Member Article

Meryl Fabrics Calls for Government Support in Promoting Sustainable Textiles, and for Industry Spokespeople

Multi award winning pioneer in sustainable textiles, Meryl Fabrics is appealing for governments to develop a tax benefits programme, to encourage businesses to use sustainably sourced textiles, linens, uniforms, or interior fabrics. The firms believe it should be part of changing how sustainable materials, such as those produced by Meryl Fabrics, are purchased as equipment rather than disposable costs.

The business is investing in additional resource to enable it to work with governments to develop the criteria where the highly innovative technology becomes a recognised corporate ESG measure.

Peter Broom, Co-Founder and Technical Innovator at Meryl Fabrics explains: “It will enable companies to bid for new business and accreditations having adopted the soon-to-be-introduced law in Europe and North America. To show they are moving forward with a credible sustainability policy and using Meryl Fabrics will be a reasonable and recognised way to achieve these criteria.

“This will improve the textile industry rather than paying cash to mitigate our involvement in climate change. In short, let us discontinue the ineffective practice of paying damages to countries, so we don’t have to face the consequences. We want to bring honour back to the industry.”

The firm is also putting out a call for those keen to make a change in the textiles industry as well as green business leaders and environmental charity spokespeople to join Meryl Fabrics in delivering and amplifying their message, which they believe will be a game changer.

Peter continues: “Reviewing the broader global context, by joining forces with aligned voices on this, we are creating a movement for change, generating an understanding of what needs to be done to bring out environmental change facilitate getting our message out to international industries and governments, showing how we can all be part of a solution to reducing the destruction of the environment. We have to stop sending our textile problem to countries where many of our textiles go into landfill and help them to help us.

“We must convince an industry that has done things the same way for decades to change how they work. There is a better way to evolve and grow their business, not by changing overnight, but by including new sustainable products into their existing range.

“A business can offer cost savings by using more durable products as an attractive part of its new sustainable commitment. They can improve their environmental impact by reducing their textile waste footprint by not having to dispose of used garments as often. The industry can move away from greenwashing, which appears to have grown in the public eye recently. By using proven eco-technology supplies, businesses can deliver a credible path to true sustainability whilst offering superior comfort and traceability. We can enhance corporate knowledge and certainty as they know where their products come from and where they are being reused.”

“We are also convinced that the right persons’ involvement and support can provide the necessary credibility to accelerate our investment in the future. You will recognise this work will cost money if we want short-term success, which will facilitate longer-term changes required to turn the Earth back to Earth Overshoot Day 31st of December in our grandchildren’s lifetime.”

Earth Overshoot Day is when humanity has used all the biological resources that the Earth regenerates throughout the year. The calculation is this: (Planet’s Biocapacity / Humanity’s Ecological Footprint) x 365 = Earth Overshoot Day. Meryl Fabrics is comitted to supporting raising awareness to recognise the severity of this situation, as Earth Overshoot Day fell on the 25th of December in 1971. The problem has steadily gotten worse, and they believe we have no alternative but to act. The only time it improved year after year was in 2020 to the 22nd of August, but regrettably, it was short-lived. Earth Overshoot day is when mother nature cannot replace the natural resources we take from the planet fast enough to maintain the environmental balance - we are poisoning our home, and we will eventually poison ourselves; it is that simple Meryl Fabrics reminds us.

Peter states: “The Earth has the most remarkable capacity to renew and regenerate itself and recycle all matter that exists and lives on the planet. (There is a reason we say “From Earth to Earth” in funeral rituals). Neither humanity nor the world can tolerate or sustain the impact of humans in pursuing short-term profits driven by financial and industrial systems that thrive on abusing our finite resources. Outsourcing production to regions with fewer protections allows us, In developed economies, to take for granted the fossil fuels, raw materials and natural and human resources required for industrial processes. Allowing companies to carry out general “corporate rendition” policies, where we export our cost reductions and their impacts on lesser stringent economies, is questionable. At best, and in the worst cases, it’s criminally negligent; and can be viewed as immoral and cruel when we apply the same standards to suppliers in developing economies as we would to our workforce and environmental impact.

“No one solution will reduce the damage and restore the Earth’s natural equilibrium, but ours is a start.

“Every person, industry, and government must do what they can to live and operate with significantly less impact, thus permitting the Earth to regain its natural regenerative cycles that our unsustainable way of life obliterates. Meryl Fabrics has developed a solution that straddles fossil fuel and the textile production industries. We are one team, but we have made a start with our innovation which I have explained in this request. Now we need you and your voice to persuade others to join us. As we have made our contribution and will continue, we need help getting the message out, and we want the people to ask for our fabric and use it and make the textile industry listen.”

Meryl has developed a fully reusable fabric technology that has virtually eradicated pollution and is an important step forward in using textiles responsibly in our daily lives. The fabrics are provably sustainable because they last longer than fabrics used for mass textile production. They are reused several times for similar garments and textile products or in new incarnations such as medical devices, car interiors, and other less obvious uses, and this is infinite.

However, this is not widely known, so Meryl Fabrics believe that they must explain how we solve some environmental problems facing our industry, as some (in fact, most) still need a push as they are not close enough to the actual cost of textile production and waste. With the pioneering of hi-tech sustainable materials, we make strides in developing products designed to offset the textile industry’s detrimental environmental effects.

The sustainable textiles business has carefully developed and introduced a complete range of fully reusable fabrics available today with advanced technology at a molecular stage, significantly reducing freshwater use and virtually eradicating pollutants. The unique yarn does not require dyeing and finishing traditionally used in fabric manufacturing, saving billions of litres of water typically used in this production stage. The unique process also removes the need for harmful chemicals, solvents and silicones, minimising the risk of polluting our rivers and oceans.

Meryl Fabrics combine colour, texture and our anti-microbial treatments; all added top create the fibres used in spinning the yarn to enhance the protection of the people wearing it. Permanent anti-microbial and odour-control technology ensures no microbes grow in the fabric and cause unpleasant odours.

New technology is weaved into every stage of the process and engineers the highest quality material with solid hydrogen chains, bringing strength, natural elasticity, and high recovery while stopping the release of microfibers into the air and water.

Meryl Fabrics view their technology as an essential game-changing step forward in reducing the water restores we take and lowering our catastrophic environmental impact. Peter concludes: “It is clear we need to provide a credible solution for the textile industry, and we require recognised and respected spokespeople in industry to join us, for this to happen at the pace necessary to make a rapid and lasting change, for instance in raising awareness that an alternative to recycled and plastic bottles is available. So many people and companies are not aware our products are available. An unfounded hope is the story of recycled plastic bottles, and recycled polyester will provide a solution (this is not currently commercially oscientifically possible) persists in the industry. Yet, there is little action to explore the available technologies.

“We aim to build an equation or actual cost and benefit model, showing how adopting our products will significantly reduce costs and waste across their organisations. We must show how using our products will change how they move workwear and linens from a disposable cost to a balance sheet asset that they depreciate because it is longer lasting. With historic disposal, costs are transformed into revenue producers as businesses get paid for it or receive a reduced price on replacements when they return the used items to us. There is also a case for subscription models, which must be developed later in partnership with suppliers and end users.”

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Melissa Chawner .