New Delhi, India - From 27 to 29 July, Henkel showcased its efficient and sustainable portfolio of footwear and athleisure solutions at the India International Footwear Fair (IIFF) under the theme of “Less Taken, More Given”. As the leading adhesive expert in Sports and Fashion industry, Henkel empowers the sustainable transformation along the value chain and creates positive impacts in safety, climate and circularity by providing safer chemicals and automation solutions for the industry.
Tackling Industrial Challenges with Safer Chemicals and Automation Solutions
Sports and Fashion is one of the fastest-growing industries shifting towards sustainability. When purchasing shoes and athleisure, consumers attach greater importance to the eco-friendly materials. Meanwhile, manufactures are facing 2 major challenges: demand for more sustainable products and processes, along with rising labor cost. To achieve both environmental and economic performance, footwear manufacturers must concentrate on both material technology and workflows in their search for solutions that optimize sustainable production.
Henkel launches a series of sustainable footwear adhesive solutions with safer chemicals to ensure worker safety. Manufacturers used to opt for traditional solvent-based adhesives. These adhesives release volatile organic compounds (VOCs) that can degrade the health of factory employees in the long run. By 2020, All Henkel products have achieved Toluene-free. Its water-based solutions reduce 50%-100% VOCs, largely eliminating harmful chemicals.
Moreover, Henkel solutions have been awarded ZDHC MRSL certification and obtained BIS (Bureau of Indian standards) certification. This means its products comply with the latest Indian quality supervision standards and the strictest industry standard. Our portfolio for Athleisure manufacturing has been certified by Bluesign, ECO-PASSPORT, and USDA. LOCTITE NSP 7810, this product contains 36% of bio-based content, enabling to reduce carbon footprint while improving wearing experience with soft hand feeling.
*ZDHC is an organization comprising over 320 signatories including world well-known Brands and Chemical Suppliers etc. ZDHC Manufacturing Restricted Substances List (MRSL) is a list of chemical substances banned from intentional use in the processing of textile materials, adhesives etc., used in textiles, apparel, and footwear industry. This standard goes beyond the traditional approaches to chemical restriction and focuses on consumer safety.
*Starting 1 July 2023, All shoemakers need to obtain a BIS certificate and all footwear must adhere to the relevant Indian Standard and exhibit the ISI Mark.
Traditional footwear manufacturing is cumbersome and labor intensive, which could hardly meet the requirements of Industry 4.0. Henkel solutions enable modern production of shoes and reduce carbon footprint by eliminating production steps. Specifically, Henkel PUR hotmelt for 2D and 3D automation production can improve the efficiency in the use of the labor force, energy, factory space, and chemicals. With such solutions, 15 to 18 grams of adhesive can be saved per pair of shoes and up to 6 times productivity improvement can be achieved. Furthermore, Henkel Two-in-One Adhesives (TIOA) and One Side Adhesives (OSA) can also benefit manufacturers with manpower saving, chemical consumption reduction, and CO2 footprint reduction by eliminating certain processing steps for various shoe soles and upper materials in the stock-fitting and assembly processes.
Facing the challenge of textile lamination, Henkel also provides effective solutions. TECHNOMELT PUR 7529 and TECHNOMELT PUR 7530 can extend stock time before reactivation and provide flexible lamination operation window. They are also resistant to washing with 90°C water as well as repeated washings with detergents, improving garment durability. Henkel PURLEX, LOCTITE NSP 7788, recognized for exceptional elasticity for non-sewing applications, is of excellent green strength that ensures precise positioning. It requires lower adhesive dispensing temperature, improving energy efficiency.
360°Expertise and Digitalization to Empower Circular Economy
Henkel’s 360° expertise ecosystem, covering product development, equipment support, compliance consultancy, and personnel training, creates higher value for customers and partners that goes “beyond adhesives”. Our sustainable strategy consultancy injects momentum into enterprises in the areas of carbon emission reduction and life-cycle assessment (LCA). This will further benefit enterprises to accelerate their transformations in ESG, thus realizing their sustainable development goals.
In India, Henkel has recently established a new application center in Vellore. The new application center fully displays Henkel’s industry-leading solutions with advanced equipment that facilitate testing and trials. It offers a platform for brands and factories to exchange technologies ideation and validation. Additionally, to proactively embrace the new era of digitalization, Henkel Remotech App offers customers with 24/7 digital technical service, such as online troubleshooting.
Inspired by the vision “Pioneers at Heart for the Good of Generations”, Henkel has anchored sustainability in everything it does. With robust technical expertise and extensive value chain cooperation, Henkel is committed to driving positive impacts on worker safety, CO2 footprint reduction and circularity for the Sports and Fashion industry, and empowering customers to achieve More with Less.
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