Gildan Activewear, a leading manufacturer and marketer of quality branded basic family apparel, including T-shirts, fleece, sport shirts, underwear, socks, hosiery, and shapewear, has released its Corporate, Social and Environmental Responsibility (CSR) report for the year 2015. In 2015, the company continued to invest in its vertically-integrated business model, enabling it to identify and manage the environmental, social and community impacts of producing its apparel.
In the report, the company states that its five-year (2010-15) environmental goals are focused on uncovering potential opportunities to improve efficiencies and reduce their environmental footprint. Over the five-year period, Gildan achieved 34 per cent reduction in greenhouse gas emissions per kg of production since 2010, largely achieved through the use of biomass, 14 per cent reduction of energy per kg of production achieved through installation of high efficiency steam absorption chillers running on steam produced by the company’s biomass steam generation expansion, 17 per cent decrease in water per kg of production, translating into savings of approximately 3.85 million cubic metres of water or the equivalent of over 1,500 Olympic-sized swimming pools, as compared to 2010 primarily achieved through investments in modern jet dyeing machines. 89% recycling or re-purposing of total waste and 19 per cent reduction in waste sent to landfills in 2015.
“We are tremendously proud of the progress we have made in the last five years to improve our efficiency in using natural resources and reducing our emissions,” said Benito Masi, Executive Vice-President, Manufacturing – Gildan.
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Furthermore, to provide employees with a safe and healthy work environment, Gildan provided 142,700 medical consultations to employees in 2015 through its free on-site medical clinics, including basic medications, prenatal care and health education programmes. They also provided subsidized meals and free transportation to employees, and fostered an environment of continuous learning through the delivery of almost 1,000,000 man-hours of training.
