Engineered for every active pursuit—and the planet

Rising consumer expectations are driving global demand for performance and outdoor wear, pushing mills and brands to adopt new strategies to stay competitive.

From yoga pants with lasting freshness and skinsuits that keep you cool to waterproof jackets that are soft to the touch, garments must now go far beyond basic functionality. In today’s fast-moving markets, durability, comfort and sustainability aren’t trade-offs: each is essential and all must work hand-in-hand.

Archroma’s SUPER SYSTEMS+ solutions are designed to meet this new standard. 

Incorporating innovative processing solutions and intelligent effects, these powerful end-to-end systems enable brands and mills to satisfy consumers while offering measurable environmental impact, cleaner chemistry and long-lasting colors and effects. 

“SUPER SYSTEMS+ works seamlessly from pretreatment to finishing to empower mills to bring brands’ boldest ideas to life and create real value for consumers with an active lifestyle,” Dhirendra Gautam, VP Global Marketing and Strategy, Archroma Textile Effects, said. “With a broad portfolio of innovative finishes and deeply specialized knowledge, we support our partners to combine multiple effects on any fabric—without sacrificing color vibrancy, fastness or sheen.”

With SUPER SYSTEMS+, brands and mills can select the impact they want to achieve in line with their sustainability goals: from FOUNDATION level for standard processes with ZDHC Gateway MRSL Level 3 compliance to IMPACT+ for maximum resource savings, high wash durability and beyond-compliance chemicals.

Active wear: Looking and feeling good

Fans of athleisure and active wear often choose brilliant colors and patterns, with bright whites and color-blocking remaining on-trend. But they will not sacrifice soft and silky comfort or lasting freshness.

IMPACT+ SUPER SYSTEMS+ solutions for active wear include ERIOFAST® dyes and the ERIOFAST® FIX-01 cross-linking agent. The ERIOFAST® dye range is specially developed to achieve intense shades on polyamide (PA) and PA/elastane blends, with outstanding wetfastness and washfastness, while ERIOFAST® FIX-01 further boosts wetfastness without impacting fiber softness or hydrophilicity. Both are free of detectable phenol, bisphenol compounds and formaldehyde.

Athletic wear: Optimizing performance

Functional apparel for sports like cycling and triathlon is designed to enhance athletic performance. Archroma’s solutions for polyester microfiber and polyester/elastane knits include high-performance coloration technology and finishes that promote comfort and fit.

Useful technologies here include TERASIL® WW, a high-performance dye range for polyester and its blends that achieves rich, deep and brilliant colors with best-in-class washfastness. It is used with ERIOPON® E3-SAVE, which combines pre-scouring, dyeing and reduction clearing in a single bath for faster processing and resource savings. Water and energy savings of up to 32% each have been achieved by deploying these technologies for performance-wear knits instead of FOUNDATION-level solutions.

Outdoor wear: Sustainable water repellence

Archroma’s SUPER SYSTEMS+ solutions for durable performance outdoor wear deliver all-round weather protection and comfort. Leveraging TERASIL® WW washfast dyes and the ERIOPON® E3-SAVE all-in-one auxiliary, IMPACT+ makes it possible for brands and mills to capture water savings of up to 28% and energy savings of up to 26% compared to FOUNDATION-level solutions.

Fabrics dyed with this system can be treated with PHOBOTEX® NTR-50 LIQ to provide excellent water repellence and a very soft handle. This new durable water repellent is not only free of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) and formaldehyde*, but is also based on 50% sustainably sourced renewable feedstock. Additionally, it helps mills avoid phenolic yellowing and chalk marking, and (since it is crosslinker-free) gives them the option to choose different crosslinkers to modify its performance.

Performance wear: Next-generation freshness and comfort

For outdoor clothing, athletic wear, athleisure and active wear, Archroma’s key finishing technologies deliver the high-performance value that active consumers crave for.

The HYDROPERM® range of moisture-management finishes offers highly wash-resistant body moisture absorbency to keep the wearer cool and dry with solutions for cotton, polyester and polyamide. Archroma’s UV SUN® PES is a smart addition when extra protection against UV rays is required. Applied on polyester fabrics and blends in only minimal amounts, it provides good sun protection, even after washing or prolonged exposure to light. It will not change the shade of dyed textiles, ensuring their brilliance and clarity.

* Below limits of detection according to industry standard test methods.

This article first appeared on the Textile Network.