Astral – nyanza

Prima Paper

Wood pulp fibers for our Prima paper come from Forestry Stewardship Council (FSC) certified wood harvesting and pulping operations. The paper mill that produces our Prima paper uses little fresh water, internally recycling and reusing over 99% of the water required for paper making. What little water that does get discharged to the town waste treatment plant has nearly all solids removed from it by filtration before being discharged to the town waste treatment plant. No VOC's are discharged to the atmosphere from the paper mill.

Under typical commercial landfill conditions, our Prima paper breaks down quickly and naturally as microorganisms consume the cellulose wood pulp fibers and the acrylic latex saturant. In contrast, PVC vinyl wallcoverings can take decades to break down.

Our Prima wallpaper is printed digitally using a a UV aqueous pigment ink system that is non-toxic. This process eliminates any ink runoff, which in traditional screened printing using solvent inks is the one of the most detrimental aspects of wallpaper production.

Classic Paper

Our Classic papers are manufactured with responsibly-sourced, elemental chlorine free fiber, and all suppliers adhere to one of the globally recognized forestry or chain of custody programs including Forestry Stewardship Council (FSC), Sustainable Forestry Initiative (SFI), Programme for the Endorsement of Forestry Certification (PEFC) and Canadian Standards Association. Our paper supplier is both an ISO 9001:2000 and ISO 14001:2004 certified company, and creates approximately 50% of its electricity by low-impact hydroelectric generators and has been designated by the EPA as a National Performance Track Company. 100% of the mill's short paper fiber is reclaimed and used in the agricultural industry for nutrient rich compost or animal bedding.

Our Classic wallpaper is printed digitally using the HP Latex aqueous pigment ink system that is non-toxic. This process eliminates any ink runoff, which in traditional screened printing using solvent inks is the one of the most detrimental aspects of wallpaper production.

Wide Format Paper

Wood pulp fibers for our Wide Format paper come from Forestry Stewardship Council (FSC) certified wood harvesting and pulping operations. The paper mill that produces our wide paper uses little fresh water, internally recycling and reusing over 99% of the water required for paper making. What little water that does get discharged to the town waste treatment plant has nearly all solids removed from it by filtration before being discharged to the town waste treatment plant. No VOC's are discharged to the atmosphere from the paper mill.

Under typical commercial landfill conditions, our Prima paper breaks down quickly and naturally as microorganisms consume the cellulose wood pulp fibers and the acrylic latex saturant. In contrast, PVC vinyl wallcoverings can take decades to break down.

Our Wide Format wallpaper is printed digitally using the HP Latex aqueous pigment ink system that is non-toxic. This process eliminates any ink runoff, which in traditional screened printing using solvent inks is the one of the most detrimental aspects of wallpaper production.

Linen

Eskayel uses Libeco Lagae 100% Belgian linen exclusively, which is harvested and manufactured in Belgium under the some of the most stringent agricultural standards on the globe. Libeco has become a completely carbon neutral company, which is quite a feat for a fabric mill with over 80 double width looms and climate controlled facilities.
Our Fabric printing process uses an ultra low VOC ink system and our printing facility utilizes very little waste fabric, water, and electricity. The nature of the digital printing process eliminates waste ink run-off and all print finishing is chemical free instead using a heat and pressure process.

Flax is "green" by nature and has grown for thousands of years, and always with great respect for the environment. Flax is a plant that grows naturally, and needs very few chemicals. Few or no fertilizers and/or crop protection products are being used compared to other crops. Flax does not require irrigation during the growing process. The flax plant is gentle on the land and is easy to incorporate into modern crop rotation cycles. The processing of flax needs very little energy and does not harm nature. The water retting process has been replaced by environmentally friendly dew-retting on the field.
Flax has some inherent ecological characteristics: all parts of the plant are used (there is no waste) and are 100% biodegradable or recyclable. Flax seed is beneficial in human and animal nutrition because of its very high content of alpha omega-3 fatty acids. Flax seeds can be used as the base for a fine flour used in medical compresses. Linseed oil, squeezed out of flax seeds, is also used as a component in paints, cosmetics, soil coverings, etc. Flax fibers are also being used in heat insulation, packaging, etc. The remaining residual products are used in fiber boards, bank notes, etc. The inherent strength of linen yarn reduces the need for starching during spinning and weaving. Linen fabrics can be recycled into paper and insulation materials for the car industry.

One of the most critical steps in the production process of linen in terms of ecology is the washing, bleaching, dyeing and finishing of the fabrics. A lot of water is being used to clean and dye the fabrics. The finisher of our linens has heavily invested in order to minimize water consumption and meet all environmental standards.

The processes are continuously reviewed in order to :

• minimize total water consumption and optimize water recycling during the processes,

• reduce total energy consumption and optimize energy recuperation from the effluents,

• reduce the use of harmful chemicals in line with the most severe standards:

1. only water based chemicals are being used during production.
2. bleaching agents based on chlorite have been fully replaced by agents based on oxygen such as peroxide.
3. dye selection is fully in line with the EC Directive 76/769/EEC banning prohibited azo dyes that release carcinogenic            amine compounds (MAK Group III 1,2,3) and according to the ETAD standard minimizing any possible adverse            impact of organic colorants on health and environment, based on the principles of responsible care.

Organic Cotton

Our organic cotton denim fabric is produced in strict accordance with Global Organic Textile Standards (GOTS) containing at last 95% organic material, and prohibiting the use of of critical inputs such as toxic heavy metals, formaldehyde, aromatic solvents, functional nano particles, genetically modified organisms (GMO) and their enzymes. All whitening process is done using oxygen based compounds( peroxide) and are chloride free.