BASF South East Asia has joined the ZDHC Foundation as a “Contributor” in its Chemical Industry category. The partnership with the Foundation and its extensive pool of experts from organizations in the textile, apparel, leather and footwear industry underlines BASF’s commitment to being an industry leader in driving sustainable chemistry, innovation and best practices. Additionally, Haptex is the first BASF material solution that has received the ECO PASSPORT by OEKO-TEX certification for the production of synthetic leather.

 

Haptex, BASF’s first PU solution made without the use of organic solvents, has been certified ECO PASSPORT by OEKO-TEX, an independent certification system for chemicals in the apparel, textile and leather industries. During a multi-stage process, ECO PASSPORT analyzes whether each ingredient in a chemical product meets international statutory requirements and is not harmful to human health. On-site inspections will also validate claims that suppliers are using safer and better chemistry according to industry best practices.

 

“The partnership with ZDHC represents BASF’s leadership in driving sustainability in chemicals and leather manufacturing. Through collaboration with partners, standard-setting and implementation, we are helping to protect the environment by reducing the industry’s chemical footprint across the textile, leather and footwear value chain,” said Andy Postlethwaite, Senior Vice President, BASF Performance Materials Asia Pacific. “We are pleased to know that Haptex meets the green standard of ZDHC Manufacturing Restricted Substances List (ZDHC MRSL) Level 3 conformance, which is the highest level in the Roadmap to Zero program.”

 

ZDHC MRSL Conformance indicates that ECO PASSPORT certified chemical substances conform to ZDHC standards. The ZDHC MRSL covers chemical substances that are limited or banned from intentional use in the production of apparel and footwear materials to protect workers, consumers, and the environment.