless, on the contrary. They cut us off from technological progress, jeopardize the resilience of our supply chains and our ability to self-manage industrial transformation,” summarizes Mazura.