Textile Services: Host`s messages

Date: 2009-10-15 23:04:34 written by: Geert Boettger in group: Textile Services

Report on First ETSA Workwear and Protective Clothing Forum

ETSA organized a first Workwear and protective clothing forum October 8, 2009 in Brussels.
I am posting the minutes of the meeting below, because the forum was very inspiring, and information will be useful for all managers in the industry also.

SOCIETY TRENDS WHICH IMPACT WORKWEAR AND IMAGE
Speaker: Tatu Purme, Lindström
• Presentation centered on Phillip Kotler’s DEGEST Model.
• Looked at 6 society trends: Demographics, Economy, Government, Environment, Social Factors and Technology that affect workwear and its servicing.

Conclusion
Changing global dynamics have direct impact on consumer demand.
Environmental issues are particularly at the forefront of textile services industry, especially issues relating to water and wastewater. Thus, more companies need to provide ethical and environmentally friendly workwear.


MARKET TRENDS ON PROTECTIVE CLOTHING IN EUROPE
Speaker: Brian Balmer, Frost and Sullivan
• Brian Balmer gave an excellent presentation on qualitative trends affecting the workwear and PPE markets
• He addressed reusables versus disposables, the potential market of for servicing gloves ($434m!), fabric trends and the importance of comfort.
• Industry figures were presented on automotive, healthcare and aviation sectors.
• Distribution channels.

Conclusion
End-markets for workwear recovering at different rates
Frost and Sullivan to embark on an analysis of the EU markets early next year
Speaking to European workwear providers, current indications are that their primary concerns are how to meet customer needs for comfort, performance, durability and innovation.

STRUCTURAL CHANGES IN THE WORKWEAR MARKET: CHANCES AND CHALLENGES FOR TEXTILE SERVICE COMPANIES
Speaker: Geert Boettger, Expo+Consulting
An overview of a recent study for textile services associations (coordinated by intex, Germany) by Expo+Consulting which focused on four main areas:

1. Workwear from PPE to Corporate Wear
2. Textile Service as Distribution Channel
3. Change of Demand for Workwear
4. Management Option

Conclusion
• The textile service is one of the leading distribution-channels for workwear, in some countries the most important one. Its prominence will grow further, due to the packaged offer of consultancy, financing, sourcing and supplying clean workwear.
• The structural change from Industrial to Service Economy affects the attraction of workwear markets.
• The requirements upon workwear grow in regard to function, fashion and image-transfer.
• Short to mid-term, it will be necessary to focus on cost management, the shortest way to influence results.
• Mid to long-term, scrutinized analysis is required to „own“ sustainable segments of the workwear market and profit.
• The presently volatile markets will encourage concentration: In many cases, this creates new possibilities to emerge and to reposition oneself strategically.
• The pressure of competition forces a permanent increase in efficiency through all functional areas of the companies.

Please note that an English and German version of the full report will soon be uploaded onto the ETSA Members Area.

EU OSHA – European Agency for Health and Safety at Work – Hierarchy of prevention at work and place of PPE – Selection, use, care and maintenance (EU legislation) – OSHA campaigns and ETSA involvement
Speaker: Zinta Podniece, EU OSHA (could not attend)

• Figures on work-related accidents.
• The need to raise awareness of legal responsibility of employers to assess risks in the workplace (we can help!). ETSA is a campaign partner in the current EU-OSHA Campaign on risk assessment.
• The hierarchy of accident prevention at work.
• The importance of cleaning, maintenance and servicing of PPE.
• ETSA intends to prepare an official EU-OSHA fact sheet on SUCAM – Selection, Use, Care and Maintenance
• Next EU-OSHA Campaign will be on safe maintenance; again, we can play a role in communicating the importance of maintenance!

Due to bad weather conditions Zinta Podniece from EU OSHA was not able attend the meeting.

DG ENTERPRISE SECURITY INDUSTRY STUDY - PROTECTIVE AND INTELLIGENT TEXTILES
Speakers: Paul Baker and Lars Meindert, Ecorys

An interesting presentation on the “Security” industry, of which PPE and protective clothing are just a part. Other sub-sectors of the security industry include: physical protection, maritime security, aviation security, border security and critical infrastructure protection.

The consultants reported that attention for clean textiles “is still low”. This contrasted with participants’ reports that care and maintenance is being taken more seriously and that the market for textile rental is growing.

Participants were called upon to provide substantiated data to the consultants, in particular on what proportion of companies outsource the selection and maintenance of their protective clothing. This data could be included in the final report.
The report will be made available on the DG Enterprise website in mid November.

SHORT REPORTSFROM PARTICIPANTSAND DISCUSSION ON MARKET DEVELOPMENTS
All participants
- WW and PPE are growing markets.
- Employers and users are over-loaded with regulations and technical standards. Users, in particular, are ill-equipped to take decisions about the safety of protective clothing. Textile service companies are ideally placed to address this problem.
- Necessity to draw customers’ and regulators’ attention to the legal requirement of ensuring that protective clothing protects adequately during the full lifetime of the garment. Advice on selection, use, care and maintenance are clearly necessary. Tracking of garments can help to achieve these objectives.
- Increase in competition from manufacturers from non-European countries
- Market surveillance is a big issue: cheap poor-quality imports not meeting basic health and safety requirements are not being sufficiently controlled, leading to workers being at risk.
- In Italy, an increased in the number of accidents in the workplace is drawing attention to the need for protection and proper care and maintenance; and maybe regulation to encourage this.
- UK is a special case, where health and safety regulations are particularly stringent; this sometimes leads to cynicism about these regulations.

QUICK OVERVIEW OF ELEVANT TECHNICAL STANDARDS
QUICK OVERVIEW OF RELEVANT ETSA WORKWEAR RELATED
Why rental/full service workwear has a better Sustainability, CSR and Environmental profile
Presentations by Robert Long, ETSA Secretariat

Main standards:
• ISO 30023 – Care label….Link to presentation on Industrial Care Labels
• ISO/EN 20471 – High-visibility…

Main ETSA projects:
• Household versus professional washing
• Polyester versus cotton from a CO2 point of view
• Chemicals in textiles
• TCO of workwear
• The benefits of full service over home laundering
• 10 good reasons for outsourcing of workwear
• EU OSHA
• LMI – Lead Market Initiative

Why rental/full service workwear has a better Sustainability, CSR and Environmental profile
• Workwear LCA and WECO resource efficiency
• CO2 footprint
• Global Compact (human rights, labour standards, environment, anti-corruption)
• CSR Code of Conduct: general principles only (as in ETSA environment principles).
• ETSA Environment principles
• Detergents website
• Sourcing of textiles: ETSA can only encourage member firms to select suppliers based on solid CSR criteria. Choice of instrument up to member firms
• Chemicals in textiles