Ethiopia / Bangladesh / China / India / Pakistan / Turkey Textile companies reduce the use of hazardous chemicals in their supply chains

Many suppliers to the textile industry are based in countries in the Global South. In order to improve the production conditions there, laws and regulations to improve the protection of workers and the environment have been introduced in many countries and supported by textile companies and non-governmental organisations. One critical area, for example, is the wet processing of textiles, i.e. the bleaching, dyeing or printing of fabrics. These processes may use chemicals whose ingredients can harm the health of people in the factories and the neighbourhood and are released into the environment through wastewater and the air. It is often difficult for textile companies to obtain precise information about the use of hazardous chemicals in wet processing plants, as they do not always have direct business relationships with all companies along the value chain, or because such information is not available in the plants. Therefore textile companies are often unable to monitor the reduction or complete avoidance of harmful chemicals with the aim of improving production conditions and making their supply chains demonstrably more sustainable. Chemical inventories can help. However, not all processing companies have such inventories, and in some cases they are kept manually and are inadequate. There is also often a lack of necessary knowledge about the dangers associated with the chemicals used. Bestseller, Deltex, Lindex and Orsay therefore saw digital chemical inventories as an effective solution. They provide the necessary information quickly and efficiently, and suppliers are able to replace harmful chemicals with suitable alternatives and monitor the entire process, which improves the transparency of textile supply chains.

The project partners implemented the following measures from 2020 to 2023 with a budget of around EUR 1.2 million: 

• Supporting 553 wet processing companies in the creation and management of digital chemicals inventories using The BHive®
• Training courses on the proper and safe management of chemicals for employees of supplier companies and students
• Involvement of key stakeholders such as the Partnership for Sustainable Textiles, chemical companies and standards initiatives to strengthen the exchange along global textile supply chains
• Dissemination of the approach

The four companies persuaded the suppliers to participate in the project and, in close cooperation with GoBlu as a solution-providing partner, introduced the digital platform The BHive® at the suppliers. Following technical training on how to use the tool and the initial inventory, regular inventories were carried out. In addition to the private partners, GIZ included other factories and offered digital training on sustainable chemicals management. It also involved industry stakeholders such as trade associations, chemicals suppliers and universities in order to develop strategies for promoting compliant chemical products and share the findings from the project across the sector.

The project partners have improved the knowledge in the participating companies about chemicals used in textile production and the risks they pose to people and the environment. They have optimised chemical management in wet processing plants and reduced the use of hazardous chemicals in their global supply chains.

• 553 wet processing facilities have created a digital chemical inventory and shared it with their customers.
• 36,430 chemical products have been recorded in the inventories.
• 1,010 action plans have been developed for replacing hazardous chemicals.
• Around 4,460 people have received training in handling or inventorising chemicals; the training materials are available in seven languages.