Infinite Textiles: greener linen for hospitality and healthcare

Commercial laundries’ recycling initiative will slash CO2 emissions and water consumption

The TSA has teamed up with UKHospitality, WRAP and PCIAW to launch the Infinite Textiles scheme.  The scheme will see commercial laundries partnering with their customers to recycle end of life linen and towels from the hospitality, healthcare and leisure industries, with the aim of saving tens of thousands of tonnes of carbon and billions of litres of water every year. 

Currently over 6,000 tonnes of hospitality textiles are sent to waste annually.  “Infinite Textiles has the potential to put a stop to the waste,” says David Stevens, CEO of the TSA (Textiles Services Association).  “If the industries can come together on this key project, we really will be making a difference to the environment. This will be the largest laundry industry textile recycling project in the world.” 

Infinite Textiles aims to cover the whole life of the textiles, from sourcing through manufacturing and on to washing and inspection, with laundries and their customers working together to maximise the life of the linen.  Only when the product reaches the end of its useful life does it move into the recycling phase.  Here it’s inspected, treated and sorted into bales before being delivered to the Infinite Textiles hub in Sunderland.  From there the bales go to approved recyclers for turning back into yarn and going on to manufacturers. 

The Infinite Textiles numbers make a convincing argument.  It has been reported that the energy required for the reuse or recycling process of polyester is only 1.8% of the total energy consumed by the virgin fibre.  Similarly, the reuse of one tonne of cotton fibre needs only 2.6% of the energy required for the virgin material.*

The growing and harvesting of natural fibres is where the most water is consumed and the most CO2 emissions occur.  For example, the production of one tonne of the nitrogen fertilisers used emits around seven tonnes of CO2 equivalent greenhouse gases.** 

The TSA will administer and manage the scheme, supporting a network of coordinated pick up points for the bales around the UK, making it easier for smaller laundries to take part.  The TSA is also providing plenty of support resources, including training and webinars, and setting up an online platform for participants to track volumes and revenue lines. 

“Rightly, there’s growing pressure to manage waste streams more responsibly,” says Stevens.  “The drive to develop the Infinite Textiles scheme comes not only from our members, but also from their customers, to help support their sustainability objectives.   By launching a certifiable scheme now, we stay in front of the curve and demonstrate the benefits of the commercial laundry industry and its circular credentials.” 

Infinite Textiles will provide evidence of compliance with the Waste Framework Directive and supports certification with ISO 14001 and BS 8001.  The scheme is allied with the Recycled Claim Standard (RCS) and compliant with circular economy certification.  It is audited by UKAS-accredited certification bodies. 

For information on UKHospitality visit ukhospitality.org.uk.  

For information on WRAP, the Waste and Resources Action Programme, visit wrap.org.uk. 

For information on PCIAW, the Professional Clothing Industry Association Worldwide, visit pciaw.org. 

If you have any queries, please do not hesitate to get in touch with us either via email or phone: 

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CCA can save laundries £millions – but opportunity ends on March 31 2022

Government agrees to reopen Climate Change Agreement scheme temporarily

If a commercial laundry isn’t registered for the Climate Change Agreement Scheme (CCA) then it’s missing out.  TSA has lobbied government agencies to reopen the scheme – and they have agreed, but only until the end of March 2022.  Once this window closes, that’s it. 

So what can commercial laundries get from signing up to a CCA?  Basically it gives a discount on the Climate Change Levy charged on their energy bills, and over the past two years alone, TSA members collectively have saved over £10million through the scheme.  Any commercial laundry can have a CCA – in order to receive the discount, they have to meet targets to increase energy efficiency and reduce carbon dioxide emissions. 

“It’s a no-brainer,” says David Stevens, CEO of the TSA.  “On the one the hand, initiatives like the CCA are vital if we are to combat climate change.  Meanwhile, the scheme offers significant cost savings for almost every commercial laundry.  At a time when our industry is faced with huge cost rises, ignoring the CCA is economic madness.”

Having a CCA, and partaking in the Climate Change Levy Discount Scheme, deliver significant savings.  They include discounts on the CCL charged of up to 92% on electricity, up to 83% on gas, and up to 77% on LPG, in return for meeting energy or carbon saving targets. 

CCAs are designed to encourage UK businesses to save energy and reduce carbon dioxide emissions. The TSA is one of 53 sector associations in the UK that have signed up to the CCA initiative, managing the scheme on behalf of the laundry and textiles industry. 

“We can be proud of our efforts to date,” says Stevens.  “Since 2013, the laundry industry has achieved over 25% energy efficiencies in primary energy alone – this is market-leading progress and one of the best energy efficiency figures across all of the 53 CCA sectors.   

“Now any commercial laundry that hasn’t got a CCA has the chance to get one – but they need to be quick about it!” 

Climate change consultants Jacobs is handling the CCA scheme for the TSA. To start the ball rolling get in touch with the Shyju Skariah at the TSA (shyju.skariah@tsa-uk.org) and he will answer any questions you have. The scheme is open to TSA members and non-members.  TSA members receive a 50% discount on the registration fees.

If you have any queries, please do not hesitate to get in touch with us either via email or phone: 

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Laundry industry pleads for Government support on energy prices

Commercial laundries close to ‘throwing in the towel’ warns TSA

Just as commercial laundries serving the hospitality sector think they can see a light at the end of the Coronavirus pandemic tunnel, they face another crisis, this time because of the massive and unprecedented rise in energy prices.  The Textile Services Association (TSA) is warning that if the government ignores the industry again, and fails to offer support, then businesses will fail and the industries that rely on laundries, including hospitality, will face significant challenges.

Now the TSA has written to the Rt Hon. Kwasi Kwarteng MP, the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS), pleading to include the commercial laundry industry in any support it may offer to energy intensive industries.

David Stevens, CEO of the TSA, says, “We are an energy intensive industry and are recognised as such, alongside areas like manufacturing, under the Climate Change Agreement.  Whilst we have worked incredibly hard to reduce consumption, you cannot operate an hygienic process without energy to wash and dry the products. Energy represents about 10% of a commercial laundry’s overhead.  When energy prices are quadrupling you don’t need to be a mathematician to work out the impact.”

Several organisations and politicians are calling on the government to offer energy intensive industries support in the short term.

John Reynolds, the Shadow Business Secretary, has been lobbying government, saying they should “Come out with a plan sooner rather than later, there are lots of options available including a mix of loans and grants.”   However, the TSA fears that laundries will miss out – again.

Commercial laundries missed out totally on any government support offered to the hospitality sector during Covid, because they do not directly deliver hospitality, despite being totally dependent on it (and despite hospitality being very much dependent on commercial laundries).  Similarly, in the past, energy grants have usually been limited to mainstream manufacturing industries, meaning commercial laundries have missed out.  

“We support any plan that helps our sector,” says Stevens.  “We have been to hell and back and really cannot face another crisis.  I can see many commercial laundries literally throwing in the towel if they are not offered support this time.”

Commercial laundries employ over 24,000 staff and wash over 50 million pieces of laundry a week, including over 90% of the NHS’s products and 95% of hotel linens. Virtually all food and pharmaceutical factories outsource their washing of workwear to laundries.  Without commercial laundries many parts of the UK economy would grind to a halt. 

If you have any queries, please do not hesitate to get in touch with us either via email or phone: 

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Commercial laundries plan Sustainability Pact

Green practices will support hospitality industry’s net zero carbon objectives (additional press releases published for Industrial & Healthcare)

The Textile Services Association (TSA) is putting together a Sustainability Pact that’s designed to support commercial laundries in their drive to deliver a more sustainable future.  The Pact will also support the hospitality industry’s net zero carbon objectives, but, as Shyju Skariah, technical services manager at the TSA, points out, “We just don’t want to focus on net zero carbon.  We also need to be tackling water quality, reducing waste – this is so much more than a simple net zero tag.’’ 

The TSA has set up a Sustainability Steering Group made up of representatives from laundry operators, machinery and textiles manufacturers, and end-users, including representation from UK Hospitality.  The objective for the group is to ensure that an holistic approach is taken, whether it is considering the complex end of life textiles recycling project, which will save millions of tonnes of textiles from landfill, or looking into simple measures, such as using low energy light bulbs. 

“The laundry industry has already come a long way in optimising and fine-tuning its processes and operations in a more sustainable way,” says Skariah.   

“We have seen water usage slashed, from 20 litres a kilo down to 2 litres, and energy usage halved. But we want to go much further.  Nothing is off agenda with this steering group.”

The Steering Group’s first task is to set up the initial Sustainability Pact, which the laundry industry will sign up to.  “We’ll run training workshops with experts so TSA members really understand what net zero means and how it can be achieved,” says Skariah.  “We’ll create tools for individual companies to track progress. Each company will set their own roadmap, enabling the TSA to compile an industrywide pathway.”

The Pact will be added to as new sustainability ideas and concepts are developed, along with the practical means to initiate them. 

David Stevens is CEO of the TSA.  He says, “Following COP26 and with the climate change issues being addressed at a corporate level, there has never been a better time to set the most challenging sustainability objectives for the UK commercial laundry industry.”

The TSA continues to work closely with government bodies to support the delivery of the UK’s net zero carbon commitments.  “We believe the laundry industry can surpass the current targets,” says Stevens.  “The Sustainability Pact, and the support we are putting in place around it, will be especially useful in helping SME laundry operators achieve their green objectives.

“The Pact shows our industry is driving for a sustainable solution.  It’s also a fantastic opportunity to demonstrate the benefits commercial laundries can bring to so many sectors of the economy, particularly around hospitality and healthcare.” 

If you have any queries, please do not hesitate to get in touch with us either via email or phone: 

E tsa@tsa-uk.org

T +44 (0) 20 3151 5600

TSA launches scheme for recycling textiles used in the hospitality industry

30 million textile pieces wasted each year: “The time is right for innovative solutions,” says TSA CEO.

The Textile Services Association (TSA) is calling for the hospitality, catering and healthcare industries to work with them in order to improve the recycling of textiles. Every year over 30 million textile items, including sheets, duvet covers, pillow cases and towels, are thrown away. This equates to over 2000 tonnes. The majority of these will end up in landfill or incinerated.  Meanwhile the cloth that actually does get reused often only gets one additional use cycle, as rags in sites such as garages, before also being disposed of.

Textile waste from the hospitality industry is ideal for recycling, as it is predominantly made of natural fibres, and white. The TSA has set up a project to research potential recycling solutions for the industry. It has teamed up with Swedish company Södra, which has pioneered a method that takes textile and re-engineers it into a pulp that can be used to spin cotton fibre yarns. A test shipment was recently sent to them to determine how suitable it will be for use in the UK.

Members of the TSA are well positioned to facilitate the recycling of textiles. Over 90% of hotels in the UK are serviced by TSA members, which will enable them to easily handle the logistics of the proposed recycling scheme. “We want to be part of the solution,” says David Stevens, CEO of the TSA. “So far our members have been very enthusiastic about the potential for them to help industries reducing waste and improving sustainability.”

The TSA is also in talks with UK Hospitality about the possibility of including staff uniforms in the scheme, which account for an additional four million items annually. Recycling uniforms is more complex as they often use a mix of different materials and accessories that require separation first. Going forward, designing uniforms for recycling is one of the solutions being discussed.

“We are delighted to be working with the TSA on their recycling project and it compliments perfectly our current campaign of Net Zero Carbon by 2030,” says Kate Nicholls OBE, Chief Executive of UK Hospitality.

Stevens adds, “It’s a win-win for the environment as landfill use and incineration is reduced alongside less need for new cotton. It’s estimated that 20,000 litres of water are required for every kilo of cotton grown, not forgetting the risks of fertiliser run-off.  Anything that reduces the impact this crop has must be good.”

With more companies and business sectors looking for innovative ways to reduce their environmental impact David Stevens feels the time is right to consider bold and innovative solutions to the larger issues they face. “We welcome all the feedback we’re getting and call on more stakeholders to come forward to discuss the individual needs of their businesses in order to make this scheme a success,” he says. 

If you wish to discuss the above or if you would like any further information, please do not hesitate to contact us on 020 3151 5600 or at tsa@tsa-uk.org.

TSA Knowledge Network Open Day

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TSA Knowledge Network Open Day

We were delighted to announce the date of TSA’s Knowledge Network Open Day in our January and February TSA CEO updates. 17th March 2021 will be packed full of great topics and panel discussions all through the day. The 2020 KN Open Day was the last in-person event we were able to host before the lockdown. We hope to carry on the same enthusiasm and engagement this year as well. The virtual event provides us with flexible options where we can invite targeted audience for the topic of their interest at specific time slots. We will also have a TSA web landing page where you will see all the details and registration links. We hope to cover topics such as Managing CTWs Safely, Healthcare Processing Standards, Energy Efficiency, Diversity, Apprenticeship etc.

Please share this with your colleagues and teams for whom the topics below may be of interest.

Please note, WebEx has changed their registration form slightly, therefore when you have clicked the registration button below for your chosen session, please ignore the meeting password and click straight on the blue register button as show in the image below. If you have any issues registering, please call Emma on 0754 322 0302.

Day Programme and How to Register:

Time and Topics
Register

9:15am (20 mins)
Opening Session (relevant to all):

• Welcome
• Technical & Projects Updates
• Future projects
• Current projects
Register Here
Time and Topics
Who is it For?
Register

9:45am (60 mins)
Health & Safety:

• Latest Statistics
• CTW Management
• TSA Resources
• Managing Covid-19 related H&S claims
• Q&A Session (TSA Steering Group)

Senior Managers
Transport Managers
Engineer / Managers
Health & Safety Teams
Production Managers
General Managers
Register Here

11:00am (60 mins)
Driving the Healthcare Standards

• Implementing BS EN 14065
• Preparing for certification
• New Opportunities

Quality Managers
Production Managers
General Managers
Business Development Managers
Register Here

12:30pm (40 mins)
Circular Economy – End-of-Life Textiles (Recycling)

• Why do this project?
• TSA Survey results
• Logistics (Circletex?)
• Marketing the key messages

Senior Managers
Quality Managers
Transport Managers
Marketing Managers
Register Here

2:00pm (45 mins)
Energy Efficiency

• Climate Change Targets (Jacobs)
• Grant funding / Carbon Trust
• Energy audits
• Latest technologies

Engineer / Managers
Energy Procurement Teams
Production Managers
General Managers
Register Here

3:00pm (30 mins)
Inclusion and Diversity

• Women in the industry
• Diversity
• Mental Health

HR Directors
Change Managers
Senior Managers
Register Here

3:45pm (45 mins)
Apprenticeship

• Role of TSA’s Trailblazer group
• Online training delivery
• End point assessment

Senior Managers
Training Managers
HR Managers
Register Here

 

As mentioned, please forward this on to your colleagues and teams for whom the topics above may be of interest. Each session is going to be managed separate to one another. You are free to attend all the sessions. However, the day programme is designed for the attendees to be selective.

We look forward to seeing you there.

If you wish to discuss the above or if you would like any further information, please do not hesitate to contact us on 020 3151 5600 or at tsa@tsa-uk.org.