Company insight
Make a difference now: Lower the bisphenol content in leather
Bisphenol regulations for leather are expected, but after receiving feedback on the legislation proposal in August, German authorities decided a re-evaluation is essential to meet the intended goals. Does it really matter? If we can make leather better now, why wait? Royal Smit & Zoon is taking a leading role in lowering bisphenol emissions in leather.
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o meet future regulations and hold on to its mission statement to create an environmentally and social sustainable leather value chain, Royal Smit & Zoon has developed a special range of wet-end solutions optimised on bisphenol for high-quality leather. It has added two new products to the range: Optitan LP 161 and Optitan MP 424L, two phenolic-based syntans that are suitable for the retannage of wet-blue, wet-white and Zeo White.
Optitan LP 161 is a full replacement for current retanning agents, giving full and soft leather with very fine grain, good grain tightness and excellent milling properties. Bisphenol emissions in the product and in the leather are <500ppm. Optitan MP 424L is a bisphenol-optimised retanning agent imparting a very soft and pleasant handle with good lightfastness and heat yellowing properties. Bisphenol emissions in the product and in the
subsequent leather are below the detection limit.
“If we can make leather better and have the choice to work with products that create a healthier work environment, why wait?” asks Laurence Irwin, product manager at Royal Smit & Zoon. “With our bisphenol- optimised solutions, and also with our Renewability range that we launched at the start of this year, we help our customers to make the right decisions for their people, customers and the environment.”
Bisphenol in leather has become a much debated topic due to planned legislation.
Leather International /
www.leathermag.com
Extended range: bisphenol- optimised solutions Part of Smit’s low-bisphenol range is BioTan XP 01L. This innovative retanning agent is biobased and contains no detectable bisphenol. Yet, it offers real tanning power with no compromise on the performance, fullness and softness of the leather. BioTan XP 01L is your next step in meeting the demand for low emissions and to build further towards a sustainable way of leather making. Bisphenol has become an important topic of discussion in the leather industry, especially since the restriction proposal of the European Chemicals Agency on bisphenol. Until recently, BPA has received most attention because it is the most widely used type and it is used in food contact applications. BPA has been identified as an SVHC due to its endocrine disrupting properties for humans and the environment already.
Royal Smit & Zoon has an extensive range of products to aid leather makers.
Following the identification of BPA as SVHC, Germany submitted a restriction proposal to adequately address the potential risks to the environment from relevant uses and functions of BPA and/or other bisphenols with similar hazard profiles that might be used as drop-in alternatives. Since bisphenols are very similar compounds from a molecular point of view, other bisphenols, including BPS and BPF, are suspected of having the same toxicological effects. Do you want to stay future-proof and optimise your leather recipe and processing on bisphenols without compromising on leather performance? Royal Smit & Zoon offers customers advice and technical support. ●
www.smitzoon.com/knowledge 19
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