SUSTAINABI L I TY REPORT | ISSUE 01 / 22 issue for us in the textile sector. And the solution is upcycling. For example, we are collaborating with one of our customers to sell fashion made by a start-up from fabric from old garments. As exclusively existing material is used here, without the need for any new raw materials, this is particularly sustainable. For Deutsche Bahn railway fans, we offer shoulder bags made from old train seat moquette. Here, too, old material is given a new, second lease of life as a product. In the coming years, we expect that all companies will come under increasing pressure to up their share of sustainable (upcycled) products. While today companies tend to do this out of self-interest or for marketing purposes, i.e. to enhance their image, statutory regulations are increasingly anticipated to come into force over the next few years. The European Commission’s Green Deal, for example, incorporates a proposal to “boost circular business models and empower consumers for the green transition”. A strategy is presented to make textiles more durable and easier to recycle, with the aim of preventing fast fashion, textile waste and the destruction of unsold textiles. In the foreseeable future, these proposals will be reflected in legislative texts, which is why we would all do well to make a start today. We are currently in the process of defining new sustainability goals. One such goal could be to produce a certain percentage of sustainable products, and another to develop new, sustainable certification options that go far beyond DIN ISO 14001. We are also trying to raise our suppliers’ awareness of the issue of sustainability. At present, we are attempting to reduce the amount of individual packaging used for our orders. In particular the individual packaging of products in plastic bags in a cardboard box, for example, produces needless waste. When requesting new products from our suppliers, we therefore automatically specify our desire for waste-reducing, sustainable deliveries. Sustainability therefore starts even before the order is placed. In 2021, we thereby saved around 70,000 bags in one month alone.
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