TSA Urges Further Action From Government To Guarantee Future Of Laundry Industry

Long term plans are required to prevent vital industry missing out on essential support

The Textile Services Association (TSA) is highlighting the concerns of its members regarding the rise in energy prices and the potentially disastrous effects they could have on the UK’s hospitality industry over the coming year. These issues have been highlighted by the results of two surveys the TSA conducted on the views of its members in August and September 2022 and demonstrate the need for continued action on top of the six month emergency price cap for businesses announced in the emergency budget.

The first survey took place in August and was focussed on the post Covid recovery in business.  The results showed signs of optimism but also indicated some ongoing issues. It indicated that 83% of commercial laundries have returned to or increased their pre-pandemic turnover, and 79% anticipated turnover to be on a similar trajectory in 2023. However, 79% reported issues with supply chains, in particular difficulties with equipment, spare parts and linen.

The second survey was taken in early September, before the energy price cap was announced. It aimed to take a snapshot of the concerns of the laundry regarding the increasing costs of energy. 85% of responding laundries service a range of essential and influential sectors, including healthcare, education, hospitality and critical manufacturing among others. The majority of respondents have already seen energy prices increasing anywhere from 200 to 500% since 2019, and many were anticipating further increases between 300-600% for 2023.

“While the government’s announcement of a six month price cap will undoubtedly help laundries throughout the winter months, the price increases that have already taken place are having a huge impact on many of them,” says David Stevens, CEO of TSA. “We feel that further steps are necessary to prevent real problems when the current scheme ends.”

The laundry industry is vital to the UK’s hospitality sector but, as it is a hidden part of the supply chain, it has often been overlooked for government support during the crises of the last few years. “The government needs to take a big picture view of these situations,” says Stevens. “The laundry industry needs to be included as one of the sectors that receives further support once the six months is up. We cannot wait half a year to find out what is happening – we need a clear long term support strategy now, to allow us to plan for the future.”

“We are encouraged by the signs that MPs are increasingly aware of the importance of laundries to the UK economy as a whole,” says David. “We will continue to lobby on behalf of our members, and the whole commercial laundry industry, but we need to see hard evidence that the government has also understood the message”

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Laundry Cost Index: 2022/2023 FYQ2

Laundry Cost Index

Please see our latest published Laundry Cost Index for 2022/2023 FYQ2 below:

Latest Laundry Cost Index

Please see the Previous Annual Increases below for comparison:

The Full Report
Annual Increase
Laundry Cost Index 2022/2023 FYQ1
23.01%
Laundry Cost Index 2021/2022 FYQ4
20.13%
Laundry Cost Index 2021/2022 FYQ3
9.70%
Laundry Cost Index 2021/2022 FYQ2
5.92%
Laundry Cost Index 2021/2022 FYQ1
3.26%
Laundry Cost Index 2020/2021 FYQ4
1.43%
Laundry Cost Index 2020/2021 FYQ3
2.00%
Laundry Cost Index 2020/2021 FYQ2
1.64%
Laundry Cost Index 2020/2021 FYQ1
2.02%
Laundry Cost Index 2019/2020 FYQ4
2.73%
Laundry Cost Index 2019/2020 FYQ3
1.75%
Laundry Cost Index 2019/2020 FYQ2
2.95%
Laundry Cost Index 2019/2020 FYQ1
4.00%
Previous Laundry Cost Indices

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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Care homes, laundering and infection control

TSA supports DMU in biggest ever study of its kind into care homes

The TSA is supporting De Montfort University (DMU) on a survey of care homes. The survey will give an insight into care homes’ attitudes and practices in terms of their laundry service. Care home staff and managers are being asked to take part in the new survey, which will reveal how infection control with regards to laundry is managed in care home environments.

The survey aims to help care homes, nursing homes and sheltered housing spaces across the UK identify knowledge gaps, recognise best practice and support them to set the standard in line with current and future requirements for care home laundry practices in the UK.

“We need to understand infection control in this sector so that we can support care homes and related establishments to achieve the highest possible standards,” says David Stevens, CEO of the TSA. “The DMU survey will give us the answers.”

The study is the biggest of its kind into the current knowledge, processes, attitudes and behaviours of care home staff for dealing with laundry from residents and living spaces, as well as their own work clothing.

Care homes, nursing homes and sheltered housing providers and staff are being asked to fill in the surveys. Professor Katie Laird, Professor of Microbiology at DMU, is leading on the study. She previously investigated how the coronavirus pandemic affected the way in which healthcare staff and nurses laundered their uniforms.

She says, “We are keen to discover the current infection control policies and practices that are used by care home staff.”

“At the moment there is no national picture of the different policies and procedures which are in place in care home settings. I believe the results of this survey will be of benefit to the industry and help us to build capacity and co-ordinate efforts to share best practice, supporting the industry to build back better after the pandemic.”

The survey will be followed up with a series of focus groups, user interviews and sessions with managers and policy writers.

The questionnaire covers the following topics:
• Existing infection controls with regards to laundry
• Current processing methods for bed, bathroom and personal clothing laundry
• Processing methods, procedures and management for soiled linen
• Attitudes towards existing infection controls policies associated with laundry
• Understanding of the barriers to care home settings implementing infection control policies
• Bed change policy
• Healthcare workers’ knowledge of infection control policies in care home settings

“The TSA and DMU have a very strong working relationship,” says Stevens. “This is the latest in a series of projects we have collaborated on. It will give us a new depth of understanding and should point the way to improving infection control in care homes.”

For more information on DMU visit dmu.ac.uk

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Offering a clean start to life after prison with the TSA

Re-launched scheme will aim to provide employment opportunities in the laundry industry

The Textile Services Association has begun the relaunch of its “Giving People a Second Chance” initiative. This aims to build relationships between the laundry industry and the prison service’s New Futures Network (NFN) to build skills and create job opportunities for ex-offenders.

The NFN brokers partnerships between employers and prisons, helping to identify the best ways for organisations to get involved with providing vital work experience for serving prisoners as well as building up numbers of viable employees. With the staff shortages currently facing the textile services industry, the TSA feels that this is a win-win situation for its members and for ex-offenders.

The laundry industry is ideally suited for involvement in these partnerships. Laundry services are a vital part of prison life and form one of the main methods of providing employment and training to serving prisoners. All laundry for prisons is carried out within prisons, and currently about 500 prisoners are employed in this activity across the UK.

The NFN and the prison service offer a number of ways for businesses to get involved. This varies from employing serving prisoners within production facilities in prisons, to employing risk-assessed inmates who have been Released On Temporary License (ROTL) on day release. And finally, helping to arrange interviews with serving offenders in the hopes of offering them full employment upon release.

Rebecca Morgan is the head of HR at Johnson Hotel Linen, a company that has worked with the TSA and the New Futures Network to spearhead this new scheme. She has seen first-hand the benefits to both staff and companies that this scheme can bring. “I went to an employment open day at a local prison, it completely changed my view on offenders and ex-offenders and what they can offer,” she says. “Those I spoke to were polite and engaged, and have turned out to be very reliable and motivated employees.”

While some companies may be wary about employing ex-offenders, Rebecca is clear that it is no riskier than hiring anyone else. “Everyone on this scheme has been fully vetted, and are all looking for a second chance,” she explains. “A lot of the time they believe that there aren’t employers out there willing to give them that chance, but I’ve seen so many success stories come out of it I would recommend it to all laundry companies. It can change lives!” Research from NFN and the Ministry of Justice backs this perspective up, with over 90 percent of businesses that employ ex-offenders agreeing that they are good attenders, motivated, reliable, good at their job and trustworthy.

One of the biggest causes of reoffending is a lack of employment opportunities for ex-offenders. While prisoners can gain a range of qualifications and skills during their sentence, it can be difficult to find work on release, particularly if ex-offenders live in, or move to, a different part of the country from the prison they served in, and they no longer have the benefit of being near local companies that may have employed them on ROTL. Furthermore, the stigma surrounding ex-offenders can also affect job prospects, despite them regaining full employee rights at the end of their sentence.

The TSA hopes that its initiative will help to create opportunities to train potential future employees.  It may also evolve into a national framework for laundries, allowing them to hire ex-offenders in parts of the country without laundry-based schemes operating from local prisons.

Jason Errington, head of operations for industries, in the prison service’s rehabilitation and care services group has been co-ordinating the laundry services with the NFN at a number of prisons and is equally enthusiastic about the potential for the scheme. “The people we get into employment generally stay in employment,” he says. “Schemes like this are an important part in reducing reoffending and are a great way to fill some of the staff shortages the laundry industry is facing.”

“Recruitment is a huge issue facing many industries across the country and it is certainly a challenge we are facing as well,” says Emma Andersson, director of finance and membership of the TSA. “We’re committed to do everything we can to help our members find the right employees. This initiative will help to do that while also offering a new start to so many people.”

The TSA is currently working with the prison service and its members to fine tune the scheme.  The Association plans to host a webinar in the future to share useful information and best practice.

Any laundries interested in learning more about the initiative and the ways they can get involved, including visiting a local prison, should contact Emma Andersson at the TSA.

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Update from the TSA

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“Save our commercial laundries” – The TSA asks new PM to guarantee support for vital industry sector

Rising energy prices for laundries could cause massive problems for whole UK economy

In an open letter to the new Prime Minister, the Textile Services Association (TSA) has called on Liz Truss to urgently consider immediate measures to help the commercial laundry industry as part of the emergency budget to deal with the crisis being caused by rising energy costs.

The commercial laundry sector plays a key role in the UK economy but one that was overlooked during the Covid-19 pandemic by the government and denied assistance because it falls between the definitions of various primary and secondary sectors.

The TSA recently surveyed its members asking them about the kind of changes in energy prices they are seeing. All responding companies reported significant increases, with rises of anything from 300% to 1500% being forecast over the coming months.

“Without laundries, sectors like hospitality, healthcare and many others wouldn’t be able to operate,” says David Stevens, CEO of the TSA. “At the start of the year, energy costs represented 10% of a commercial laundry’s overheads but we are looking at increases of several orders of magnitude of that.”

The TSA is concerned that without decisive action there is a risk of companies going out of business, which could have cascading effects as sectors that rely on laundry services are unable to access them. “The increased costs would have to be passed on to customers, and at that level it would generate inflationary pressures,” says Stevens. “Laundry tends to be a business that works behind the scenes, so most people don’t realise we’re there. Without laundry, hospitality would have to shut down within a day. The healthcare sector would last two days. The damage that would be caused by not supporting the laundry industry would be catastrophic for the UKPLC as a whole.”

The TSA is calling on the new government to put measures in place that supports the industry as it is an energy intensive user. The proposed measures include rate relief, low interest long term loans, qualification for grants previously denied the industry, along with subsidised energy costs and the introduction of an industrial energy cap.

“We are doing what we can to help our members reduce their costs, but with price increases this large it will make little actual difference,” says David. “We urge the new Prime Minister to take swift action to ensure that laundries aren’t forgotten during this crisis.”

Read The Full Letter To The Prime Minister
Read The Full Letter To The Chancellor
Read The Full Letter To The Secretary Of State

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The TSA’s roadshow goes for the hat trick in Burton-on-Trent

These popular events help the laundry industry to come together and share knowledge

The Textile Services Association (TSA) will be hosting the last roadshow of the year at the Hilton at St George’s Park in Burton-on-Trent on Thursday, 13th of October.

The TSA’s roadshow events spread the word of the work it does for the laundry industry as well as providing a great networking opportunity. The first event took place in Glasgow on the 21st June while the second took place on 19th July in London – on one of the hottest days of the year!

“The roadshow has been a great way to reach out and speak to both members and non-members who might not normally come to TSA events,” says Emma Andersson, the TSA’s director of finance and membership. “The challenges the industry is currently facing has meant there has been no lack of questions, and both sessions proved to be a great platform to hear more about the TSA and enjoy the keynote speakers.”

Keynote speakers included Scott Inglis, the commercial director of Fishers Services Ltd. He discussed the Scottish laundry industry and the importance of building networks with local tourism bodies. Meanwhile the London event was addressed by Joe Ricci, president and CEO of the American Textile Rental Service Association (TRSA) who compared the markets in the US and the UK and showed how his members have been encouraged to diversify into different market sectors to make their business models more robust.

“It’s been lovely to host these events, which are a great, informal way to engage the industry,” says David Stevens, CEO of the TSA. “We have several new members thanks to the tour, and the nice part is there was no hard sell, it just felt right.”

Martin Richards, Laundry Operations Manager of Apex Hotels attended the Glasgow event and chose to join the TSA as a result of it. “The event held in Glasgow was very informative and relative to the future of the laundry industry, focusing on sustainability. It also highlighted the strength of what the membership value adds to its members and the extensive support it offers, which is why we decided to join the TSA.”

IMG_9946
Joseph Ricci, TRSA CEO
Scott Inglis, Fishers Commercial Director

The final event will feature a great line up of guest speakers. The industry keynote speaker for the evening, Julian Carr, Chairman of Regency Laundry will share his experience from a lifetime in the industry, having managed one of the major players in the market to now developing his own bespoke offer.

As well as Julian there will be two additional guest speakers discussing the benefits of the Textile Care Operative Apprenticeship scheme, the TSA’s industry specific standard qualification. Rebecca Morgan, Head of HR at Johnsons Hotel Linen and chair of the TSA’s Apprenticeship Trailblazer Group will talk about her advocacy for the scheme. Finally, Krzysztofa Grabowska, the first apprentice to complete the qualification will share a few words about her experience of the scheme and how it has helped her progress in her day-to-day job at Johnsons Hotel Linen.

The event starts at 6.30pm and visitors will be offered welcome drinks and a buffet alongside the speakers.

Attendance at the road show event is free, for both members and non-members of the TSA. Anyone wanting to go should register their interest by contacting the TSA. Please click here to view the brochure and how to book your place, or alternatively use the registration link 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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August market report

12 August 2022

The last few weeks have bought the catastrophic price increases we feared and had been warning businesses to prepare for, with market analysts predicting likely increases of a further 30% to December 2022. To put that in perspective, at the time of writing we are seeing live market prices of circa 66p pkWh for electric and 18p pkWh for gas and if the market follows the trend expected, businesses not in fully fixed term contracts or coming to the end of an existing contract face astronomical prices of circa 80p pkWh for electric and 24p pkWh for gas over the coming months.

The energy markets continue to remain highly volatile, even as Nord Stream 1 came back into operation following scheduled maintenance works, there was another drop in Russian gas flows (to just 20% capacity) due to continued disagreements regarding paperwork for pipeline parts and turbines, adding to wider supply issues and concerns about gas and power prices for the coming winter. Given the unprecedented price levels, it’s no surprise that businesses are concerned about energy prices and if there is enough supply to meet demand. The continued heat wave and even a drought being announced in parts of the UK is doing little to weaken prices as demand for energy intensive air conditioning and cooling outweighs the power generated by the UK’s solar and wind generation.

Numerous suppliers have announced their intentions not to take on any new business clients and only offer limited renewal contracts to existing customers with good credit and in favorable sectors. Both British Gas and Scottish Power have decided to pull out of the industrial and commercial marketplace altogether, honoring existing contracts to their end, but then will not be offering renewal terms, advising businesses to seek alternate supply. Total Energies and Corona and only offering terms on contracts beginning from the 1st of June 2023, and Drax and EDF are tending to only offer 1-year contracts. With so many suppliers withdrawing from the marketplace, albeit hopefully on a temporary basis, the remaining suppliers such as Scottish & Southern (SSE), Smartest Energy and Pozitive Energy are seeing enormous volumes of desperate businesses look to secure terms, which is causing large delays in contract offers being generated and secured, and in nearly 20 years in the industry I have never seen anything like this!

With live market pricing at such a level, businesses are committing to longer term contracts which are offering a lower overall kWh rate (as suppliers have longer periods to hedge prices over), to limit the increases to their business. This in my opinion is a sensible option, however there will undoubtedly be a point during that 3- or 4-year term where the market price will be lower than the agreed contracted rate – but this period where costs are higher will be hugely offset by the amount saved over the prior periods where the market exceeds that agreed.

With both the Government and energy suppliers both currently reluctant and maybe unable to assist even the domestic market, the future of the business market looks bleak for the foreseeable future.

In other industry news this month:

EU ban on Russian coal comes into force – The European ban on Russian coal has come into effect forecasting yearly losses of €8 billion to the Russian economy. Under the ban all European countries are forbidden to import Russian coal as part of the package of sanctions imposed on Russia. This is around ¼ of all Russian coal exports and joins other banned Russian exports such as crude oil and certain petroleum products.

Government’s energy crisis meeting resolves little – An emergency meeting was held between the Prime Minister, high-profile ministers and energy companies, Prime Minister Boris Johnson, Business Secretary Kwasi Kwarteng and Chancellor Nadhim Zahawi to discuss potential measures to mitigate the rising cost of living. After the meeting, Mr Johnson said: “I know people are worried about the difficult winter ahead, which is why we are providing support – including a £400 energy bill discount for all households. This morning, I urged electricity companies to continue working on ways to help with the cost of living”. Former Prime Minister Gordon Brown has also gone on record stating:” Energy companies that cannot offer to their customers lower bills should be temporarily brought into public ownership” but in response to Mr Brown’s views, a government spokesperson stated that: “A nationalised energy company would still have to buy the same expensive gas on global markets, so prices won’t be lowered in any case”. There had been hopes that with Britons facing unprecedented energy bill increases in October and January, that a deal could be struck that would see energy suppliers doing their bit to support both business and domestic customers. The consensus is that Kwasi Kwarteng is reluctant to enforce a stealth tax on the energy suppliers for fear that they would then be reluctant to ‘help’ in the future when the markets are expected to increase further, pushing many businesses to the brink of viability.

Ofgem says don’t cancel direct debits – but has no good alternatives – With the ‘Don’t Pay UK’ campaign gathering momentum via social media, trying to force energy companies to lower prices (which would never happen), Ofgem has broken silence stating that you should never cancel your direct debit with your energy supplier and Ofgem CEO Jonathan Brearley says cancelling your DD will simply drive-up costs for everybody.

Should you wish to cancel your direct debit, you should consider the following: Your bills will increase if you do not pay via direct debit, you are likely to incur a fee from you supplier and generally direct debit tariffs are far cheaper than prepayment tariffs, thus you will increase the amount you must pay unnecessarily. Your credit score is likely to be harmed as all energy firms report to the Credit Reference Agencies such as Experian, Equifax and TransUnion which will adversely affect your ability to obtain credit in the future. I have seen suggestions on social media that your credit record won’t be damaged if you make a complaint at the same time as cancelling your direct debit. A complaint can go first to your supplier and then be referred or passed onto to the Energy Ombudsman. It is correct that an energy supplier should not harm your credit record if there is a potentially valid dispute about a bill, but I don’t think saying you cannot afford the ongoing bills as the prices are too high would be seen as a valid reason to complain! Your energy supplier may want to fit a prepayment meter if you are in arrears. When you miss a payment, your energy supplier will want you to make an arrangement to pay your ongoing bills plus some extra towards the arrears. The supplier should consider your financial circumstances in setting the arrears payments, but the problem for millions from October will be that they cannot afford the ongoing bills, let alone any extra towards the arrears.  Suppliers can get a Warrant from a Magistrates Court to enable them to enter your home and fit a prepayment meter and if you have a new generation smart meter, it is possible that it could be switched to being a prepayment meter electronically. Paying for your energy by prepayment meter is more difficult and more expensive than direct debit and you may be forced to restrict your energy usage a lot and even ‘self-disconnect’ for periods. There is NO chance of being sent to prison as not paying an energy bill is not a criminal offence however meter tampering, to by-pass a meter or make it run slower, is a criminal offence and you can go to prison for these offenses. It can also be dangerous and result in fires – no matter how bad your situation, don’t even think about it, I have seen this happen on numerous occasions over the past few years. Another thing to ignore is any adverts for devices you can plug in that claim to reduce your energy consumption. They don’t work. Don’t waste your money on scams.

For help and advice and to find out how Fox Energy can support and assist your business in these turbulent times, get in touch by calling 01233 884510 or email info@foxenergy.co.uk.

Helping hospitality and laundries build a viable and sustainable partnership

The Textile Services Association (TSA) and UKHospitality hold second roundtable looking at joint industry challenges.

The event, which was held on Friday 22nd July at London Marriott Hotel Regents Park, was chaired by David Stevens, CEO of the TSA, and featured delegates from some of the UK’s biggest companies in both the hospitality and laundry sectors. The day consisted of two sessions. The first was broadly based around the current situation around commercial laundry services, how they operate within the hospitality ecosystem and the broader challenges both industries are facing.

This included discussing the impacts of rising costs and wages and the difficulties both sectors are facing with recruiting and retaining staff. Michael Jones, managing director of Fishers Services, noted that they are seeing a demand for flexibility in shift patterns from staff. Similarly, Sarah Simmonds, director of commercial procurement for Travelodge saw the trend for multi-skilling staff and diversifying roles increasing in importance.

The continued expansion of the number of hotels and the concomitant rise in demand for laundry services will be a big challenge for both industries if they are going to harmonise supply capability with demand. All participants agreed that closer working relationships to build the necessary infrastructure was necessary for it to succeed.

The TSA produces a laundry cost index which highlights the key elements of a laundry service and tracks movements in these costs. This is currently running at 23% and this figure formed the basis of the discussion. However even this rate does not reflect the wage pressures both industries are experiencing due to lag in gathering accurate figures. The cost of linen was also discussed, the importance of growing the culture of valuing the product which will support both the viability and the sustainability objectives of the group.

David Stevens noted that out of 7,000 tonnes of linen purchased every year for the hospitality industry only a very small percentage is used to its maximum potential. All parties agreed that there was progress to be made through improved staff training on best practices. Nigel Graham from Bourne Leisure stressed the need to change the culture and attitude, and the need for support from the laundry industry to communicate the importance of linen care.

The group also discussed alternative contractual arrangements as we develop stronger supply partnerships. It was felt the current arrangement do not always allow for long-term investments.

The second session focussed on the shared sustainability roadmap of UKHospitality and the TSA. David gave a presentation on the TSA’s new Infinite Textiles scheme. This is a recycling initiative to eliminate the amount of linen that ends up in landfill. The TSA is looking for ways to ensure that textiles can be recovered and recycled into new products using the latest fibre-to-fibre technologies.

Christoph Geppert, director of Grain Sustainability, has been engaged by the TSA to support their sustainability journey and to present its members with a series of objectives and a template roadmap for the membership to engage with.

From the top left of the screen in the room: Rona Tait, Managing Director (TDS Commercial/NLG) Helen Wood, Managing Director (Johnsons Hotel Linen) Linda Tilburn, Procurement (Premier Inn) Nigel Graham, Procurement (Bourne Leisure) Shyju Skariah, Director Programmes & Projects (TSA) Francesca LeGall, Specialist, Procurement (IHG) Paul Brown, Head of Purchasing (Best Western/Beacon) Sarah Simmonds, Director of Commercial Procurement (Travelodge) Mark Franklin, CEO (Elis UK) Kevin Godley, CEO (CLEAN) Michael Jones, Managing Director (Fishers Services) Jack Quick, Policy Manager (UK Hospitality) Tony Sophoclides, Strategic Affairs Director (UK Hospitality) David Stevens, CEO (TSA) Others who attended not in photo: Christoph Geppert, Director (Grain Sustainability) Emma Andersson, Director Finance & Membership (TSA)

He highlighted that meeting the targets regarding emissions caused across supply chains will require ongoing dialogue between hotels and laundries to optimise processes. In presenting the TSA’s roadmap he stressed the importance of the two industries working together – essentially, laundry is one of the areas hotels needs to focus on to reduce their scope 3 emissions. “Both industries need to be ready to act quickly,” he said. “The longer we wait to start reducing emissions across the value chain the more radical the change will have to be”.

Tony Sophoclides, strategic affairs director for UKHospitality, hailed the impressive work already being done within the hotel industry while stressing the need to go further.

While a great deal of progress has happened in terms of reducing the carbon footprint of laundries, the life cycle for hotel textiles is a complex one. David expressed his pleasure that the two industries were working together to align strategies at the beginning of this journey.

Following on from this, Jack Quick, UKHospitality’s Policy Manager, gave an overview of UKH’s current roadmap for improving sustainability and cutting emissions that fall under Scope 3. As around 90% of hospitality’s emissions come from supply chains it will involve co-operation and education to continue the impressive work that hospitality and commercial laundries have already accomplished. Helen Wood, managing director of Johnsons Hotel Linen observed that “Everyone needs to think differently” to reduce emissions throughout supply chains.

UKHospitality’s roadmap is currently aiming towards reducing operational emissions by 2030, with Net Zero by 2040. Going forward, both organisations will aim to promote and share best practices with simple and cost-effective ways to tackle sustainability.

The round table concluded with all parties agreeing to continue working together, with a pledge, to form a sustainability joint steering group and a separate project group to work within the housekeeping teams to provide training and support on improving the longevity of the linen. Furthermore, it was agreed that there would be further roundtables at an executive level, every six months, to keep everyone updated as hotels and laundries evolve viable models for sustainable operations between the two industries.

For more information on UKHospitality, please click here.

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Setting the new standards for laundry safety

TSA and De Montfort University announce new laundry hygiene protocols.

Laundering textiles plays an important role in maintaining hygienic cleanliness but is particularly sensitive in settings like food production and healthcare. Following a collaborative research project between the Textile Services Association and De Montfort University Leicester (DMU) to establish a hygiene protocol test for laundries, the two organisations have announced the results, with the aim to help guarantee laundry is cleaned hygienically.

The study was run by Professor Katie Laird, a microbiologist at DMU. Professor Laird and her research team have extensive experience in studying healthcare textiles, publishing papers that demonstrated how long bacteria can survive on clothing, and wash processes that can decontaminate laundry, among others.

The primary focus of this research was centred on creating a testing method to determine the ability of any laundry process to disinfect textile items. However, if the project is to be successful, it cannot stop at just the results but must spearhead a major shift in global healthcare laundering.

Currently, a home washing machine used by a ward nurse for their hospital uniform is benchmarked differently from an industrial washing process used for hospital bed linen. The results of this project give us the ability to compare “apples with apples”.

However, at the wake of Covid-19 pandemic, the temporary emphasis of the research project switched to determine whether Coronavirus could survive on and be transmitted by textiles before the project team could get back to the main research objectives.

Professor Laird and her team were able to determine that human models of SARS-CoV-2 could survive on textiles for up to 48 hours. The research also inferred that if the laundry was washed at 40°C and above in a typical wash programme, no trace of the virus was being found in the resultant laundry load. This was good news for anyone involved in managing hygiene in textiles. Furthermore it also prevented a pointless increase in the industry’s carbon footprint, by making initial demands for 90⁰C washes unnecessary.

Following this the focus of the research returned to developing test protocols for all laundry processes over 60⁰C, ensuring that bacteria and viruses are being killed by the wash process. The resulting protocol is now being proposed for adoption by laundries that clean textiles for hospitals. Meanwhile, TSA and DMU will be continuing their collaboration to understand the needs of other healthcare-related sectors, such as care homes to help improve standards.

“As many members of the TSA provide laundry services for the healthcare sector it is vital that we support them to ensure they are attaining the highest possible standards,” says David Stevens, chief executive officer of the TSA. “This study has already delivered amazing results and a robust procedure for ensuring laundry safety, and we will continue to support future research.” 

Professor Laird is certain about the importance of the collaboration between DMU and the TSA. “We have worked together to create an internationally recognised protocol for standardising the assessment of the decontamination of laundry,” she says. “It’s important progress for the laundry industry and the next phase of research will be equally exciting for other sectors.”

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