Textiles and Leather Solutions

“Green” innovations in washing denim generate industry interest

SHANGHAI, CHINA: Dow Corning Corporation, a leader in innovative silicone technology for the textile industry, and the China Textile Industry Association offered a joint seminar on new greener ways to wash denim that consume less water, energy, chemicals, and resources.

The seminar was held on August 20, 2008, in Guangzhou, China, and was attended by 120 industry professionals. The presentations generated lively discussion about energy and water saving technologies and particular interest in Dow Corning® GP 8000 Eco Solution, the company’s latest eco-innovation for the textile industry.

Wenying Xu, president of the China Cotton Textile Association (CCTA), led a discussion on how China’s energy-saving government policies have impacted the development of the cotton textile industry, especially among denim manufacturers. These policies, he said, have created a need for innovative, advanced technologies and products that provide more sustainable processing methods.

Dow Corning Asia Technical Leader Peter Wu offered one specific solution to attendees with his introduction of Dow Corning GP 8000 Eco Solution. GP 8000 Eco Solution is a finishing product that combines denim processing steps to reduce water consumption 30-50 percent, save energy, improve productivity, and bring more economic value and sustainability to denim processing companies.

“Sustainability is Dow Corning’s commitment to society,” said Anthony Feng, Dow Corning global industry director. “It aligns very well with the Chinese government’s long-term textile industry development policy. For example, with the help of GP 8000 Eco Solution, China could produce about 30-50 percent of the world’s denim in volume and still save up to 7.5 billion liters of process water annually.”

According to Xu, the CCTA tested and evaluated GP 8000 Eco Solution and were able to confirm the company’s product claims. Xu added that the association intended to further promote the use of GP 8000 Eco Solution among manufacturers at the 2008 CCTA National Denim Industry Annual Conference in November this year.

Dow Corning is a solutions provider and innovative partner delivering value through superior technology, application expertise, and market experience. For more information about GP 8000 Solution and all of Dow Corning’s textile solutions, visit www.dowcorning.com/textiles.

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For editorial assistance, contact Hilary Maxfield, AGP & Associates,
+ 1 (989) 839-5800, hilary@agp-inc.com.

About Dow Corning
Dow Corning provides silicone-based textile solutions to serve the diverse needs of more than 25,000 customers worldwide. A global leader in silicon-based technology and innovation, offering more than 7,000 products and services, Dow Corning is equally owned by The Dow Chemical Company and Corning, Incorporated. More than half of Dow Corning’s annual sales are outside the United States.

Dow Corning is a registered trademark of Dow Corning Corporation.