Swiss textile innovator HeiQ wins the 2019 Swiss Environmental Award for its HeiQ Clean Tech dyeing process.
As a leading country in the global innovation economy, Switzerland is a leader in combining sustainable economics with commercial interests. This strategy is awarded annually in the selection of the Swiss Environmental Award (“Umweltpreis der Wirtschaft Schweiz”) during the CE2 Days of the Swiss Economic Forum. After several rounds of review, the finalist that are chosen are not only industry leaders, but also outstanding representatives of Swiss innovation and technology. In 2019, HeiQ won the Swiss Environmental Award for the development of its environmentally-friendly HeiQ Clean Tech dyeing process.
The textile industry is one of the industries with the largest water consumption and the most serious environmental pollution. According to estimates by the World Bank, 20% of industrial water pollution comes from textile dyeing; some scholars estimate that the amount of fresh water dyed by textiles exceeds 500 million tons per year.
Environmental issues are imminent, and industry habits are hard to break. HeiQ tackles this problem as the beginning of innovation and breaks through with the development of HeiQ Clean Tech environmental dyeing technology. It reduces a textile mill’s water consumption by 30% and allows for 30-50% faster dyeing time for polyester fabrics, which account for nearly 50% of the world’s annual textile output.
Effectively controlling production costs and improving production efficiency are the driving force for textile mills to choose HeiQ Clean Tech technology. At present, this technology has been implemented in 18 countries and regions in Europe, Asia and Latin America, especially the major textile producing countries, such as China, Indonesia and Vietnam.
Carlo Centonze, CEO of HeiQ Group, said: “For each of us, sustainable development is both an obligation and a business opportunity. We can drive brand partners and factory partners to join us and promote sustainable development along with economic benefits. The impact is huge and we can completely change the textile industry. We feel validated by winning the 2019 Swiss Economic Environmental Award!”
To learn more about HeiQ Clean Tech, visit HeiQ at the Functional Fabric Fair New York City (booth#415, July 22-23, 2019) or online here.
