Nov 16, 2009

Sustainability in the textile industry brought together an international audience for a recent virtual meeting hosted by ASTM International. Close to 30 professionals from India, Colombia, Sri Lanka, Europe and the United States, representing textile firms, testing agencies, academia and ASTM International, participated.

Concerns about sustainable textile manufacturing, what it means and how to determine it, led to the meeting, according to Jayakumar Gopalakrishnan, ASTM’s India textile instructor and technical and service consultant. “The issue of sustainable textile manufacture is being pursued by many persons as well as organizations,” he says.

The virtual session provided information about ASTM’s work in sustainability standardization, how one industry is using the E60 forum to meet its needs, the way that one manufacturer has addressed some of the challenges in pioneering sustainable textile manufacturing and issues related to sustainability in textiles. Sessions and presenters included the following.

ASTM International Committee E60 on Sustainability—Dru Meadows, E60 chair and founding principal at theGreenTeam Inc., Tulsa, Okla., provided an overview of E60 and its plans for standards related to textiles.

Greening Meetings and Events through ASTM Voluntary Standards—Susan Tinnish, former director of the Convention Industry Council’s Accepted Practices Exchange (APEX) and ASTM liaison to the group, covered APEX, environmental sustainability related to meetings and the role of standards related to greener meetings.

Sustainable Textiles from a Manufacturer’s Perspective—Aditya Goyal, director at Pratibha Syntex Pvt. Ltd., India, detailed experiences with and ongoing activities related to sustainable textiles.

Sustainability, a Holistic Perspective—Martin Bide, Ph.D., professor in the Department of Textiles, Fashion Merchandising and Design at the University of Rhode Island, Kingston, R.I., and former president of the American Association of Textile Chemists and Colorists, discussed sustainability from a holistic perspective.

ASTM International welcomes and encourages participation in the development of its standards. For more information on becoming an ASTM member, visit www.astm.org/JOIN.

Technical Contact: Jayakumar Gopalakrishnan, Phone: +91-44-2615-1791; textile1@astm.org

ASTM Staff Contact: Steve Mawn, Phone: 610-832-9726; smawn@astm.org

ASTM PR Contact: Barbara Schindler, Phone: 610-832-9603; bschindl@astm.org

Release #8406/Nov2009