SGS Helps Textile and Footwear Manufacturers Improve Chemical Profiles

Textiles and leather are two key components of apparel and footwear. While they are very different materials, the processes involved to create the desired color, feel and performance level for its end use, have many similarities.

More than 40 different types of chemicals can be used during the production of an individual garment, and significant volumes of water may be used and discharged from the factory during this process. In Europe, around 15,000 chemical formulations are used in textile production, with an estimated 9.3 million metric tons of chemicals being used in global textile production each year. Indeed, approximately 25% of all chemicals produced worldwide are used directly or indirectly in the textile industry.

Chemicals used in the manufacture of textiles and leather can have diverse characteristics and can present a risk to consumers and the environment if they are not correctly verified. Fortunately, safer chemistries are now available, along with better systems and techniques to verify chemical risk. Many countries have introduced legislation designed to safeguard consumers against exposure to potentially toxic chemicals in apparel and footwear.

Global supply chains, however, mean that textiles and leather may not be produced in countries that have appropriate legislation or safeguards to protect the environment from potentially toxic chemicals. Responsible brands must find a way to source environmentally friendly components, both in terms of how materials are produced and how waste streams (water, solid and air emissions) are appropriately treated.

Apparel and footwear businesses need to face the challenge of sourcing products that mitigate chemical risk whilst being manufactured in a sustainable way. Ensuring products are environmentally friendly and safe has traditionally relied upon testing final products to assess their chemical compliance, but this is now being replaced by surveying the input chemicals and raw materials further up the supply chain – if only environmentally friendly and safe chemicals are used during manufacturing, then only environmentally friendly and safe products should be produced.

The question remains – can this be achieved in textile and footwear supply chains?

There are many different approaches being taken to improve environmental performance but most agree hazardous chemicals need to be eliminated from the supply chain. Manufacturers need to focus on the chemical profile of the input streams to their supply chains, looking at both raw materials and the chemicals required. They need to consider both the final product and the various waste outputs of their processes – waste water, air emissions and solid waste.

It is clear appropriate chemical management strategies within manufacturing facilities have the potential to force some of the biggest environmental improvements in the textile and footwear industries. Factories, however, may require technical support because, although they may have the expertise needed to manufacture intermediate and final products, they may not have the necessary technical knowledge of chemical management best practices to identify and develop an effective strategy for eliminating the use of hazardous chemicals.

SGS has introduced its ‘Zero Discharge Holistic Solution’ to help companies achieve this goal. Their range of services will aid facilities in systematically improving their hazardous chemical profiles using a three-pronged approach. The key elements are:

• Training
• Assessment
• Implementation

As a first step, it is critical that the factories have the right knowledge to succeed. By ensuring their key individuals receive appropriate training, they can strengthen their understanding and advance their knowledge and competence in chemical management. SGS offers a Hazardous Substance Control Workshop, which is a practical training course for the industry and covers key chemical management strategies as well as providing toolkits for the facilities to use.

Once a facility understands chemical management, it is critical that they can effectively assess the environmental conformance of input materials, such as chemicals and raw materials, as well as the output products and waste streams. SGS has developed several services, including chemical screening, chemical testing and measurement of waste emissions (liquid, solid and air emissions) to allow factories to assess their current baseline, and identify where future improvements can be made.

Following effective factory training and benchmarking of their chemical management performance, facilities are positioned to employ advanced systems to achieve their goal of eliminating hazardous chemicals. One example may be to use chemicals that have undergone extensive assessment, not just for whether they contain hazardous components, but also to understand their overall environmental profile and the ability of the chemical manufacturer to consistently produce the chemicals. bluesign® bluefinder is a market leader in providing a positive list from which facilities can confidently select processing chemicals knowing that they have been expertly assessed.

During this journey towards the elimination of hazardous chemicals, facilities will need to employ an effective monitoring strategy to gauge their current performance and to see where improvements can be made. One key aspect is to identify potential risks and understand where non-compliances (e.g. restricted substances in final product or waste outputs) may originate. SGS’s Root Cause Analysis service highlights high risk restricted substances that may be used within the manufacturing process and validates individual chemicals for compliance.

Summary
While there are many environmental challenges facing the global textile and footwear industries, a key strategy is to work towards eliminating hazardous chemicals from supply chains and to identify opportunities to effectively improve performance. By having access to technical expertise and services, the textile and footwear sectors really do have a credible opportunity of working effectively towards the zero discharge of hazardous chemicals.

SGS Zero Discharge Holistic Solution
[www.sgs.com/en/consumer-goods-retail/softlines-and-accessories/textile-and-clothing/zero-discharge-holistic-solution]

For further information contact:

Andrew Hudson
Consumer and Retail
Global Softlines Technical Head
Email: crs.media@sgs.com
Website: www.sgs.com/softlines

About SGS
SGS is the world’s leading inspection, verification, testing and certification company. SGS is recognized as the global benchmark for quality and integrity. With more than 90,000 employees, SGS operates a network of over 2,000 offices and laboratories around the world.

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This release was published on openPR.