What are we doing?

Action B.1: Demonstration of FR and alternative material processing
Leader: LEITAT
Participants: CTB, CSIC-IQAC, AEI TEXTIL, ATEVAL, CS-POINTEX and CLUTEX
Start date: 1/1/18 – End date: 30/06/20 (revised)

The aim of this action was to perform the application trials at pre-industrial and at industrial scale. The harmful FR products and their non-toxic alternatives selected and studied in the preparatory actions were employed to perform these activities. We selected the standards to be tested on the treated fabrics for each application and have now completed both the pre-industrial scale tests and industrial level during 2019 and early 2020.

Deliverables:
B1.1 – Pre-industrial applications and characterization of FR

B1.2 – Report on the industrial applications and characterization of FR<

Action completed.

Action B.2: Risk assessment of flame retardants in the textile finishing processes
Leader: LEITAT
Start date: 1/1/18 – End date: 30/6/20

The objective of this action was to assess the environmental and human health potential risks posed by FR and their alternatives in finishing processes of textiles. This action is completed and summarized in the public deliverable where the different hazard scenarios are considered for conventional, transitional and alternative FR.

Deliverables:
B2 – Report on the Risk Assessment of flame retardants in the textile finishing processes 

Action completed.

Action B.3: Comprehensive analysis of the environmental impact of the best available technologies 

Leader: LEITAT

Start date: 1/8/18 – End date: 30/6/20

The objective of this action was to analyze the environmental impact of the new environmentally friendly FR textiles technologies, the Life
Cycle Assessment methodology (LCA) was applied. The LCA assessed the results obtained from the industrial demonstration stage (task B.1.2), evaluating the nine FR textiles (three textiles finished with conventional FR and six textiles finished with the alternative FR), in seven pilot textile manufacturing companies.

Deliverables:
B3 – Report on Life Cycle Assessment 

Action completed.

Action B.4: In-vitro assessment of toxicological potential
Leader: CSIC-IQAC
Start date: 1/1/18 – End date: 31/12/19

The aim of this action was to determine the amount of FR substance that may cross the stratum corneum and to enter into deeper skin layers. It was done by in vitro dermal/percutaneous absorption study with FR treated textiles. This amount of FR was subsequently considered as relevant for safety evaluation (calculation of the Margin of Safety) if the application was performed mimicking in-use conditions.

We have defined and optimized the analytical methodology to be used for testing the percutaneous absorption study.

Deliverables:
B4.1 –  Optimization of analytical methodologies
B4.2 – Percutaneous absorption assays of FR finished textiles
B4.3 – Margin of Safety 

Action completed.

Action B.5: Technical Workshops for the textile industry
Leader: CLUTEX
Participants: CTB, CSIC-IQAC, AEI TEXTIL, ATEVAL, CS-POINTEX and LEITAT
Start date: 1/1/18 – End date: 30/6/20

The objective of this action was to pursue tangible substitution of harmful FR chemicals in the textile industry with a bottom-up approach, i.e. starting for a couple of industries and working all the way up the chain with the aim of influencing substitution at the place birth of textile products: the design and requirement specification.

We have organized several workshops with relevant stakeholders. For example, the first EU workshop in Brussels on January 16th  with EU-wide stakeholders that generated a lot of interest. The report summarizing the outcomes of the discussion is available here.  The presentations from the event are available on the dedicated workshop page.

A comprehensive list of all workshops organized, their presentations, and outcome reports are available here.

Action completed.

Action B.6: Road map
Leader: CTB
Participants: CLUTEX, CSIC-IQAC, AEI TEXTIL, ATEVAL, CS-POINTEX and LEITAT
Start date: 1/8/19 – End date: 30/6/20

The objective of this action was to support and guide the textile industry for the effective implementation of sustainable FR. A Road Map was elaborated to define the next steps to follow after the end of the project and guide the road to a precise direction during approximately the next 12 years after the project. The aim of this action was also to guarantee that the objectives of the project will be reached and new actions will be
carried out after the project end to ensure its continuity and a noticeable reduction of the impact of harmful FR finishing and coatings.

Deliverables:
B6 – Roadmap 

Action completed.

Action B.7: Policy recommendations (chemical regulation, Ecolabel, Green Public Procurement) 
Leader: ATEVAL
Participants:  LEITAT
Start date: 1/11/18 – End date: 30/6/20

The objective of this action is to set policy recommendations in order to promote the widespread implementation of alternative FRs.

The recommendations are useful to establish future policies or voluntary schemes, at the European, regional and local level.
The information obtained from preparatory actions were considered as the starting point of this action, in order to determine how the existing policies are being applied nowadays.

The information obtained in the previous implantation actions (B1, B2, B3, B4, B5 and B6) have contributed to obtaining recommendations for current situation improvement. Therefore, potential recommendations were developed to update current environmental policies. These recommendations included in EU strategies, guidelines and voluntary schemes related to FR in the textile industry.

Deliverables:
B7.1 – Recommendations for voluntary schemes
B7.2 – Recommendations for the textiles sector with BREF review
B7.3 – Recommendations for updating REACH annexes

Action completed.

Action C.1: Monitoring the project impacts on the environment
Leader: LEITAT
Start date: 1/9/17 – End date: 30/6/20

This action served to identify and quantify the environmental impacts of the project implementation and involved the evaluation of the potential environmental impact of the introduction of the implementation actions into the EU scenario.  The expected impact of each action and the set indicators proposed by LIFE Programme have been tracked.

Deliverables:
C1 – Report of the environmental impact of the technology 

Action completed.

Action C.2: Monitoring the socio-economic impact of the project on local economy and population
Leader: CS-POINTEX
Start date: 1/9/18 – End date: 30/6/20

This action aims to evaluate the socioeconomic impact expected on the local economy and community by the implementation of the proposed FR alternatives and the related environmental and risk management measures into EU textile industry.

Deliverables:
C2 – Report on socioeconomic impact

Action completed.

Action C.3: Monitoring the cost-efficient replicability or transferability of the project
Leader: LEITAT
Start date: 1/9/17 – End date: 30/6/20

This action was aimed at ensuring the cost-efficient replicability or transferability of the project, so the project results will be demonstrated to be feasible not only at the environmental level but also an economic one. With such goal, economic criteria was incorporated for monitoring the effectiveness of the actions and results.
The methodology used is based on Life Cycle Costing (LCC) which evaluates assets taking into consideration all costs arising from the different life stages from raw materials, production, use and end-of-life.

Deliverables:
C3 – Report on the cost-efficient replicability or transferability of the project 

Action completed.

Action E.1: Project management and monitoring
Leader: AEI TEXTIL
Participants: , ATEVAL, CLUTEX,  CSIC-IQAC, CS-POINTEX, CTB and LEITAT
Start date: 1/7/17 – End date: 30/6/20

This action was divided in two tasks:

• Project management led by AEI TEXTIL. The first project meeting took place on July 13^th and the first deliverable was completed (Project Management Guide) and released within the consortium.
• After-LIFE Communication plan has already been completed.
• The FR Green Procurement Guide for the textile industry has been completed.

Deliverables:
E1 – FR Green Procurement Guide for the textile industry 

Action completed.