Commitment to Sustainable Chemical Management Grows

Commitment to Sustainable Chemical Management Grows

10/11/2016

Today, the Zero Discharge of Hazardous Chemicals (ZDHC) Programme, a collaboration of leading brands, value chain affiliates and associate contributors, announces four new contributors and a strengthened commitment to sustainable chemical management.

The Programme's newest contributors are:  

1. The Sustainable Apparel Coalition (SAC), the apparel, footwear and home textile industry’s foremost alliance for sustainable production. The Coalition’s main focus is building the Higg Index, a standardized supply chain measurement tool for all industry participants to understand the environmental and social and labor impacts of making and selling products and services.
2. The Unione Nazionale Industria Conciara (UNIC) which is representative of the Italian tanning industry, which employs 18,000 workers in approximately 1,300 companies and is a fundamental component of Italian manufacturing.
3. Seri.co of Centro Tessile Serico (CTS), a testing laboratory and product certification system founded in 1980. Since, Seri.co have offered support services for production activities in the textile-clothing system in the Como region in Italy.
4. Covestro, a world-leading supplier of high-tech polymer materials, including waterborne raw materials for textiles and synthetic leather. It provides technology and R&D support that enables the production of coated textiles and polyurethane synthetics without solvents.

By joining, these organisations commit to supporting ZDHC’s goal of widespread implementation of sustainable chemistry in the textile and footwear industries.

“We’re excited to see continued support for the elimination of hazardous chemicals and are delighted to welcome UNIC, Seri.co, Covestro and the SAC as contributors,” says ZDHC Executive Director Frank Michel.

“In particular, we’re pleased to announce the formal collaboration with the Sustainable Apparel Coalition, as we share a large number of overlapping brands, and this collaboration will strengthen our work.”  

One of the main objectives of the ZDHC Programme is to reduce duplication and confusion of standards within the textile and footwear value-chain, and as Michel notes, collaboration is key to achieving this.

“We endorse the HIGG Facilities Environmental Module (FEM) developed by the SAC,” continues Michel, “and, as the centre of excellence for chemical management, we will be guiding the SAC on components related to this.”

The ZDHC Programme began in 2011 with six leading brands, and today consists of 22 Signatory Brands, 12 value chain affiliates and seven associates.

On November 8 in Shanghai, ZDHC will host a joint event with the China National Textile and Apparel Council (CNTAC) focussed on sharing best practices and latest developments in chemical management. Learn more about this event here, or explore the ZDHC Programme and its tools here.

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