Huddersfield, May 7th, 2020: STS by BluWin has been approved by the Zero Discharge for Hazardous Chemicals Foundation (ZDHC) to conduct Level 3 ZDHC Manufacturing Restricted Substances List (MRSL) conformance evaluations. After successful evaluation, chemical manufactures now can proof their product claims, mills can achieve cleaner production more confidently and brand and retailers make a step towards meeting their sustainability targets.

STS by BluWin are on a mission to contribute to a better world and life quality by providing solutions which reduce the adverse effects of the fashion industry on our planet and the climate. The STS expert team is now helping companies taking control of the chemicals they use. Their unique skillset - marrying knowledge of chemical manufacturing with cleaner production practices for the fashion industry - is inevitable to create long-lasting change and making safe chemicals the norm for the fashion industry. 

For more than a decade, the textile industry has been under scrutiny for the chemicals used in production. With fashion demanding sustainable textile production, programs on cleaner and greener chemistry have become strategic goals for brands and retailers. Multi-stakeholder organisation such as the ZDHC have been essential in creating a new way forward building an ecosystem to bring organisations together to develop solutions and guidelines which transform how chemicals are used. STS has been involved from early days onwards while consulting wetprocessing units on cleaner production practices. The work revealed the basic phenomenon of complex value chains and chemistry being more than elements and compounds: composition, structure, properties and behaviour change during a reaction with other substances. This makes it intricate to take the right steps for everybody endeavouring cleaner textile production. For brands it has never been easy to report on the level of ZDHC MRSL conformance of chemical products of their business partners, for wet-processing units to clean up their dyeing recipes and for chemical suppliers, to proof their commitment towards achieving formulations which are compliant with the ZDHC MRSL 2.0. The ZDHC Program Team developed a solution to the problem: Four different conformance levels achievable for a chemical product. If it earns a higher level, generally more information on traceability and transparency about that chemical product and how it is made is available. Level 3 is the master discipline, with the highest degree of confidence that the chemical product is consistently free from substances flagged in the ZDHC MRSL 2.0. as it encompasses a physical on-site assessment. 

Sustainable Textile Solutions by BluWin Ltd. evaluators zoom in on robustness of the internal system and processes to produce Level 3 conformant chemistry consistently, lot over lot. A STS Level 3 evaluation is great value for money: With experts of intermediates and dyestuffs technology and chemical engineering expertise the evaluation takes place, ultimately confirming chemical product claims regarding ZDHC MRSL 2.0 conformance for 3 years and pinpointing improvement opportunities for the chemical supplier accurately. A textile mill can procure MRSL 2.0 conformant chemicals confidently and brands can gain insights on the conformance levels of their value chain partners.