Guangdong Esquel Textiles Co., Ltd. becomes the first company in China to be awarded with the STeP certificate for Sustainable Textile Production

"The topic of sustainability is certainly not new to us," said Mr Zeng Jun, Quality Systems Management (QSM), "It’s quite the opposite. We have been employing a holistic approach towards maximizing quality whilst driving sustainability in every sphere of our businesses." Impressively, the manufacturer of premium cotton shirts and polo-shirts carried out the assessment required for STeP certification, including the company audit, in just a few weeks. Adrian Meili, lead auditor with Testex AG, Zurich, and his fellow auditors Patrick Lam, Kim Ho Chan and Fontane Au from the Hong Kong based subsidiary Testex Swiss Textile-Testing Ltd. reported very positive results during the official presentation of the two STeP certificates to Mr Zeng Jun and his team.

"We are so thrilled for being the first textile enterprise in China to attain the OEKO-TEX’s highest classification. This not only recognizes our environmentally friendly production, but also our application of socially responsible policies throughout the production chain,” said Zeng during the interview. The scope of certification covers printing (carousel and flat), making-up of knitted and woven garments, spinning, twisting, knitting, weaving, dyeing (fibre, yarn, beam, knitted and woven fabrics), finishing, making-up of knitted/woven garments and garment washing. One of the highlights during the audit visit is its use of solar energy for hot water production and steam production for ironing work.

"For the STeP certification, all of the areas of the company in relation to environmentally friendly production processes and socially responsible working conditions were first analysed using a web-based assessment tool," explains OEKO-TEX® lead auditor Adrian Meili. This included the handling of chemicals and possible hazardous materials, environmental performance measured using a wide range of criteria, the implementation of an environmental management system, the company's social responsibility in relation to employees, efficient quality management and safety in the workplace. During the subsequent audit of the production facilities, the specifications provided by the company were verified on site by the OEKO-TEX® auditors and a detailed audit report was created.

The result of the sustainability assessment is displayed in a clear scoring system on the issued STeP certificate. "The results achieved in both of the Guangdong Esquel Textiles Co., Ltd. production facilities", says Meili, "go far beyond the basic requirements for STeP certification, taking them up to the maximum level. At this level, the measures for sustainability implemented by the company are certified as exemplary. "

For Mr Zeng Jun, the benefits of STeP certification are obvious: "The modular structure of STeP by OEKO-TEX® is clear and transparent. Each module and each tested area is weighted individually and thus enables a much more comprehensive analysis of a company's efforts in the area of sustainability than other certifications. Furthermore, the analysis gives us a clear indication of where we stand and the areas in which we can optimise our performance. The certification allows us to communicate our commitment to sustainable production to our customers, suppliers and other stakeholders in a credible manner. For our customers in particular, this establishes a firm basis for placing more trust in us as a responsible textile producer. Consequently, we can count this as a long term and significant benefit to our image." 

Pic: This fully integrated company has a total of 59,000 employees and production locations in China, Vietnam, Malaysia, Sri Lanka and Mauritius, producing more than 100 million items of woven and knitwear clothing annually. © OEKO-TEX®

Pic: For the STeP certification, all of the areas of the company in relation to environmentally friendly production processes and socially responsible working conditions were first analysed using a web-based assessment tool. © OEKO-TEX®