Cotton Incorporated was founded in 1970 as a response to the need for collective national marketing for the fi brous substance cotton. Due to the decline of the cotton market share to an all-time-low of 34 %, caused by competition from synthetic fi bres, marketing activities became necessary to restore the popularity of the cotton fi bre. Cotton Incorporated succeeded in its eff orts with the successful approach of a combined push/pull marketing strategy with the aim of “pushing“ textile cotton innovations into the market and, simultaneously, creating consumer needs through advertisement and promotion, which causes a “pulling“ eff ect, with the result that today the cotton share in most product categories has again risen to above 60 %. Apart from successful consumer marketing activities such as the “The Fabric of Our Lives“ campaign in the United States, Cotton Incorporated seeks collaborative industry like the RUDOLF GROUP which, as an innovative system provider, delivers specialty products for textile processing. Cotton Incorporated values the RUDOLF GROUP‘s textile chemical competence, tailor-made solutions for many textile problems and innovative and sustainably produced auxiliary range very highly.
“We have always enjoyed a close partnership with RUDOLF GmbH. In recent decades, we have started numerous projects for special fi nishes and for optimising the required processes together in the fi elds of pre-treatment, dyeing, fi nishing and coating and have concluded them very successfully in this partnership. The close links between our teams and RUDOLF‘s technical specialists, both in the laboratory (AWP, SLT, AWE) and for advice in redesigning facilities and processes in the dyeing and pretreatment segments, have even led to the joint commissioning of new facilities in recent years. And in the event that we have production faults - which is very rarely the case - RUDOLF supports us with immediate fault analysis and extremely short notice on-site service. RUDOLF and Bierbaum - we couldn‘t wish for a better collaboration!“
PYUA is a member of the Fair Wear Foundation and produces high-quality ski wear, currently with the slogan: FCfree Winter Collection 2014/15 - made in Europe! In order to better control the value chain, PYUA has, among others, developed its own laminate (functional fabric). “For the fi fth time in a row, PYUA has received an ISPO [International Trade Fair for Sports Equipment and Fashion] award for outstanding design and environmental sustainability. As part of our eco design, BIONIC-FINISH®ECO is an integral part of the future!“, says Timo Perschke, Founder and Managing Director of PYUA.
Since 1995, H&M have been actively working to reduce the use and impact of hazardous chemicals. The RUDOLF GROUP has made every eff ort to eliminate these byproducts and has succeeded in developing PFOS and PFOA-free fl uorocarbon water repellents with the so-called C6-generation. Despite these eff orts, what is decisive for all parts of the textile chain, especially for brand manufacturers, is how public and consumers will in future react to this product optimisation. The entirely fl uorocarbon-free BIONIC-FINISH®ECO will open up new perspectives to the clothing sector. With BIONIC-FINISH®ECO H&M have succeeded in developing water-repellent fi nishes that do NOT release fl uoroorganic compounds. H&M purchase their goods from 700 suppliers of the textile industry, who are located in more than 20 countries in Europe, the Mediterranean region and Asia.
“The long-standing collaboration with RUDOLF supports Sympatex Technologies GmbH in practical terms in the implementation of our „guaranteed green“ positioning. This is demonstrated in particular in the Greenpeace DETOX campaign: since the start of the campaign in 2012, Sympatex has welcomed the Greenpeace‘s eff orts to ban PFC and other ecologically harmful materials from the production chain for the outdoor industry as soon as possible. Thanks to the long-standing partnership between RUDOLF and Sympatex, the company is clearly positioned as a pioneer in the use of fl uorocarbon-free fi nishes in the fi eld of outdoor clothing. Sympatex has thus off ered the FC-free BIONIC-FINISH®ECO fi nish as an alternative to C6 or C8 chemicals since 2008. As a result, Sympatex can off er products in the apparel business segment that are 100 % FC-free on the basis of its fl uorocarbon-free Sympatex membrane.“ Dr. Martin Mayershofer, Director of R&D
Melissa Stewart, PhD - Senior Manager, Research & Innovation at Jockey International, Inc.: “The RUDOLF team is always responsive and supportive for both development and production to ensure we get the consistency, quality and performance needed for Jockey. RUDOLF is a true partner in developing unique and quality innovative solutions for our products (quick response time, on-site mill technical support, similar values in innovation, service and quality). RUDOLF is a reliable and trusted partner providing support and service from concept to consumer. The entire team is a pleasure to work and collaborate with.“