Keep cool polyester fabrics for work uniform from Teijin

29 Mar '12

3 min read

Teijin Fibers Limited, the core company of the Teijin Group's polyester fibers business, announced that it has developed new polyester fabrics for work uniforms with enhanced properties that enable facility operators to conserve electrical power in workplaces.

The new fabrics, to be marketed by Teijin Fibers beginning this May, also have antistatic properties for enhanced safety and are environmentally friendly because they are made with recycled polyester and are recyclable through Teijin's Eco Circle closed-loop recycling system at the end of their useful lives.

The Fujifilm Group will use the new fabrics for 50,000 uniforms to be worn by employees in Japan over the next three years, part of Fujifilm's efforts to save power and reduce environmental load in its workplaces.

Summer-use fabrics offer significantly improved ventilation to achieve lower temperatures inside the clothing, providing more comfort in work environments where air cooling levels have been raised to conserve electrical power. Meanwhile, winter-use fabrics are highly efficient in retaining heat and are extra soft, allowing wearers to stay warm and comfortable in work environments where heating temperatures have been lowered to conserve energy.

The new fabrics satisfy international safety standards for work uniforms set by the International Electro technical Commission, including an antistatic standard for protecting people working with electronic components and similar products. This is the first case in Japan in which uniforms meeting this standard have been adopted on a group-wide basis.

The uniform fabrics are made with Teijin Fibers' chemically recycled polyester fiber, which is created through the Eco Circle closed-loop recycling system. After their useful lives, the uniforms will be collected by Chikuma & Co., Ltd., a manufacturer and trader of school and work uniforms and a registered member of Teijin's Eco Circle system.

Chikuma will send the uniforms to Teijin Fibers' Matsuyama plant in Japan, where they will be chemically decomposed and then converted into polyester raw material with purity comparable to polyester derived directly from petroleum.

The raw material then will be processed into high-quality polyester for the manufacture of new recyclable products. The production and recycling of 50,000 sets of jackets and trousers via the Eco Circle system will reduce CO2 emissions by about 255 tons compared to using polyester derived directly from petroleum.

Teijin Fibers develops green solutions through hybrid strategies that leverage the company's unique polyester technologies and special expertise in recycling, functional materials, plant-derived materials and manufacturing processes.

Since the Great East Japan Earthquake, the Fujifilm Group has been taking steps to reduce power consumption and environmental load in its workplaces. By adopting uniforms made of Teijin's new fabrics, Fujifilm expects not only to save electrical power in workplaces, but also through reduced ironing and drying needs due to the fabrics' extra durability and easy care.

Working together, the Teijin and Fujifilm groups welcome the opportunity to achieve greater sustainability through their cross-industry initiative.

Teijin is a global technology-driven group operating in eight main fields: aramid fibers, carbon fibers & composites, polyester fibers, plastics, films, medical & pharmaceuticals, fiber products marketing and IT businesses.

Teijin Fibers Limited

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