News & Topics

Promoting NEOSEED® Fluorine-Free Water-Repellency Brand Awareness

A New Direction for a Japan-based Textile Auxiliary Supplier
New Hang-Tag to Attract Environmentally-Conscious Consumers

　Following Nicca Chemical’s 4th annual exhibition at the ISPO MUNICH 2018 held in Munich, Germany from January 28th to January 31th, 2018, we are focusing on increasing brand awareness for our NEOSEED® fluorine-free water-repellency solution both in global markets and to the end consumer.
　We believe that it will become increasingly important for primarily-B2B parts and materials makers like us to increase visibility with the end consumer to realize sustainability. As part of our efforts to increase brand awareness, we have created a hang-tag (pictured below) to be attached to apparel using NEOSEED® water-repellency processed fabric.

Hang-tag informing the consumer of NEOSEED®’s properties.
Provides added value in the form of information when attached to apparel.

　In 2011, apparel and sports goods makers from around the world entered into the ZDHC (Zero Discharge of Hazardous Chemicals) agreement, with the goal of eliminating hazardous chemicals from production by the year 2020. Awareness of the dangers associated with fluorinated compounds (such as PFOS and PFOA) thought to be necessary as water-repellency agents had been growing for years as the industry switched from the alternatives C8 to C6 and then to C4, but following the ZDHC, the industry at large committed to using no fluorine at all, even for water repellency applications.
　At Nicca, we began developing fluorine-free water repellency well before it became an industry goal. In part, this is because of our long-held dedication toward developing clean products, considering their effects on the people and the environment. The result was our NEOSEED® series of products. Today, we are continuing development of water-repellency solutions that surpass the effectiveness of previous fluorinated products, taking our cues from the natural structure of the lotus leaf. Our latest product shows a 20% improvement (measured in our laboratory) in water repellency, durability, and seam slippage resistance*1 over our hit product NEOSEED® NR-7080, released in 2016.

*1:　Seam slippage resistance: a material’s strength against displacement of the stitch when the fabric is under transverse strain.

　Promoting our NEOSEED® products as a way to strengthen brand awareness and increase sustainability might seem like an unusual move for a Japanese textile auxiliary supplier, but it is more than branding. Our hang-tag and other efforts are an expression of Nicca’s commitment to the environment.

　It’s becoming increasingly the norm for consumers to tie purchasing decisions to environmental concerns. We at Nicca hope to put our best foot forward as a chemical supplier concerned with sustainability and express the responsibility and thought that has gone into NEOSEED® and the products it enables.


Hanahasu Park (Minami Echizen, Fukui Prefecture, Japan)

As a sign of our appreciation and respect for the lotus leaf which inspired NEOSEED®, and as part of our mission to protect the environment, we have donated a portion of proceeds from NEOSEED® sales to the Hanahasu Park in Minami Echizen, Fukui Prefecture, Japan, which boasts the largest number of flowering lotus plants (hanahasu) in Japan. We will continue these donations to ensure that the park remains protected long into the future.

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