Dutch producer AkzoNobel N.V. has received top ranking in the Chemicals sector of the Dow Jones Sustainability World Indexes – a testament to their commitment to integrating sustainable practices in their global operations. Fashion houses too, have been getting on the sustainability bandwagon by advocating the use of environmentally friendly materials and production practices, increasing product longevity, and facilitating recycling at the end of the products’ lifespan. Read more

By AkzoNobel N.V. (14 September 2012):

AkzoNobel N.V. (“AkzoNobel”) has cemented its position as a global sustainability leader upon being ranked first in the Chemicals supersector on the prestigious Dow Jones Sustainability World Indexes (DJSI).

Published today, the latest listing reveals that AkzoNobel achieved a total score of 93%. The company has been ranked in the top three since 2007 – a year when AkzoNobel last topped the list.

“Sustainability is a key market driver for AkzoNobel’s growth in the U.S. and globally,” said Frank Sherman, President of Akzo Nobel Inc., the U.S. holding company. “Our ‘eco-premium’ product lines and company-wide commitment to sustainability give AkzoNobel a competitive advantage and maintain our leadership position within the global paints, coatings and specialty chemical industry.”

Regarded as one of the world’s foremost sustainability indices, the DJSI benchmarks the sustainability performance of leading companies based on environmental, social and economic performance, including forward-looking indicators.

“Our first place ranking and our consistent performance over the last several years are clear indications of how sustainability has been successfully integrated into our global operations,” said Andre Veneman, AkzoNobel’s Sustainability Director, who also acknowledged the contributions made by the company’s employees around the world. “At AkzoNobel, business is sustainability and sustainability is business.”

AkzoNobel’s U.S. business generates about 21% of the company’s global sales of over $20 billion. In the U.S., AkzoNobel has more than 8,000 employees working in 450 locations.

AkzoNobel

AkzoNobel is the largest global paints and coatings company and a major producer of specialty chemicals. We supply industries and consumers worldwide with innovative products and are passionate about developing sustainable answers for our customers. Our portfolio includes well known brands such as Glidden, Dulux, Sikkens, International and Eka. Headquartered in Amsterdam, the Netherlands, we are consistently ranked as one of the leaders in the area of sustainability. With operations in more than 80 countries, our 55,000 people around the world are committed to excellence and delivering Tomorrow’s Answers Today™.

Safe Harbor Statement This press release contains statements which address such key issues as AkzoNobel’s growth strategy, future financial results, market positions, product development, products in the pipeline, and product approvals. Such statements should be carefully considered, and it should be understood that many factors could cause forecasted and actual results to differ from these statements. These factors include, but are not limited to, price fluctuations, currency fluctuations, developments in raw material and personnel costs, pensions, physical and environmental risks, legal issues, and legislative, fiscal, and other regulatory measures. Stated competitive positions are based on management estimates supported by information provided by specialized external agencies. For a more comprehensive discussion of the risk factors affecting our business please see our latest Annual Report, a copy of which can be found on the company’s corporate website www.akzonobel.com

Source: www.sacbee.com

Sustainable fashion design: Thinking outside the index

By Susanne LeBlanc for Green Biz (6 September 2012):

Editor’s note: Read more forward-thinking stories about sustainability and fashion on GreenBiz about companies pushing consumers to make alternative choices and how the fashion industry can avoid its own Foxconn.

Slowly but surely the fashion industry is catching on to corporate social responsibility and sustainability. First came the anti-fur campaigns of the 1980s and 1990s. Many brands and retailers have since eliminated the use of fur in their products or taken measures to ensure animal welfare conditions in their fur supply chains.

Then, beginning in the late 1990s, numerous sweatshop scandals pressured fashion brands and retailers to implement factory compliance monitoring programs. Many now do so either independently or through collaborative initiatives such as Better Work or the Fair Labor Association.

In the past several years, the fashion industry has faced intensifying criticism about its environmental footprint and has once again reacted both on a brand level, with many brands establishing their own sustainability commitments and strategies, as well as on an industry-wide scale with initiatives such as the Sustainable Apparel Coalition or the NRDC’s Clean by Design campaign. More recently, however, sustainability leaders in the fashion industry have begun moving beyond their initial reactive response towards proactively addressing environmental concerns right from square one of the value chain: design.

Sustainable design in fashion has so far been largely focused on materials selection. Several brands have developed, or are in the process of developing, indices that will help their designers and product development teams choose materials based on environmental impacts throughout the clothing lifecycle.

Examples of such indices include NIKE, Inc.’s Materials Sustainability Index and Timberland’s Green Index, which inspired the broader-reaching Outdoor Industry Association’s Eco Index. Both NIKE’s index and the Eco Index have also been incorporated into the Sustainable Apparel Coalition’s Higg Index, which is currently endorsed by almost 50 industry-leading brands, retailers and suppliers.

This initial progress should be commended and further fostered, but with one caveat. While materials selection can influence environmental impacts throughout the clothing lifecycle and is therefore a priority concern, brands and retailers should be careful not to equate sustainable design with simply plugging materials information into a computerized tool.

Sustainable design requires a more holistic perspective that takes into account not only how fashion is produced, but also how it is consumed. After all, sustainable materials will have limited impact if low quality or poorly designed garments are worn only a few times before ending up in a landfill.

A few examples of this broader approach to sustainable design already exist. Modular design by Polish-based brand Blessus uses panels and zippers to create garments that can be reconfigured into multiple outfits, thus increasing product longevity. Timberland’s Design for Disassembly shoes have been created with only a few simple components in order to facilitate end-of-life disassembly and recycling. Other brands, such as or Goodone, From Somewhere, or Junky Styling close the loop by up-cycling pre-consumer waste or end-of-life cast-offs into new garments.

Sustainable fashion design is a nascent concept and at the very forefront of a decades-long progression towards sustainability. As the fashion industry continues to evolve over the coming years, however, let us hope that designers harness their creativity to think outside the index.

This piece originally appeared on BSR and is reprinted here with permission.

Source: www.greenbiz.com/