Country: Canada

ASBCI (Association of Suppliers to the British Clothing Industry) has announced to hold a Spring Conference 2017, which will take place on 5th April 2017 at the Marriott Hotel in Peterborough, Canada. Agenda of the conference will be ‘DOING THE RIGHT THING? – Best practices for sustaining our people, planet and profits’ and the event will be chaired by Simon Allitt, ASBCI Event Committee Vice Chairman and Head of Retail, TUV Rheinland.

It may be mentioned here that sustainability is placed on top of the global fashion industry’s agenda and according to ASBCI, ten years ago Marks & Spencer launched its game-changing Plan A. Since then most big brands and retailers have implemented their own robust ethical and environmental sustainability programmes with the collective objective of protecting people and the planet.

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The ASBCI sustainability conference has assembled speakers with unparalleled experience of the most effective and commercial, sustainable initiatives and innovations. The speakers will share their experience, insight and vision in a bid to give attendees a sustainable and profitable future.

The conference will have following sessions: Are You Doing the Right Thing (Rakesh Vazirani – Director of Product Traceability & Environmental Information Management TUV Hong Kong), Plan A 10 Years On (Mike Barry, Director Plan A, Marks & Spencer), Striving for sustainability in the clothing industry – an Overview of working with WRAP (Prof. Tim Cooper, Professor of Sustainable Design and Consumption, Nottingham Trent University), Fashioning Fibres for the Future (Robin Anson, Editorial Director, Textiles Intelligence), Cottoning On (Graham Burden, Director, Sustainable Textile).

Post-lunch session will cover topics such as, Water Use in the Textile Supply Chain (Elaine Gardiner, Sustainability Manager, Berghaus), Sustainability Together (Guido Rimini, Head of Marketing, Apparel Europe, Freudenberg Performance Materials Apparel SE & Co. KG Solutions), Closing the Loop (Ross Barry, Lawrence M Barry & Co) and Supply Chain Transparency – What have you got to lose (Tara Luckman, Fabric & Sustainability Manager, ASOS.COM)

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.

Being socially responsible not only adds to the company’s portfolio but also shows that other than focusing completely on business operations, it also lays importance on its people and surrounding. Recognizing the same, Mexican Center for Philanthropy (Cemefi) and Alliance for Corporate Social Responsibility (Aliarse) have presented ‘Distintivo ESR 2016 Award’ to Gildan Activewear – a Canadian manufacturer of branded clothing, including undecorated blank activewear such as t-shirts, sport shirts and fleeces – for its Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) efforts.

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Content on winning the award, Benito Masi, Executive Vice-President, Manufacturing, Gildan averred, “It is an honour to be recognized by progressive organizations in Latin America for the efforts that we are making to provide good working conditions for our employees, minimize our environmental footprint and nurture the communities in which we operate. At Gildan we have a strong commitment to operating responsibly and sustainably, as a core element of our business model and key driver of our future growth and success.”

The company said in a press release that it is committed to ensure safe, ethical and fair working environment for its employees, with other facilities, like free medical care and subsidized transportation and meals.

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Gildan also undertakes projects to improve schools’ infrastructure, implement health programmes and offer educational programmes, to improve the quality of life of our employees and their communities. Moreover, it works in a spirit of collaboration with NGOs to address issues within the apparel industry.