Category: News

The proposed test methodology aims to determine the exact levels of microplastics released from textiles used in commercial and industrial sectors. Limiting the amount of microplastics entering the water supply is vital, so the importance of a standard like this being adopted by all industries involved cannot be overemphasised. The take up of this standard will depend heavily on how practical and available its techniques are in terms of sampling, preparing and analysing results.

While the laundry industry is a large consumer of water, industrial laundries have made considerable progress in reducing the amount they use. Typically, industrial washing machines use between 2-4 litres of water for every kilogram of textile, compared to 20 to 30 litres per kg for machines used in laundrettes or on-premise laundries.  The efficiency of industrial machines is due to most of the water used in the wash process being recycled and reused. As well as reducing water consumption, this allows for better management of waste matter, including the collection of microfibres and microplastics shed during wash processes.

The majority of textiles used within hospitality, healthcare and the industrial sectors are cotton-rich, and designed to shed fewer polymers. This, combined with the recycling and processing of waste water, means that the laundry industry’s overall contribution to microplastic pollution is significantly less than those produced through standard domestic washing, The proposed tests will enable water authorities to create charging mechanisms for effluent management that are equitable and fair.

“Measuring and determining micro-nano levels of particles from textile products was always going to be a huge challenge,” says Shyju Skariah. “The importance of this exercise is to find a consistent and reproducible standard that can be applied globally. Such a huge challenge will require active collaboration between international standards bodies, research organisations, national trade associations and governments.   We are working with our European and US colleagues to find the most fitting techniques to be recommended in this ISO standard.”

The code was drafted by the TSA’s health and safety steering group, alongside a team of fire safety experts from Worknest. It is designed to cover the needs of all commercial laundries, from large multi-site operations to smaller independent companies. The TSA is currently exploring avenues to make this code of practice a nationally recognisable framework in order to address the inconsistent regional approach in the UK. The industry is hoping to reduce the number of fire incidents, which should help the insurance sector offer their terms competitively. The TSA aims to use this code of practice as an enabler for these changes.

Alongside the code, TSA has provided a series of in-depth guidance documents and webinars which go into more detail about how to implement it effectively.

“Commercial laundries are very good at managing fire safety overall,” says David Stevens, TSA’s CEO. “There’s been an overwhelmingly positive response to the new code of practice as it will empower laundries to ensure that staff at all levels are aware of their responsibilities and that the standards are being met in a measurable way.”

The code of practice and supporting documentation are available to download from the document library on the TSA’s website.

Alongside the high profile keynote addresses there will be a series of important industry presentations.  Staff and skills shortages will be part of the ‘challenges and opportunities of employment’ talk.  Following the success of the launch of the TSA’s GLARE platform, there will be an update on the initiative.  It’s a key part of the association’s sustainability roadmap and helps members to calculate embodied carbon figures – an increasingly important requirement for tenders.  Other updates include the latest news on Laundry Open Week and a progress report on the Infinite Textiles recycling scheme, along with discussion of the proposed Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) on textiles.

As usual there will be plenty of opportunities for networking during the event, including the Conference dinner on Tuesday in the Sir Bobby Robson Ballroom. 

For more information about the Conference click here.  The booking form for the Conference is here. 

Many commercial laundries already provide services to the NHS as well as private health, social care and other care based industries, and are set up to meet the high standards of hygiene these sectors require as well as meet demand. The commercial laundry industry currently processes and delivers up to 75 million pieces a week and at the peak of the pandemic, the demand for gowns would have been 3 million per week.

While the Covid 19 pandemic was an unprecedented challenge to the UK, it did reveal potential improvements that could be made for infrastructure and support to ensure that the response to future events is smoother and more efficient, and the TSA’s statement clearly shows that opportunities were missed by the government at the time.

“The commercial laundry sector is vital to the smooth running of the NHS and has been for many years,” says David. “We need to learn from the events of 2020, to ensure that the responses are lead by evidence and make full use of the capabilities of the UK’s commercial laundry sector,”

“Our statement to the inquiry demonstrates that our industry has the capability to ensure that PPE can be reused, helping to create a more resilient system during times of crisis – and saving hundreds of millions pounds worth of public money, as well as reducing carbon emissions. We could be “pandemic ready” in a matter of weeks should the need arise again”

The TSA alongside their members, are willing to drive the expansion of the existing reusable gown solution forward with the right support and commitment as it will not only assist the UK in being pandemic ready by solving supply issues for healthcare frontline workers on a long-term basis, but it will also deliver environmental and commercial benefits.

The TSA statement was made as part of Module 5 of the inquiry, which related to issues surrounding procurement. It can be read in full on the inquiry’s website.

The Fashion and Textile Children’s Trust provides financial grants to support the children of UK families who work or have worked in the textile industries. By funding the essential and specialist items children whose families have fallen on hard times need, from school uniforms to specialist equipment, they strive to improve their wellbeing during challenging times.  For more information on the charity visit ftct.org.uk

If you have any questions about joining the league, contact tsa@tsa-uk.org

“We’re urging healthcare providers and policymakers to reassess this guidance and explore safer alternatives, such as on-site commercial-grade machines or outsourced professional laundry services. These machines are specifically designed to meet healthcare hygiene standards and consistently reach the high temperatures required to safely decontaminate clothing. Whilst washing uniforms at home might seem convenient, it’s imperative that we rethink how we launder our healthcare workers’ uniforms to ensure patient safety, staff wellbeing, and basic infection control across the NHS.”

David Stevens, CEO at Textile Services Association (TSA), added: “For healthcare and care home managers, these findings are a clear call to action. Commercial laundry, such as bed linen and patient linen, is already outsourced at hospitals, yet we’re putting the onus on nurses to properly disinfect their own uniforms. With limited uniforms provided, this not only adds time pressures but also shifts the financial burden of washing at 60°C onto key workers.”

To find out more information, the full research paper can be found here.

A key area for discussion was the increasing interest hotels have in laundries’ carbon emission figures – so much so that they are now included in most tender processes.  TSA worked with Green Element to launch the GLARE platform for laundries, which makes the process of uploading the data to calculate the carbon figures relatively simple.  Hotels particularly liked that fact that even data ‘per hotel customer’ can be provided to them.  The meeting heard that the GLARE platform will also be useful in determining if alternative fabrics are more environmentally friendly. 

Cotton traceability has been complex in the past, particularly for businesses looking at more sustainable options. Hannah MacVean told the meeting that BCI is developing ways to trace cotton not only back to the country of origin, but directly to the farm, so users have insight and assurance over the provenance of the cotton. This will also enable the end user to know if BCI cotton is present within the product, which could not be guaranteed previously. David Stevens says, “We all agreed on the need to support farmers from an environmental and social aspect. TSA and BCI are working together to develop a viable solution.”
The meeting also had an update on the Infinite Textiles scheme, including the TSA discussions with DEFRA about the fact that there are no end-of-life recycling facilities for textiles in the UK capable of meeting the association’s criteria and supply. Meanwhile, with 61% of hospitality linen being lost every year, the TSA has been campaigning on training staff to look after it, notably with the highly successful Pasha the Pillowcase animation. The figures are improving, but are still dire. At the meeting, UKH and the TSA agreed to talk again to the UKHA (the UK Housekeepers Association) to work out a joint plan of action to continue the campaign.

The next UKH and TSA roundtable meeting will be on 16th September at the Hampton By Hilton, London, SE1 8XA. It will be attended by representatives from both laundries and hotels.