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. 

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What are commercial laundries worth to the UK?

The textile services sector sits behind practically every sector of the UK economy

Research conducted by Hatch Regeneris concludes that the textile services industry is ‘core to the operation of many businesses in vital and important sectors of the UK economy.’  It highlights three markets of particular significance, hospitality, healthcare and manufacturing, concluding that without the support of the textile services industry they would face insurmountable problems.  Yet the long-term sustainability of textiles services in the UK is under considerable threat and action is needed if it is to survive. 

The research was commissioned by TSA, the Textile Services Association, and was carried out in 2020.  The key problems it highlighted are dramatically rising costs, downward pressure on prices and severe staff shortages.  However, since then the industry has suffered even more setbacks and its position is even more precarious.  “Brexit, the pandemic and escalating fuel costs have amplified the issues to a catastrophic extent,” says David Stevens, CEO of the TSA.  “Without serious price rises for customers and government support – at the very least in terms of access to the EU labour market – there is a real risk that many textile services companies will go out of business.” 

Textile services encompass the supply, rental, laundering and maintenance of textiles.  It ranges from bedding and towelling in hotels; to PPE and workwear in factories; to surgical, pharmaceutical and high-care food workwear; to mats, roller towels and washroom services in a wide range of sectors.   Each week the industry processes 53 million textile items to end users in the UK. 

The report estimates that the textiles services industry contributes a total of £1.3billion in GVA to the UK economy and £190million to the Exchequer, while supporting 28,000 FTE jobs.  It notes that hospitality is dependent on the industry, since the provision of clean, fresh linen is fundamental to their business.  Just one hotel with 100 bedrooms will get through 750 pieces of linen per day.  Similarly in manufacturing, the report says production lines would come to a standstill within three days of not receiving new workwear.  Meanwhile, healthcare and social care can’t function safely without bedlinens, surgical gowns and patient wear washed to very high specifications.  

Aside from those three key sectors, as the report points out, ‘the textiles services industry sits behind practically every sector in the UK economy.’ 

“If commercial textiles services ceased to operate, many UK businesses, industries and sectors would grind to a halt,” says Stevens.  “We continue to press the Government for help, but so far they continue to ignore us, despite organisations like UKHospitality and NHSI supporting our arguments.” 

The Hatch Regeneris research, ‘The Economic Value of the Textile Services Sector to the UK Economy,’ is available to download at tsa-uk.org, from the TSA publications section in the documents library. 

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 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 joins BCC in move to benefit and strengthen both associations

Textile Services Association is warmly welcomed to BCC membership

The voice of the cleaning and hygiene industry will be heard more loudly

The Textile Services Association (TSA) has joined the British Cleaning Council (BCC) as an associate member.

The TSA represents commercial laundries in several sectors and textile rental businesses serving the hotel and hospitality, healthcare and workwear markets.  The textile care services industry contributes over £1.3 billion in GVA and supports some 28,000 jobs in the UK economy.  It has become the 22nd member of the BCC, in a move which benefits and strengthens both organisations.

BCC chair Paul Thrupp said, “I am delighted that the TSA has joined the BCC and I very warmly welcome them.  Working together with the TSA makes the BCC and the whole cleaning and hygiene sector that much stronger.  It is important that the cleaning and hygiene sector pulls together to present a unified front if we are to make our collective voice heard as loudly as possible.

“Textile services is a significant sector of the economy. There are also considerable synergies with the cleaning and hygiene sector as represented by our members, particularly in the health and hospitality sectors.  The TSA’s work lobbying the Government to move towards multi-use gowns for healthcare is something that dovetails well with the work of our members on the environmental agenda and their work on skills also supports our drive to create an accredited training and apprenticeship.

“We have many issues of mutual interest and I look forward to collaborating in the future. “

The TSA represents commercial laundries in several sectors and textile rental businesses serving the hotel and hospitality, healthcare and workwear markets.

TSA CEO David Stevens said, “We are delighted to join the BCC and work collectively with so many like-minded organisations.  We have so many harmonised agenda points I think the collective power of the BCC can really help drive these topics to some of the key decision makers in Government.  I see real benefits for our membership and improved momentum on some of our key project areas such as training, linen recycling and energy efficiency incentives, including the climate change agreement.

“An individual trade association can find it difficult to get space on the lobbying platform.  Working with the BCC will be a great way of sharing and supporting a single message, benefitting all members.”

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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The TSA responds to the budget: commercial laundries are left in jeopardy

David Stevens, CEO of the TSA comments on the budget:

Commercial Laundries are Left in Jeopardy

 

Of course it’s good that the furlough scheme has been extended to September.  We’re happy that the Chancellor has also announced a new recovery loan scheme, the investment incentives are a definite plus so there are some positives.

Having said that, we’re very disappointed that the Chancellor didn’t see fit to expand the recovery net.  Commercial laundries are still in this enormous black hole outside of the government’s support bubble.  We aren’t eligible for business rates relief or for recovery grants, VAT reductions and so the list goes on.  We will see minimum wages increase at a time when we will be struggling to pay any wages!

Yet again the service support sector has been totally overlooked despite being part of and dependent on the hospitality industry who have been receiving support throughout the pandemic – it’s simply not fair.  This is not a good budget for our industry.

With support we could survive. Without it, commercial laundries, and the 24,000 people they employ, remain in real jeopardy. 

 

 

 

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

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.