Agion®, ActiveXL, Lava®, Lava XL® and Curb® BLUESIGNED Approved and ZDHC Level 3 Compliant
Beverly, MA — Sciessent announced new industry recognition for the company’s commitment to safe, sustainable, environmentally responsible solutions, earning bluesign® approval for all of its technologies – Agion®, ActiveXL, Lava®, Lava XL® and Curb® – and achieving Level 3 compliance from the Zero Discharge of Hazardous Chemicals (ZDHC) Foundation.
“Our technologies are used in a wide range of industries and applications, from consumer apparel to medical devices, so it’s critical that they are not only effective but also safe for the user and the environment,” said Paul Ford, CEO of Sciessent “The bluesign® approval and ZDHC Level 3 compliance are a testament to our company’s commitment to sustainability and safety, which has established us as a trusted partner to manufacturers throughout the world.”
BLUESIGN acts as an independent verifier of sustainable processing and manufacturing, taking a holistic approach that traces each textile’s path along the manufacturing process, making improvements at every stage from factory floor to finished product. According to the strict bluesign® criteria, approved manufacturers and brands are required to act responsibly and sustainably with regard to people, the environment and resources. As an independent authority, BLUESIGN checks the progress that a company has made in this effort, provides continual further development of solutions and continuously optimizes its criteria.
Sciessent has met the following standards for bluesign® approval:
• Highest degree of safety for the consumer
• Manufacturing with lowest possible impact on people and the environment
• Responsible use of resources
The ZDHC Foundation is a global multi-stakeholder initiative of more than 160 contributors within the fashion and footwear industry that oversees implementation of the Roadmap to Zero Programme. Its mission is to enable brands and retailers in the textile, apparel and footwear industries to implement sustainable chemical management best practice across the value chain. The ZDHC Manufacturing Restricted Substances List (ZDHC MRSL) is a list of chemical substances that are banned from intentional use in facilities processing textile materials, leather, rubber, foam, adhesives and trim parts in textiles, apparel and footwear.
ZDHC has designated the following conformance levels to its MRSL standards (below). A chemical conforms when it does not contain substances that are listed on the ZDHC MRSL, at levels above the set limits. Sciessent has achieved the highest level – Level 3 – for meeting all required conformance criteria.
- Level 0: Supplier Declaration, no review by ZDHC accepted third-party. Lowest confidence level of ZDHC MRSL requirements being met.
- Level 1: A third-party review of documentation or analytical test report are required to decide conformance to ZDHC MRSL.
- Level 2: A review of the chemical supplier’s product stewardship practices is carried out by a third-party certifier.
- Level 3: Requires all the elements of MRSL Conformance Level 2 and a site visit to chemical supplier to evaluate product stewardship.
Sciessent is a leading provider of customized antimicrobial solutions that enhance the value of customers’ products. Agion antimicrobial solutions from Sciessent have been incorporated into a wide range of healthcare, industrial, and consumer applications, including medical devices such as central venous catheters and IV access ports, drinking water applications like water filters and ice making equipment, and textiles and apparel.
Sciessent is working with a cooperative consortium of major apparel manufacturers that are dedicating production line capacity to meet the U.S. need for masks during the COVID-19 outbreak. Leading manufacturers within this consortium are incorporating Sciessent’s Agion® antimicrobial solution into masks designed for use in healthcare facilities. The Agion treatment incorporated into masks is modeled after the FDA, EU and Canadian cleared Nexera surgical respirator, that relies on Agion Antimicrobial performance to make FDA cleared claims to inactivate viruses by 99.99% in 5 minutes and kill 99.99% of bacteria in one hour.
Sciessent is providing chemistry to the consortium to produce 700 million face masks. The mills involved in U.S. production of the Agion-treated masks include long term partners of Sciessent and Parkdale Inc., American Apparel, Volunteer Knits, Beverly Knits, Sanmar and Carolina Cotton.
For more information, please visit www.sciessent.com.
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