Sustainable production – placing equal importance on environmental, social and economic issues – is a long-term vision for TWD Fibres and its subsidiary FR Saftey. In addition to many speciality and high-quality yarns, TWD Fibres also produces inherently flame-retardant polyester yarns under the Diolen Safe trademark. Low-flammable properties are permanently embedded into these yarns during the spinning process, meaning that they will not diminish through abrasion, ageing and frequent washing. Thus, these yarns guarantee long-lasting safety compared to subsequently treated materials. This process of directly embedding flame-resistant properties is also beneficial from an ecological standpoint as additional chemical applications and pollutants can be eliminated.

Diolen Safe textiles by TWD Fibres, exclusively sold through FR Safety Yarns, meet all established international fire regulations. They are frequently certified and approved for their intended use by different testing laboratories. Currently, Diolen Safe yarns are the only polyester yarns that have passed both the tests for low-flammable yarns as well as the Cradle-to-Cradle (C2C) standards.

Antimony-free mattress ticking

Antimony oxide (Sb2O3) is used as a catalyst in the processing of base materials for the production of polyester fibres and filament yarns worldwide. Therefore often found in textiles, these antimony compounds can be partially dissolved, especially by perspiration, and absorbed through the skin or inhaled. This could lead to irritations of the skin, eyes and lungs in sensitive people.

Polyester yarns are particularly popular in mattress ticking as they are easy to clean, easy to handle and abrasion-resistant. However, there are alternative polyester yarns free of antimony, yet with identical properties – something that TWS Fibres has specialised in. In order to guarantee end-to-end traceability and accountability, TWS Fibres does not source its raw materials from Asia and has instead moved its entire production chain to Europe. Their in-house laboratories as well as independent external institutes continually monitor and assess the quality of and antimony content in Diolen Hypoallergenic yarns.