Apparel Online India Magazine February 1st Issue 2019 | Page 17

SUSTAINABILITY
“Sustainability is a lifestyle. It starts with each of us and
should end with the thought: Less is More.”
– Barbara Hösli, CHRO, ODLO
the market is based on the conventions
of the International Labour Organization
(ILO) and the Universal Declaration of
Human Rights.
Sustainable Initiatives: The brand
introduced the use of dry dye technology,
relying more on sustainable wicking
finishes as well as on the increased
use of Lyocell. Furthermore, to ensure
resource efficiency, it implemented a
3D sampling project. Due to this, it was
able to reduce the total amount of its
salesman samples by 30 per cent so far.
Through its partnership with My Climate
(a Swiss non-profit organisation dedicated
to climate protection), it feels proud to
label the Ceramicool articles as climate-
neutral. The company supported the
‘Community Reforestation’ project with 1
per cent of the turnover generated from
the entire Ceramicool collection for the
seasons Fall/Winter 2017 and Spring/
Summer 2018. In total, a compensation
for 50,000 tonnes of CO 2 was raised by
the project.
Goals & achievements: ODLO has FWF
leader status which is one of the major
achievements for the brand. Regarding
the implementation of living wages, after
an in-depth analysis in 2016-17, the goals
were agreed on and the starting point
was set for January 2018. The project
started in its own factory in Romania,
where 35 per cent of its production
volume is produced. An independent
third-party executed a very detailed
study on living wages, calculated the
living wage gap and accordingly, ODLO
implemented the ‘bridge the living wage
gap’ strategy starting January 2018.
With the announcement in 2017, that
as of January 2018, there would not
only be a new minimum wage of 1,900
RON, but also a significant shift in social
contribution from employer to employee,
the implementation plan had to be
adjusted accordingly. It was also insisted
that review of the benchmark on a regular
basis is a necessity.
The company increased the involvement
of the local quality control team with
regard to social compliance monitoring.
To increase staff awareness, all its new
employees receive a detailed introductory
training on sustainability at ODLO,
including the FWF Code of Labour
Practices. More refresher courses are
also planned for 2018-19.
Sustainable Material: It works with
material suppliers who are Öeko-Tex
and/or bluesign-certified, have their own
certified testing facilities or work very
closely with an independent laboratory.
Not only the materials, but also the entire
range of the company’s underwear and
base layer ranges are certified with Oeko-
Tex Standard 100. ODLO uses sustainable
sources like Lyocell, where the entire
production chain is transparent and
highly environmental-friendly. Regarding
animal welfare, ODLO is committed
to ensure that these natural products
are obtained using fair production
methods. Practices such as mulesing
are strictly forbidden when it sources
wool. The down used is a by-product
of the meat production industry and is
guaranteed not to involve live plucking or
force feeding.
Wherever possible, it avoids the use of
PFOA/PFOS in water-repellent finishes.
95 per cent of ODLO’s products with a
durable water-repellent finish are treated
using a fluorocarbon-free product. It is
further working to ensure to achieve the
100 per cent FC-free mark. Leftover fabric
donation, clothing donation are also some
of the initiatives of the company.
Logistics initiatives: Focusing on
recycling, the brand’s central distribution
centre in Brüggen (Germany) reused
70,000 units of inner cardboards
by exchanging between the central
warehouse and own production. To
save energy, the warehouse is equipped
with a geothermal heat pump and a
lighting system which can be regulated
independently by the workplace division.
Sustainability for
Team ODLO
In its sustainability report, the brand
published interviews (with the same set
of questions) of its many employees from
different departments. The common
question asked was:
“What does sustainability mean to them?”
“To act consciously and be aware that
everything you do has an impact.”
– Julia Krämer, Sustainability Manager
“To use long-life products, be it in textiles,
electronics or otherwise. ODLO, as a high-
quality brand, fits perfectly with my personal
values.”
– Regina Goller, Head, Material
Management
“A sustainable product means to me that it is
of high quality and will last a long time, so it
can be worn for many years.”
– Monica Pricope, Quality Control
“It is all about saving resources. Trying to use
less energy is also very important.”
– Horst Römer, Facility Operation
“To save resources and reuse things. It would
also be good to bring sustainability more into
our packaging. The green dot is an important
step, but we can do more. Sustainability also
means avoiding returns in the first place.”
– Ulrike Wolf, Team Lead Returns
Using high-quality products; this can be
clothing and also products of daily life. I
try to stay alert on this topic. There is a lot
of mass production and this is one of the
reasons I’m very proud of our brand.”
– Lemco van Dam, Country Manager
www.apparelresources.com | FEBRUARY 1-15, 2019 | Apparel Online India
17