Please see our latest published Laundry Cost Index for 2024/2025 FYQ4 below:
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The second Hatch report commissioned by the TSA highlights the economic growth and importance of the UK’s commercial laundry sector.
The Textile Service Association (TSA) recently commissioned its second value report on the textile services sector in relation to the UK’s economy. Known as the Hatch report, it was presented by lead consultant Tim Fanning, at the TSA’s National Congress on the 5th February 2025 at the Harbour Hotel in Southampton. It builds on the first report, published in 2020, and highlights changes in the sector. By drawing on three key markets, hospitality, healthcare and manufacturing, the Hatch report demonstrates how they depend on the textile services industry. The aim in doing this is to protect the long-term sustainability of the laundry industry as well as raise awareness of its importance, which Hatch calls a “hidden sector”.
What differentiates the new report from its predecessor is its ability to draw comparisons with two sets of data. This highlights the changes the industry has been through over the course of the past five years. Turnover is perhaps most striking, rising from £1.2 to £1.6 billion. In the same time the number of people employed by the industry has fallen from 23,000 to 22,000. These changes demonstrate how the industry has driven productivity. The report also captured for the first time peak processed volumes which reported at over 75 million pieces per week.
Gross Value Added (GVA) figures have also risen across the key focus sectors of the report which directly correlates to the increase in demand of commercial laundries, but employment levels in these areas varies. Manufacturing, for example, has risen from GVA £189.3 billion to GVA £210.4 billion per annum, while job numbers have dropped, from 2.7 million to 2.6 million. That said, in hospitality, education, health, social work and public services, both GVA and employment have risen. In the public service sector these numbers are particularly significant, with GVA per annum rising from £346.7 billion to £426.1 billion.
“While raising awareness of the commercial laundry sector continues to be a challenge, the data is encouraging,” says David Stevens, CEO of the TSA. “The value of textile services is rising and productivity is increasing.”
“The more we focus on the data and getting that message out there, the harder it will be to ignore us. “The second report from Hatch has proven particularly insightful into how our industry is becoming even more valuable to the economy at large.”
According to the 2025 report, key areas of concern within the sector remain as they were half a decade ago: downward pressure on prices, rising costs of production and significantly increased energy costs. While these are universal problems in many businesses across different sectors, raising awareness of the textile services industry, particularly to the UK government, remains a high motivator behind the work the TSA is hoping to continue for both its members and industry at large.
“We will be using the Hatch Report as a key lobbying tool to highlight what our industry does and how it supports the UK economy,” says Emma Andersson, Director for the TSA. “Meanwhile, informing our members about how they can use the report was an important talking point at the 2025 National Congress.”
This was directly addressed during Congress in a panel named “What should we do with the Hatch report?”. Joining Tim Fanning for this were Lucy Renaut (director, Fishers), Mark Franklin (CEO, Elis UK) and Kevin Godley (CEO, CLEAN). During their discussion Fanning encouraged the audience to use the report to reinforce to both their employee and customer bases how important the textile services industry is to the UK’s national economy.
“There may be larger sectors with greater economic footprints, but few have the sheer connectivity of ours and they in turn would grind to a halt without our services,” says Emma.
The TSA will continue to commission Hatch reports every three years moving forward.
The Hatch research, ‘The Economic Value of the Textile Services Sector to the UK Economy,’ 2025 edition, is available to download at tsa-uk.org, from the TSA publications section in the documents library.
The TSA is the trade association for the textile care services industry. The TSA represents commercial laundry and textile rental businesses. Membership ranges from family-run operations through to large, multi-national companies. Visit www.tsa-uk.org for more information.
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With the launch of GLARE and the recent Sustainability Open Day, The TSA continues its green agenda for 2025. David Stevens, CEO of the association, looks at how collaboration and data can drive sustainability in the commercial laundry sector.
At the Textile Services Association’s (TSA) Autumn Conference last year keynote speaker Benita Matofska defined sustainability as “the ability to continue into the future.” As a trade association, we wouldn’t argue with this, the difficulty lies in finding the practical steps our industry can take to make that continuation a reality.
This is a huge task, and with the government’s introduction of Scope 1-3 emissions, legislation is making the topic of sustainability more than just the right idea, but a legal requirement. Members are more than clocking on to this, and the TSA’s recent Sustainability Open Day on 12th March 2025 attracted over 60 attendees. Environmental journalist Anna Turns was the guest speaker, and it was encouraging to see many of our members not only expand their knowledge but open up about the challenges we all face in future-proofing this sector. The day itself was a key part of the TSA’s green agenda for 2025, which at its core is all about data and collaboration.
“What really became apparent over the day was the importance of data – both to ensure we have baseline measurements to chart the industry’s progress, but also to be able to back up any statements on progress or targets we set,” says David Stevens, CEO of TSA. “We want provable results, we’re not interested in greenwashing.”
The data required is largely accessible but there’s a lot of it and it can be overwhelming. Providing help is where the TSA comes in. Collaboration with our members will help us understand our collective goals and how we continue on the path towards net zero.
Our recently launched GLARE platform embodies both principles of collaboration and data. The platform helps our members know what data they need to collect to understand the carbon emissions of their business, and how these compare with the sector at large. Each Scope from 1-3 is covered, so members can see what aspects of their operation fall into which Scope. GLARE also offers guidance on where to look to find the data and how to record it, too, through shared data platforms, helper tools, and the support network managed by the TSA. It is a resource that the majority of our members will now be using, from big corporations to smaller scale operations, GLARE creates a level playing field in terms of the results, reducing the risk of miss-reporting.
GLARE will also give our members an opportunity to discuss their findings, which we hope will lead to greater collaboration. The platform is also being rolled out to other national associations, with the vision that GLARE will be seen as the go to platform for the commercial laundry sector globally. As Benita told the conference, “the challenges we face in the future require us to work together.” It’s up to our members what they chose to share, but at the very least we should see patterns emerging. Recognising that common ground is surely a positive step towards tackling the challenges we all face.
Looking beyond GLARE, commercial laundries have been at the forefront of creating the circular economy. Our Infinite Textiles scheme is built on this principle. When we started this it was all about recycling, an end to end certification process. We then realised the industry had a lot of gaps in terms of managing assets in the beginning. Now we’re looking at that scheme to include all the supply chain both up and down stream. That said, while bed linen is relatively straightforward to recycle, clothing with zips and surgical textiles, for example, is far more difficult. The technology to do this is out there, but there’s no industrial scale recycling in the UK. Switzerland has committed to create a National Recycling Department but as it stands, the bulk of the UK industry’s recycling is sent overseas. Clearly we need something that can make recycling textiles scalable here too, a topic the TSA is discussing with the Department for Environment Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA).
Lobbying with government is a slow process, but it’s a vital part of what we do on behalf of our members and the industry at large. Thankfully, the message is getting heard. The UK government has put together a circular economy task force, and in a recent report both the TSA and our Infinite Textiles scheme were highlighted*. The collaboration between our industry and the government could fundamentally change the recycling process for textiles, both nationally and beyond.
Since 2012 the commercial laundry industry has reduced energy use overall by 30%. While we’re making progress, the reality is that the industry currently burns 2.89TWh of energy a year. That is enough energy to power up Liverpool, Oxford and Cambridge. We have to keep pushing a greener agenda. Another key sustainability factor is increased electrification in commercial laundry facilities, which could be a gamechanger. Providing our members with more environment focused events, like the Sustainability Open Day, is part of this. Training the sector about Scope 3 emissions within the supply chain is another incentive in introducing GLARE.
The TSA will continue to be a catalyst to encourage sustainability. Over 80% of our members have already signed up to GLARE, and many of our industry events, from the Sustainability Open Day to the Autumn Conference, regularly sell out. All this underlines our members’ commitment to work together and keep reducing our energy and overall carbon footprint. It’s a long journey, but we’re moving in an encouraging direction.
The next important step in the journey will be the meeting between the TSA and representatives of UK Hospitality scheduled for June 25th 2025. This will aim to bring the sustainability programs of the two sectors into alignment, ensuring that they are complementing each other.
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New carbon calculator from the TSA to empower the laundry industry’s carbon reduction plans
The TSA has launched its Global Laundry and Rental Emissions (GLARE) carbon calculation platform, which has been designed to help commercial laundries in the UK – and around the world – measure their carbon footprint. This will enable them to meet their carbon reporting requirements and will play a vital role in the TSA’s roadmap for the laundry industry to meet its targets for carbon reduction by 2045 ahead of the UK government’s commitments by 2050 (1).
UK PLC has already made some significant inroads in reducing its carbon emissions, with a total reduction of 9.3% since 2019 and 3.5% of that occurring after 2021 (2). GLARE is based on the Green House Gas protocol to allow the laundry industry to record and track carbon emissions using the well-established methodology. Measuring the carbon emissions will then enable the users of the platform to report and implement effective carbon reduction plans.
As with any new project, it will be an iterative process, with its accuracy increasing over time as more companies use it. “It’s difficult to overstate the importance of GLARE to the industry over the next couple of decades,” says David Stevens, CEO of the TSA. “It’s been designed to be useful to the entire industry, so we took time to make sure it met the needs of everyone from SMEs to the largest players. It’s also being supported by our international partners in Europe and the US, enabling a truly global level playing field in terms of recording the progress the industry makes as it continues towards meeting its Net Zero targets.”
The system was extensively tested before launch by a group of TSA members to ensure it was fit for purpose. “GLARE has been designed to be easy to use,” says Rona Tait, Managing Director of TDS Commercial. “It’s been created with a wide range of laundry businesses in mind, and it will be very useful to independent businesses who want a good benchmark to measure themselves against their own baseline numbers.”
Access to GLARE is free for TSA members and non-members can access it for a fee. The platform also includes a downloadable Data Helper Tool (DHT) which will give users an insight into the kind of data they need to be collecting in order to make use of the system. The DHT also provides guidance on how to categorise various data points into the platform. In addition to this, the tool recommends a hierarchy of data options such as spend analysis or tonnage against different categories which makes GLARE a flexible, intuitive and powerful platform.
“Reducing carbon emissions is one of the biggest tasks facing every sector, especially concerning scope 3 emissions,” says Shyju Skariah, director of programmes and projects at TSA. “We have already made huge progress through efficiencies and optimisations in the laundry industry but we have a long journey ahead. GLARE is designed to enable the laundry industry on its sustainability journey with reliable data and well-informed decisions. GLARE provides a consistent record of change and a method of identifying future opportunities for improvement.”
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New training course helps the laundry industry to ensure its equipment is safe
The Textile Services Association (TSA) is offering a three day course on Provision and Use of Work Equipment Regulations (PUWER) safety inspections. These apply to companies, organisations or sole traders who own, operate or control equipment, or whose employees use it.
Taking place over three days, it is a fully accredited City & Guilds course that will provide attendees with the skills and knowledge required to enable them to carry out PUWER inspections on machinery. It will fully explain the timing and contents of PUWER inspections, as well as the PUWER Approved Code Of Conduct (ACOP) and how meeting this can help laundries meet their legal obligations regarding the health and safety of employees.
It will cover topics including the full legal framework of the regulations, how the ACOP relates to PUWER and the health and safety act, and how European and international standards work in relation to complying with it. It will also explain how to conduct inspections and risk assessments, how to identify common hazards and it will examine various practical scenarios.
“It’s vital that we know how to ensure laundry equipment is safe to use and is being used safely,” says David Stevens, CEO for the TSA. “This new course is part of the TSA’s ongoing mission to give the industry access to top quality training and education programs that let them maintain the high standards they aim for.”
The course takes place on 29th April – 1st May 2025 at the ST&L Training Centre of Excellence in Stockton on Tees. The course costs £1250+VAT for TSA members and £2500 for non-members. Accommodation is not included in the price, and early booking is suggested as interest is sure to be high.
To secure your place, please book here!
If you have any queries, please do not hesitate to get in touch with us either via email or phone:
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Delegates will get detailed understanding of the science and best practice for hygienic laundry
The Textile Services Association (TSA) has launched an innovative new training course focused on providing managers working in healthcare, food care and pharmaceutical laundry sectors with a deeper understanding of microorganisms and harmful pathogens.
The first course will take place at the Crowne Plaza at the NEC in Birmingham on the 9th-10th April 2025. Unlike some training courses which can be boiled down to a list of dos and don’ts, the new initiative aims to give delegates a grounding in the science behind microbiology and how this knowledge can be applied within laundries to ensure best practice is maintained.
The course will deliver knowledge of basic concepts of microbiology such as the morphology, physiology, growth and transmission of microorganisms, as well as decontamination on textiles and within laundries. This includes understanding the differences between bacteria, viruses and fungal spores, and how their growth can be influenced by different textiles and common laundry processes. It will also provide information on bioindicator testing methods and infection control and decontamination practices.
David Stevens, CEO of the TSA says, “This course gives context to the reasons why decontamination and microorganism controls have been established, and how to use this information to maintain standards in laundries serving industries where hygiene is critical. It breaks down a lot of complex science into understandable and actionable information, and we know it’s going to be useful throughout the laundry sector.”
The course will be led by Dr Katie Laird a Professor of Microbiology, Chartered Biologist and Fellow of the Higher Education Academy. Prof Laird has over 10 years’ experience of conducting research within the industrial laundry sector and her research is extensively published and recognised internationally.
The course costs £320 for TSA members and £640 for non-members. Lunch on days 1 and 2 is provided, but accommodation is not included. Interest in the course has already been strong so early booking is recommended. To secure your place, please book here!
If you have any queries, please do not hesitate to get in touch with us either via email or phone:
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TSA’s David Stevens reflects on lessons learnt covering sustainability and diversity, equity and inclusion
Trade associations protect, connect with, value and educate their members. Education in particular is a tool to both guide and challenge. The Textile Service Association’s (TSA) 2024 Autumn Conference put the challenges the laundry sector faces front and centre, with a particular focus on two areas: sustainability and diversity, equity and inclusion.
Climate change consultant Benita Matofska, a keynote speaker at the conference, defined sustainability as, “The ability to continue into the future.” While other areas in the conference applied sustainability more specifically to the commercial laundry sector, defining it in this broad and brilliant way drew clear connections to much of the varied programme and the industry challenges it conveyed. She said, “I do believe having an outsider perspective allows me to take an aerial view.”
Several of the conference speakers were, like Benita, outsiders to the laundry industry looking in, sharing that aerial view she described by communicating the broader challenges we face. While the challenges themselves are formidable, how they were communicated was rarely gloomy. There is always room for growth, and it’s clear the laundry industry will continue to improve the sustainability and inclusivity of the sector, with these topics becoming the bedrock of future conferences and events.
Recycling is an increasingly hot topic for the industry. Following her engaging Industry Workshop, Rosella De Angelis of Klopman International said, “The volume of textiles waste our industry is producing is far too high to be acceptable.” Recycling textiles is a relatively new area, with considerable challenges, but the fact that both her presentation and the conference at large highlighted the issue embodied the spirit of the event, and the way the industry is embracing the changes required.
For Rosella, the conference is a face-to-face environment where the sector can get together not just to promote but also instigate change. “Conferences like this are super important because these are complex messages. They help us see the overall picture to make it understandable.”
“The future is not a lone game. It’s shared, it has to be,” adds Benita. “The challenges we face in the future require us to work together.” Conferences bring competitors together in a space where, rather than compete, they sit side-by-side. If action requires working together, being together is sure to help.
In one of the conference’s live surveys, sustainability was ranked a top priority. In contrast, diversity, equity and inclusion received far fewer votes. Following the talk Dr Zaheer Ahmad MBE gave on Unifying Culture, they no longer felt like separate topics at all, more like siblings. He said, “If you look at the UN sustainability goals, equality is part of those. We will not be able to create a sustainable world without addressing the inequalities in ours.”
Nic Hamilton, British Touring Car Championship driver, author, public speaker and brother of Lewis, delivered a moving sendoff in the form of an improvised keynote speech. He talked about how his cerebral palsy affected his experience in school and later in professional motor racing. He also discussed his more recent venture as a successful public speaker. He said that 90 percent of life is mental, and only ten percent physical – quite a statement for someone who has experienced the challenges he has. It’s a great reminder too that, while we often measure the industry in kilos and pieces, the success of 2025 will come from nurturing and developing the wellbeing of the 24,000 workers within our industry.
The TSA will keep these conversations and many more going at this year’s events, including its upcoming National Congress, various seminar days, and the next Autumn conference. For more information contact the TSA.
If you have any queries, please do not hesitate to get in touch with us either via email or phone:
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Please see our latest published Laundry Cost Index for 2024/2025 FYQ2 below:
If you have any queries or would like any further information, please do not hesitate to get in touch with us.
T: +44 (0)20 3151 5600
E: tsa@tsa-uk.org
Following the recent budget announcements, and the already published minimum wage increase we have forecast in the existing Laundry Cost Index (LCI) model what the impact will be in April 2025 when these changes are implemented.
The most significant concern for our industry is that we will see wages rise by almost 10% which is a combination of the impact of the National Insurance changes made at the recent budget which we anticipate will have an impact of 2.69% plus the published National Living wage at 6.7% giving a total of 9.39%. With general inflation and uncertainty around energy costs, we conservatively estimate the overall impact to be 5.64%. The industry needs to be planning for this significant uplift in cost which is why for only the second time in the history of the LCI (25 years) we have published a forecast.
If you have any queries or would like any further information, please do not hesitate to get in touch with us.
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E: tsa@tsa-uk.org
