CHEMICALS, WATER AND ENERGY (WECH)

The production of clothing is a complex and chemically intensive process, which consumes a lot of water and energy and which has a major impact on the environment. In order to limit water and energy consumption, we at Schijvens Corporate Fashion make clothing from recycled materials. As a result, no new raw materials are needed, saving an average of 99% water, 40% CO2 emissions and 40% energy.

In the past year we have also delved more deeply into the chemical process in our productions. Think of dyes, but also certain finishes such as making blouses iron-free. All these applications can affect people and the environment and we would like to limit this as much as possible. For this reason, we have drawn up a so-called ‘RSL’ (Restricted Substances List) and ‘MRSL’ (Manufacturing Restricted Substances List) list, which states which chemicals can be harmful and therefore may not be used in our clothing, as well as during the different production processes. ‘RSL’ stands for ‘Restricted Substances List’, which lists all chemicals that should not be in the product. This list was compiled together with industry association Modint and is based on the ZDHC (Zero Discharge of Hazardous Chemicals) program, an initiative of textile companies with the aim of banning hazardous chemicals. This therefore applies to the entire production chain from manufacturing raw materials to assembling the clothing.

We expect all our suppliers to set up their processes in such a way that these chemicals are not used and the clothing produced is tested for this by a third party. In addition, we have started auditing our main dyers to determine how environmentally friendly they are and where improvements can still be made. For example, this year we completed a joint sustainable project at a dyeing plant in China in collaboration with Arcadis and the ICSR Covenant, in which many improvements were made and we were also able to learn from each other together. In addition, an audit was recently carried out in Pakistan and Turkey is also planned in the near future, which together already comprises about half of our production.

View our Sustainability Report for more information!