Today, climate change awareness and
campaigning in general are boosting sustainability efforts in the textile
industry. Promising developments and more investments are being made. The focus
falls on supply chain sustainability, enabling consumers and companies to make
responsible decisions to protect the planet.
TESTEX is a globally operating, independent
Swiss testing and certification organisation with a focus on textile and
leather testing. The organisation believes that everyone should keep working
together as joint efforts to create the biggest change for sustainability.
TESTEX took part in the Fashion Summit 2019
from September 5 to 6 in Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre. The event
brought together leading academics, key players from the fashion industry,
NGOs, media, decision makers and leaders to achieve sustainable fashion in
Asia.
The Swiss organisation thus delivered this
key message in the summit. “Small improvements are important, and continuing
the effort brings the industry closer to its goal of achieving big
improvements,” highlighted Linda Wegelin, Group Market Development Manager,
TESTEX AG.
She said, for example, the UN Sustainable
Development Goal 12 (SDG 12), which includes responsible consumption and
production, is encouraging companies to set targets in order to become more
sustainable.
"We would like to say a big thank you to
all the brands and associations who are striving to make the textile industry a
better place,” she added.
MADE IN GREEN by OEKO-TEX® makes production
fair and traceable
In view of this, as a member institute of
the OEKO-TEX® Association and the official representative in China and HKSAR,
TESTEX is planning to enhance the MADE IN GREEN by OEKO-TEX® label.
“We plan to enhance the label with a
lifecycle assessment (LCA) pilot project, whose goal is to determine the
environmental hotspots of the entire product lifecycle at each stage of
production,” Wegelin explained.
Building on TESTEX’s existing certification
schemes, MADE IN GREEN by OEKO-TEX®, is a label for textile products made with
materials tested for harmful substances, made in environmentally friendly
facilities and safe and socially responsible workplaces. It is also a tool for
brands and retailers to promote their sustainability goals, and to offer the
consumer full traceability of products.
According to Wegelin, in order to ensure
the quality of certified products, regular site visits/audits, product control
and validity checks are required. In addition, some international brands have
already introduced the label, particularly in Europe & North America
including Primark, Aldi, Macy’s and Big W.
Commenting on the challenges in promoting
the label, she said: “The most challenging part is to make brands understand
that the effort is worth it. The supply chain is documented in one system which
makes monitoring and improving easier whilst also making it as simple as
possible for the consumer.”
She further revealed that TESTEX will
continue to work on addressing all aspects of sustainability of a product’s
entire life cycle (circular economy). Current projects include a STANDARD 100
certification for recycled textiles and one of TESTEX’s ongoing R&D focuses
is sludge and wastewater development.