Carrington Textiles’ stand featured the company’s Balance Range of sustainable fabrics during a busy week at A+A. © Carrington Textiles

Leading textiles producer Carrington Textiles has welcomed hundreds of visitors from around the world to the company’s stand at A+A, the largest international trade fair of its kind for safety, security and health at work, which took place last week in Düsseldorf.

Boasting more than 200 square metres over two floors, the company’s stand was equipped with four meeting rooms, two bars and plenty of meeting space to make sure customers had the best experience during their visit.

Visitors learnt about the manufacturer’s developments in workwear, flame retardant, waterproof and defence fabric ranges, as well as the highlight of the show – the Balance Range. This brand-new collection of fabrics has been manufactured using techniques that are designed to lessen the impact on the environment.

Post-Brexit

Carrington Textiles also shared the tangible steps it is taking to ensure their operations are not affected by Brexit. “We have a production and sales presence across multiple locations worldwide, including Portugal, where we operate a joint venture with MGC Acabamentos Texteis, one of Europe’s largest dyeing and finishing production facilities,” commented Neil Davey, Managing Director.

“We have made available the necessary additional capacity within MGC, giving us a base in continental Europe from which to manufacture and distribute, ensuring that we can not only meet the ongoing needs of customers from within the EU but do so efficiently and without any potential administration delays across geographical borders.”

Greener initiatives

Carrington Textiles says it used its presence at A+A to highlight the manufacturer’s commitment to more sustainable practices in the textiles industry.

Part of the Carrington Textiles and Lindstrom’s teams involved in the sustainable REMO Bags project. © Carrington Textiles

As part of this commitment, the company launched its Balance Range; a collection of fabrics that have been manufactured using five sustainable technologies including recycled polyester, REMO cotton, Tencel fibres, and Vortex-spun yarn (MVS), with materials sourced in compliance with the Better Cotton Initiative (BCI). Each of these methods are designed to minimise the environmental impact at different stages – including in the fabric’s production, during usage and at end-of-life.

This greener range includes Delamere 195 and Arden 260, which are both composed of recycled polyester from Repreve – made from plastic bottles otherwise destined for landfill. Denver, Detroit, Tacano and Tomahawk were produced with Vortex-spun cotton yarns, making up 35% of their blend.

Tencel has also been incorporated into two further fabrics – Varese and Coolcel 200 Plus. This material is sourced by transforming wood pulp into cellulosic fibres using a solvent-spinning process which recycles water and reuses the solvent at a recovery rate of over 99%.

REMO bag project

Further to Carrington Textiles’ sustainability pledge, the company has partnered with its biggest customer in Finland, Lindstrom, for the REMO bag project, a scheme that recycles old garments into Carrington’s Arden 260 which is then used to make reusable shopping bags. The aim of the project is to reduce textile waste and the use of plastic bags in supermarkets.

“We are excited to run this project alongside Carrington Textiles. We are always looking for innovative and more sustainable solutions for our operations, and the Remo bag is a great example of taking one step towards a full circular journey of textiles,” said Elina Harjanne, Lindstrom Product Manager.

www.carrington.co.uk