The journey to sustainable PPE

Sustainability is not yet being implemented to the extent that would be desirable, particularly in the textile industry. The key figures for the textile industry – and this includes the protective clothing (PPE) and workwear sector – are alarming: it is responsible for 10 percent of greenhouse gases worldwide and is the third largest source of water pollution. Additionally, only around 1 percent of textiles are recycled. The industry must act - and is doing so.

In this context, Thomas Lange, Managing Director of GermanFashion, emphasizes: "The PPE industry has been committed to sustainability for a very long time. This arose, among other things, from the obligations that went hand in hand with public procurement. In the context of the various EU laws and regulations, the industry is constantly striving to further improve the issue of sustainability."

The key figures also show that there are many starting points for making clothing more sustainable. Not only environmentally friendly or recycled materials can help to protect the environment. Parameters that come into play before or during production can also have a positive impact on the environment. These include, for example, fair working conditions along the entire value chain or the reduction of emissions and waste.

The companies Portwest and Ansell show how this works. Portwest has joined forces with the "Cotton Made in Africa" initiative in order to act as sustainably and fairly as possible in the interests of cotton suppliers. Ansell focuses on making its own production as environmentally friendly as possible by working towards net zero emissions in its own factories, among other things.

Cotton is still very popular as a natural material and has established itself in the production of PPE clothing. It is skin-friendly, hard-wearing, durable, breathable and resistant to boiling and spinning – the ideal raw material for workwear. However, there are a number of problems with cotton cultivation in particular that require improvement in terms of sustainability. 

This affects both the environment and farmers, as the insecticides and pesticides used in cultivation are harmful to both nature and people. Cotton consumes around 16 percent of the insecticides used worldwide, although it only uses 2.4 percent of the area under cultivation. ¹

Portwest endeavors to ensure fair conditions for farmers and environmentally friendly cultivation right from the cultivation and harvesting stages. To this end, the company works together with the Cotton made in Africa (CmiA) initiative. The initiative supports the farms in many ways. It organizes regular training courses on-site to provide farmers with further training in both agricultural and business management. They learn how cotton can be grown more efficiently and in a more environmentally friendly way. To be sustainable in their own sense, they also learn how to manage their business in a profit-oriented way. As some of the participants are unable to read, the initiative often works with picture stories so that no one is excluded from the courses.

In addition to the technical aspects, the focus is also on occupational safety. The handling of pesticides in particular can cause long-term damage to health, with around 200,000 people dying from pesticide poisoning every year.¹ Safe handling, proper storage and disposal are therefore particularly important, as is the wearing of appropriate protective clothing.

Cotton made in Africa claims to have up to 13 percent fewer greenhouse gas emissions thanks to its more environmentally friendly cultivation methods. One kilogram of CmiA cotton uses just 2 liters of water – around 1,500 liters less than the global average, according to their own data.² Since June 2022, all products manufactured by Portwest in its own factories have been made from 100 percent CmiA-certified cotton. ³

Not only the raw materials, but also the subsequent production have an environmental impact. Ansell is constantly striving to reduce this and has set itself ambitious goals. Among other things, the company is working to bring its plants to net zero emissions by 2040. So far, they have been able to save around 16 percent of greenhouse gas emissions in Scope 1 (direct emissions, e.g. from ovens or vehicle fleets) and Scope 2 (indirect emissions from purchased energy, e.g. district heating). Ansell is also making efforts to reduce emissions by using renewable energy – three plants already use 100 percent green electricity and two others use more than 90 percent. ⁴

Another relevant factor in reducing emissions is the production facilities. Ansell was able to reduce the greenhouse gas emissions of one of its products by 30 percent by producing it on a newer, more energy-efficient system.4 Nevertheless, existing machines should not be disposed of across the board due to their age. On the one hand, new systems are always associated with high costs, and on the other hand, it is sometimes simply not necessary, as the old machines can be modernized or adapted with a retrofit.

Modernization can improve resource efficiency and extend the service life of existing machines. A retrofit also has advantages for the employees, as they are already familiar with the machines and do not need to be retrained. Nevertheless, occupational safety must also be kept in mind here: If the intended use changes significantly, a new conformity procedure and a new CE mark are required, which old machines often do not yet have.

One of the biggest challenges facing the PPE industry on the road to environmentally friendly materials and production options continues to be the design of the product itself. "The major challenges of our time, especially for multifunctional protective clothing, are the recycling process at the end of the life cycle. Even if this is desired and demanded by politicians, the technology is not yet ready to recycle these garments in their individual parts," adds Thomas Lange.

The most obvious step towards more environmentally friendly production is to adapt the products themselves. While Portwest uses 100 percent certified cotton, Ansell relies on recyclable and compostable packaging material or compostable products, for example. The company currently produces 96 percent of its packaging material from recycled material. ⁴

In addition to the examples presented here, there are even more ways to make a positive contribution to the environment. In addition to the initiatives presented here, both companies are pursuing further goals for greater sustainability. Fristads is also committed to helping products live longer with its Re-pair, Re-use and Re-cycle services (repair, re-use and recycling of PPE garments).

Sources: 
¹ Environmental Justice Foundation 

²  Cotton made in Afrika 

³ Sustainability at  Portwest 

⁴ Sustainability at Ansell