the good and bad chemicals

Chemical treatments providing a specific property for the final product may at first sound like something that should be avoided at all cost. However, the issue of providing protection against chemicals or providing flame retardant properties is a serious matter that means we have to think about things in a different way.
 Chemical treatments providing a specific property for the final product may at first sound like something that should be avoided at all cost. However, the issue of providing protection against chemicals or providing flame retardant properties is a serious matter that means we have to think about things in a different way.

PFAS – Fluorocarbons
Blåkläder use chemical treatment to provide our products with repellency towards water, dirt, oil and in some cases liquid chemicals. Protective properties provided by a treatment of fluorocarbons cannot be created using any other means, so it's not possible at present to phase out these substances. However, Blåkläder only use this surface treatment where absolute necessary and using the lowest possible concentration. We are striving to find an alternative to fluorocarbons as soon as a viable option becomes available.

Flame protection
The flame retardant properties of cellulosic fibers are created by using chemical treatments containing a component preventing flammability such as phosphorous. The alternative to flame retardants is using fibers with inherent flame retardant properties. However, both types of flame protections have differing advantages so Blåkläder offer collections that use both options.Chemically treated flame retardant properties are very efficient these days and very little active substance is actually required. Once applied to the material the functionality is permanent in the cellulosic fiber and it will not wear off during wash or wear.

Oeko-Tex – User safety
Almost all of the materials and components in Blåkläders products meet the requirements for the Oeko-Tex 100 standard klass 2, which means that products are safe to wear in close contact with the skin. Exceptions to this are only made whenever technical aspects rule out any other option.The wearer of the final garment will benefit from the fact that there are no harmful substances in the material. The absence of hazardous chemicals is beneficial for everybody handling the materials and products in the supply chain.

Restricted Substance
List The tool used to communicate the required chemical restrictions and prohibitions for production purposes and for product content is the Blåkläder Restricted Substance List (RSL). This list of substances are requirements excluded from the European legislation. Fulfillment of all applicable European chemical regulations are required for all suppliers of Blåkläder, however the RSL list is also mandatory for compliance.

This list is based on the RISE’s Chemicals Guidance and the common conclusion of acceptable and feasible levels of restrictions between the chemists from RISE and the stakeholders of the Chemical Group. Blåkläder is a member of two stakeholder organizations in Sweden with the main purpose of keeping track of the research and development of chemicals connected to the textile and leather industry. These organizations are the Swerea IVF’s Chemical Group and the Swedish Textile importers organization. All suppliers of Blåkläder need to follow the Blåkläder Suppliers Guide, where the Blåkläder RSL is included.