Category: News

As usual the TSA will be holding its popular annual meetings and networking events, which are opportunities for stakeholders in the industry to get together, discuss the big issues and catch up with colleagues. These events kick off with the National Congress, which takes place in Edinburgh on March 17^th. This is a strategic event for senior management and business owners and features a range of expert speakers and presentations.

The TSA’s Autumn Conference returns on 13^th-14^th October.  This is the industry’s main event for managers of all levels. Feedback from attendees to last year’s conference was overwhelmingly positive, and it is a great way to build and strengthen inter-industry relationships. Eduarda Savazoni, Operations Director at phs Besafe, described the benefits of the Conference meetings like this. “It’s the kind of industry where companies and competitors, can all come together and it’s rather amazing,” she said. “It gives us the chance to take a benchmark of where we all are, and you know that you’re not alone.”

Other events for the calendar include a Safety Summit on April 21^st and the Sustainability Summit Day on April 22^nd, which both take place in Wokingham.  There will also be a programme of regular online membership webinars throughout the year, with the first session focusing on AI.

Beyond events and training the TSA will continue to develop its member support services. These include the Infinite Textiles certification scheme, which provides businesses with the framework to ensure they are responsibly and sustainably handling textiles throughout their life cycle. The association is also enhancing its carbon calculator, the Global Laundry and Rental Emissions (GLARE) platform, which is a free membership tool that allows members to record and quantify their carbon emissions.

The TSA offers other important resources to its members such as:

• The Wellbeing Hub, which offers free mental health support to laundry employees provided by Via Vita Health,
• Free employment law, HR and H&S expertise from Worknest,
• A free credit checking service from First Report,
• Access to relevant British and international standards through BSI Online.

Alongside this, the TSA helps to build members’ profiles through services such as the Members Directory. Management guidance and advice is available through access to resources such as the Laundry Cost Index and a vast range of technical and consultancy documents on the TSA website and members’ portal.

“We’re committed to expanding the help and support we provide, while working to ensure the voice of the industry is heard by the government and other stakeholders.” Says Emma.

To find out more about the TSA’s work and membership opportunities, visit the association’s website at tsa-uk.org. A short video about what people working in the laundry industry like about it can be watched here https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZX8mFvBOuJM

One TSA member that has already worked with EcoVerify is Clean. Chris Bell is Clean’s director of safety and sustainability. “Achieving a silver EcoVadis rating places us in the top 15% of companies globally,” he says.  “EcoVerify’s expertise in sustainability benchmarking and guidance on EcoVadis requirements helped us align our policies, processes, and reporting with best practices. Through their support, we strengthened our approach to responsible procurement, environmental management, and social governance—ensuring Clean not only met but exceeded the standards required for Silver status.”

County Linen has also achieved a silver EcoVadis rating. “I’m happy to talk to other members and to pass on our experiences,” says Karl Bueggeln, the company’s finance director. “As with everything they do, the TSA has put their heart into this initiative with EcoVerify to help members achieve an EcoVadis rating.  I think most members will want to jump on board. I’m really glad that we did it internally – our staff know our business and that helped us achieve our rating. I think with the TSA’s and EcoVerify’s support, we could achieve an even higher score going forward.”

Steve Bland says partnering with the TSA has been his first foray into the commercial laundry industry. He admires the TSA’s approach of encouraging its members to collaborate with EcoVerify and believes the long-term benefits to this are mutual. “While we do love handling EcoVadis questionnaires for companies, I think it’s also rewarding to work this way,” he says.

To find out more about TSA’s partnership with EcoVerify, email tsa@tsa-uk.org.

Students on the government course will be expected to commit to three hours of training a week working with consultants and a range of experts on the subject, as well as completing the online portfolio.

By providing the webinar in February, the TSA hopes to offer its members two key angles. The first is a chance to get closer to the topic of AI in a broader sense, the second is to help them understand more about the government’s course and why it might be useful to them.

TSA member companies large enough to pay the Apprenticeship Levy can use this to fully fund the training of any staff members wishing to take the government course. This will help to upskill employees with the knowledge needed to ensure AI can be adopted responsibly and effectively, while ensuring the levy contributions are used before they expire. The course costs £650 per person for smaller companies that do not pay the levy (those with an annual payroll of less than £3 million).

“Although it’s a vast topic and new territory for us all, AI could offer a great opportunity to improve efficiency across the industry,” says Emma. “We believe the government course could be relevant to all our members, no matter the size. That said, larger companies should definitely not overlook the fact that they can make full use of the Apprenticeship Levy to fund this training.”

TSA members interested in attending the webinar can access it here: TSA AI Webinar | Meeting-Join | Microsoft Teams.

Nicky Campbell, one of the UK’s most popular journalists and broadcasters, will give the afternoon’s keynote address. He’s worked in all aspects of broadcasting – from presenting Top of the Pops to interviewing every Prime Minister since Margaret Thatcher – so he’s sure to have some interesting tales to tell! Emma Kiviniemi Wilson, the TSA’s managing director, will then close proceedings before the evening’s entertainment.

Networking is always a big draw for delegates. Before the 2026 Congress begins proper, there’s an informal reception in W lounge at 8pm on Monday 16^th March. The Congress kicks off with a registration and networking event from 9.45-10.15am, in The Studio, and there are breaks throughout the day. In the evening there is the Industry Dinner, preceded by drinks, in the Sushi Samba restaurant.

W Edinburgh is a luxury hotel right in the heart of the city. It offers beautiful rooms, an exciting cuisine scene, and a rooftop terrace with the finest 360-degree views of Edinburgh and beyond.

“We know how busy our members are, so we’ve kept the Congress to a one-day format,” says David Stevens, CEO of the TSA. “Since the event is ‘invitation only’, we know that over 70% of the audience will be laundries, with all major companies well represented at director level. The objective is to make the event inspirational and informative, but critically to also give time for networking and catching up with colleagues.”

To confirm a place, contact the TSA.

Another keynote speaker, neuroscientist and author TJ Power focussed on technology more generally and its personal effects. Exploring some confrontational notions, including phone fasting and the importance of boredom for both ideas and ultimately productivity, TJ’s talk highlighted how our relationship with our phones in particular can affect not only our mental health but our ability to work well, too.

“With this industry, firstly people are very warm and open and there’s been lots of laughter and fun here at conference,” says TJ. “That means oxytocin is high and we’re feeling deeply connected to people. Two key challenges that every industry faces are low energy levels and short attention spans. These are a result of our indoor, sedentary, digital, looking at screens all day lifestyle. We’ve been exploring different habits that can help people rebalance things.”

This sense of imbalance and even alienation through technology can also be linked to social media, which came up in Dr Olga Franczak’s presentation at the conference. “The market is tough, talk to each other,” she said, as she explored the current challenges and opportunities in employment more generally. In doing so she criticised the distorted picture social media platforms like LinkedIn can create by only showing the positives within any given sector. By getting together and discussing it face to face, the picture is often revealed to be more complex, nuanced and honest.

Delivering the final keynote was business legend and star of The Apprentice, Linda Plant, who gave an overview of her life peppered with motivational messages. It was clear she had a passion for people; both the opportunities they gave her in her rise but also the fulfilment she found giving others opportunities as her businesses took off. Looking around the room, she commented, “I could see a lot more women in this industry”, reinforcing the importance of TSA’s ongoing diversity and inclusion strategies.