Act for Home Textiles
Act for Home Textiles
Overview
1. Producing more sustainably
Reducing energy levels
A few years ago, we entered an agreement with the government regarding our energy policy. We analysed every step of our production processes and formulated a thorough energy plan with actions to produce more sustainably.
Together with our internal energy teams, partly consisting of employees, we’re constantly revising our actions and adjusting them when needed. These are the results up to today:
- 82 ton CO2 less emitted by reducing the steam pressure in our dyeing machines
- 3870 ton CO2 less emitted by replacing our lights by LED lights
- 8.5 ton CO2 less emitted by using automated lighting systems
- 22 ton CO2 less emitted by reducing our standby power consumption
- 68 ton CO2 less emitted by optimising our planned shutdown plan
- No use of fossil fuels to heat our building, as we recover heat from our machines
Full-circle water use & water purification stations
Purifying water happens in our own water purification stations. GTA Belgium, Symphony Mills, Clarysse and Ter Molst pump water from the adjacent canal and filter it together with captured rainwater to use it in production. Afterwards, they purify their waste water and lead it back to the Leie river. Novaya reuses 98% of its water. The remaining percentage evaporates and cannot be retrieved.
- 125.000.000 liter water pumped from the nearby canal every year
- 35.500.000 liter rain water used during production every year
- 140.000.000 liter water purified and lead back to nature every year
Limiting our water use is at least as important as using it responsibly. A part of our production already went from a wet to a dry treatment (a so-called hot melt), and by dyeing differently we can substantially cut back on water. A side effect is that our machines produce less steam, turning the working environment for our employees into a much more pleasant space. On a yearly basis, this saves us more than 25 million liter water:
- 750.000 liter water saved every year by using a hotmelt finishing
- 24.708.000 liter water saved by using a different dyeing process
No harmful substances
Not only should our fabrics be qualitative and durable, they should also be safe throughout their entire lifetime. As a consequence, we make sure that all Love Home Fabrics textiles meet and exceed international standards. The majority of our fabrics are Oeko-Tex certified and Reach compliant as well.
Most of the chemicals we use nowadays are already harmless, but we aim to ban all harmful substances by 2020, as part of the Zero Discharge of Hazardous Chemicals Program. By optimising every step in our production processes, we’re getting closer to our goal on a daily basis.
Involving employees
Our 1,500 employees are the central point of our companies. We think it’s important they share the same vision on sustainability and help us carry out our values, without ever sacrificing their wellbeing. By making them part of our in-house energy teams and training them to work as eco-friendly as possible, we are convinced that they help us create the better world we’re working on.
2. Sustainable fabrics
Durable fabrics are equally important as sustainable production processes. Ecological collections are gradually finding their way into all Love Home Fabrics companies and we keep investing in upcycled, recyclable fabrics with a low impact on the environment.
These are our current sustainable collections:
Vivalife | Ter Molst
Performance fabrics made from upcycled materials. The Vivalife collection is 100% locally produced, from the yarns in our own extrusion plant, to the design and the production of the fabrics. Vivalife’s production process is extremely water conserving, as no water is needed to extrude or dye our yarns. All fabrics in this collection are completely recyclable.
#ACT | Symphony Mills
Collections created from 100% post-consumer recycled PET bottles is a perfect example of the great lengths we take to save the world. This way, we do not only recycle waste, but also keep our environment clean. Per meter of fabric, we reconvert at least 32 500ml PET-bottles into stunning upholstery fabrics.
PlanET | GTA Belgium
With PlanET, we aim to offer you eco-friendly fabrics that will withstand the test of time. Some collections within our PlanET range are made from post-consumption plastic bottles. Next to that, we also offer fabrics for headboard and bed bases that are made out of 100% polypropylene, which means the fabrics can be recycled up to 10 times!
EverJean | GTA Belgium
For our EverJean collection, we worked together with ESG to create upcycled (and thus sustainable) fabrics with that typical denim colour. ESG shreds the denim trousers into fibres, which are then spun into new yarns. Those yarns are at the basis of our collection. As you can tell: by reusing old materials, we don’t ask a lot of effort from our planet and we don’t have to dye our fabrics. Win-win!
Luna | Clarysse
With Luna we've created Clarysse's first fully recycled bath towel. It's made of 67% post-consumer PET bottles and 33% recycled cotton from production waste.
Moreganic® | Novaya
Novaya produces Moreganic® latex, which means the latex is all-natural and is harvested from an agroforest, where crops, trees and vegetation grow together on one field. This increases soil fertility, yields more product and is healthier for the planet.
3. Recycling
Avoiding waste is our first goal, but sorting and recycling the waste we do produce is high on our agenda. Our waste is sorted into 10 different categories, and with our exhaustive waste action plan, we reduce the amount of waste to a bare minimum in every department. Specialised firms collect the sorted waste and process or recycle it afterwards. The waste of our own yarn extrusion plant is completely turned into upcycled raw materials for the automobile and carpet sector.
In our fabrics, we also integrate recyclable and upcycled materials more frequently. By producing locally, we ensure that our fabrics are made within a relative short production chain.
4. Extra efforts
The changes in our facilities and production units will have the biggest impact on our carbon footprint, but even small acts can add up to a big one. That’s why we also facilitated some processes in our daily workings, going from less paper to initiatives that benefit our employees’ health.
Reusable drinking bottles
All Love Home Fabrics employees have a personalised drinking bottle that can be refilled at one of the drinking fountains in every company. We highly encourage the use of this reusable bottle as the number of reduced plastic waste is gigantic: in just one year time, all employees combined will have saved 90.000 plastic bottles from our oceans. Taking into account the extra bottles we presented to our customers, this number amounts to a phenomenal 200.000 plastic bottles a year.
Paperless invoice system
Our accountancy departments no longer send out invoices on paper, nor do they accept them. The entire invoice system was digitalised and saves us 10 tons of paper every year, which equals 240 trees.
Improved health
When researching for new innovations, sustainability and health conditions are our main priority. Our companies run on the commitment of over 1,500 employees worldwide, which makes them the key figures in our daily activities. By watching over their well-being when investing in new technologies, we’re convinced that our employees stay happy and passionate for their job. Indirectly, both our textiles and our service benefit from these innovations as well, which again serves you and your customers.
Without making compromises on our quality, price and service, we are taking steps to decrease our impact on the environment. By closely working together with textile experts, our customers, our employees and our suppliers, we go for fabrics that are as durable as possible.
Act for Home Textiles. Let’s act together.