E.T.S.A. ENVIRONMENTAL PRINCIPLES Textile rental services are based on careful selection and procurement
of textiles, care and maintenance over their entire lifetime and handling
of their final disposal. The member firms of E.T.S.A., the European Textile Services Association,
commit themselves to providing textile services while exercising the greatest
possible concern for the environment, and this over the entire life cycle
of the product. 1. Product selection In selecting textiles, the main emphasis lies on meeting both the customer's
needs and those of the company's laundry processes. Quality durable products
with a long service life are quintessential to meeting these needs. When choosing textiles, careful attention is given to the environmental
impact in terms of energy consumption, chemicals used and emissions from
the manufacturing of the textiles. For example, the manufacturing of hotel
textiles accounts for approximately 10% of energy consumption and emissions
in relation to the consumption and emissions over its entire lifetime.
2. Product care A rented textile product is washed from 20 to 200 times during its lifetime,
depending on its intended use. It is therefore during the care cycle that
the product will have most impact on the environment. Major factors include
energy consumption, water consumption and use of detergents, packaging
and transportation of products to the customer. 3. Disposal of products When the rented product no longer meets the quality requirements, it
is removed from circulation and replaced by a new one or by a used product
which still meets the quality requirements. A long service life is favoured
by washing processes which minimise wear and tear and by repair during
the care cycle. Disposed products are recycled or are used as fuel for
energy production. E.T.S.A member companies pledge to continuously strive to minimise the
environmental impact of their operations. Member companies commit themselves
to drawing up a coherent environmental policy, ambitious targets for annual
improvement, long-term environmental targets and environmental programmes
to meet the set targets. The major elements of E.T.S.A.'s environmental principles are:
- Lower energy consumption,
in particular electricity, the fuel used for producing steam (and the
heating of buildings): Energy consumption can be reduced by a greater
emphasis on maintenance of machines and equipment, heat recovery systems,
production planning.
- Lower consumption of water:
Water consumption can be reduced by recirculating water within the washing
process; water from one part of the process can be re-used efficiently
in another. Moreover, waste water can be treated for re-use. It goes
without saying, however, that quality control ensures that water conservation
does not affect the cleanliness and hygiene of the textiles.
- Use of environmentally-friendly
washing detergents. Only detergents which minimise the impact on
the environment are selected. Tensides are biodegradable, use of optical
brighteners and chlorine bleaching is avoided where possible.
- E.T.S.A member companies see
to it that their waste water fully meets the legal regulations in their
respective countries. The sludge from the waste water treatment is disposed
of in an environmentally-friendly manner.
- In packaging the clean textiles,
environmentally-friendly packaging materials, such as cloth bags,
caps, etc. are used whenever possible. Other clean products are packaged
using such materials that can be recycled or disposed of in an environmentally-benign
manner.
- Delivery of articles
is optimised so that the number of kilometres driven is minimized. The
same truck delivers the clean products to the customer and removes the
dirty laundry for cleaning at the laundry.
- The main type of waste resulting
from textile rental is the disposed textiles themselves. E.T.S.A.
members strive to re-use textiles whenever possible. Otherwise, textiles
are recycled or used as raw materials in energy production. Companies
closely monitor the volume of waste.
- Targeted staff training ensures
that the workers are aware of the environmental impacts of their actions
and helps them carry out their duties in an environmentally responsible
manner.