The secret lies already in the name: SYN-BIOS SPA was born with the idea of a coexistence between different elements, chemistry and the environment.
From its founding to the present day, SYN-BIOS SPA’s mission has always been to offer customers solutions that are a combination of technology and respect for everything around us. This is also the goal of an economic model that grows responsibly, which is the basis of the sustainability principle. The official definition of sustainable development is, precisely, to meet the needs of the present generation without compromising those of the future ones. It was no coincidence that the first company to create a water-based fixative, replacing solvent-based ones, was SYN-BIOS SPA itself in the mid-1990s, when it was not yet conceivable to obtain a finished article boasting the same properties, relying on a new technology that was much less impactful on the environment and workers’ health. With a view to unceasing improvement, the company first achieved ISO 14001 environmental certification and in 2020 began the journey of voluntary ZDHC (an acronym for Zero Discharge of Hazardous Chemicals) certification to ensure its customers achieve zero discharge of hazardous substances into wastewater. The creation of the ZDHC foundation by world-renowned brands is the fashion industry’s response to the Detox campaign launched by Greenpeace to eliminate the use of particularly hazardous substances from its supply chain. As fashion is one of the most developed industries, with a supply chain of more than 300 million people, the use of chemicals within the supply chain has a very significant impact. To pursue this, it is necessary comply with recognized standards and certifications. The most widely chosen path is the one highlighted precisely by ZDHC, which has created specifications that are much more restrictive than the legally mandated requirements, summarized in an MRSL (acronym for Manufacturing Restricted Substances List).
SYN-BIOS SPA has embraced ZDHC’s goal, integrating its principles with the entire corporate structure. Starting in 2020 and officially in 2021, achieving the highest level of ZDHC certification, Level 3, SYN-BIOS SPA has been following the path of implementing sustainable chemistry with its partners. Transparency and traceability along the supply chain are the new watchwords.
Achieving this goal was a source of pride for a non-multinational chemical company, which was the first to obtain this recognition worldwide.
In 2023, the company renewed its certification, obtaining level 3, Prov. Progressive, a further guarantee for those who use SYN-BIOS SPA products to be able to comply with the limits of the specifications of the AFIRM GROUP articles, which brings together the most famous brands in the fashion sector.
Seeking sustainable technological innovation for the automotive industry? SYN-BIOS SPA’s answer is NIR TECHNOLOffY.
SYN-BIOS SPA, a Montebello Vicentino-based company and leader in the leather chemical sector, is focusing on IR reflective pigments specifically developed for the automotive sector.
The NIR TECHNOLOGY series completes the range of colors dedicated to the automotive industry, flanking the already established SYN-CAR® and METAL- FREE lines.
The pigments selected to make this range are based on near-infrared sunlight spectrum reflection technology (from which the acronym NIR comes from). In the automotive industry, as well as in the motorcycle industry (saddles and technical-sports clothing), the temperature increase of colors exposed to the sun is a particularly critical issue, especially with regard to dark tones.
Usually, the latter absorb solar radiation and thus heat up much more than light ones, which, on the other hand, reflect up to 90 percent of light energy and remain cooler. The near-infrared zone, which is part of the solar radiation spectrum and invisible to the human eye, is responsible for the increase in temperature of surfaces exposed to light. Light energy, which is absorbed most considerably by dark colors, is transformed into heat energy. Creating car
interiors using reflective IR pigments such as NIR TECHNOLOGY means keeping under control the temperature increase of colored surfaces, considering that they do not absorb near-infrared rays but, rather, reflect them. Thus, excessive overheating of the surface and its premature deterioration due to heat is avoided. Greater comfort of leather upholstery is achieved, with a smaller contribution in increasing the temperature of the cockpit, and, consequently, energy savings for its cooling.
The NIR TECHNOLOGY series follows perfectly the path of environmental sustainability, due to the lower energy input that is asked in cooling car interiors and the longer life of the finish, compared to articles made with pigments that are not IR reflective.
SYN-BIOS SPA has made a long-standing commitment to fully share the principles behind ZDHC “Roadmap to Zero” program, the goal of which is the elimination of hazardous substances from the entire supply chain to protect workers, consumers and our ecosystem. The NIR TECHNOLOGY series has been developed in full compliance with the requirements of ZDHC MRSL v.3.1, as it is certified at Level 3, Prov. Progressive.
The NON-IONIC Range
SYN-BIOS SPA also developed a series of non-ionic pigments that allow their use in any waterborne system, regardless of pH.
Enriching the already very wide selection of pigments in the catalog, from the Montebello Vicentino-based company also comes a range of microdispersions of colors called NON-IONIC. These are pigment formulations in an aqueous system that are compatible over a very wide pH range. This versatility leads them to be used both for articles requiring an anionic finishing and those requiring a cationic one.