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WATER CONSERVATION
Thread manufacture entails extensive
use of water particularly at the dyeing
stage, so A&E makes every effort to
reduce consumption of this valuable
resource. Worldwide, it has managed to
save more than 2.1 million cubic metres
of water in the past six years. This 16.8%
improvement in water conservation is a
direct result of technological advances
such as stand-wash rather than
running-wash processing and lower
liquor ratio dye machines.
Rainwater harvesting has proved
particularly valuable, with rainwater
being collected and reused. All four
A&E plants in India have such systems
and this year has seen them installed in
Sri Lanka, Bangladesh and in Europe.
Another system for conserving water
is the zero liquid discharge plant now
operating at Perundari, India. This uses a
biological system to treat water that has
been used in the manufacturing process.
It is then filtered to remove all
suspended material and pre-treated
before going through a reverse osmosis
process to remove any organic colour.
The quality of 93% of this treated water is
in fact better than locally purchased city
water. The remaining 7% of this water is
passed through a series of evaporators
as part of an energy-saving process,
after which any residual solids are
removed and responsibly disposed of.
To give some idea of the amount of
water the company is now saving per
year, it is equivalent to the volume used
by 15.5 million people in India in one
day, based on an average of 135 litres
each. In Bangladesh, where daily usage
is 46 litres, it would be what 46 million
people use.
ENERGY CONSERVATION
During the 1970s, the global oil
supply was interrupted and the
industrialised world faced an energy
crisis. A&E quickly realised that what
had happened once could well happen
again and that it must therefore curb a
heavy reliance on energy. It expanded
its existing sustainability policy to
include an energy-reduction prog-
ramme which has continued to this day.
From 2006 to 2011, electricity
consumption fell by 2.1% to continue an
ongoing overall downward pattern.
Major projects such as heat-recovery
from hot dye house wastewater and
high-efficiency lighting have also
contributed to ongoing energy savings
and over the past six years 85 million
kilowatt-hours of electricity have been
saved. Put into perspective, this is
equivalent to the yearly amount
consumed by close to 8,000 US families
of four using around 10,656 kilowatt
hours per year. In Europe, where the
annual family usage rate is lower, this
would be sufficient for over 18,000
families.
SUSTAINABLE PACKAGING
Reducing packaging while at the
same time continuing to protect product
quality and consumer safety is another
area covered. The use of recycled
materials whenever possible has
enabled A&E to conserve natural
resources as well as divert waste from
landfills and incinerators. It follows the
Outdoor Industry Association (OIA)
Eco-Index Packaging Guidelines for
measurement purposes as the
standards set reflect best management
practices in product design to minimise
environmental impact and promote
manufacturing efficiency.
RECYCLING AND WASTE
REDUCTION
A&E set itself a target for 2012 of zero
waste to landfill in the US. It has not
dropped below 90% for the amount of
waste it recycles since the turn of the
millennium and is now close to the
target. Its efforts in this area have
yielded a further useful pay-off as they
have also helped further reduce the
company’s carbon footprint by lowering
CO
2
emissions.
It also helps its customers achieve
their sustainability goals through its
recycling programme. For anyone
needing assistance in recycling the
plastic cones and spools on which the
threads are wound, the company has
for a long time collected and ground the
empties, and ensured the resulting
granules are sent to a certified recycling
facility for reuse in producing black
thread cones and other products.
ECO-DRIVEN PRODUCTS
A&E also makes every effort to
reduce the life cycle impact of its
products including environmental,
health and safety risks by adhering to
the strict guidelines on all fibres, dyes,
chemicals and lubricants used
worldwide in the manufacture of
thread. This entails constant monitoring
for the latest updates on substances
that could potentially damage the
environment, have restricted use or are
banned. The company then adjusts its
procedures to ensure these potentially
harmful substances are eliminated from
the manufacturing process. The
standards followed are as set by the
American Apparel and Footwear
Association’s
(AAFA)
restricted
substance list, which is revised every six
months to reflect international updates
of chemical and substance restrictions.
In addition, all products are certified
under Oeko-Tex, a voluntary product
certification programme for restricting
chemicals in the products it produces.
The Oeko-Tex Institute introduced its
Standard 100 early in the 1990s and its
label is an assurance to customers that
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CSR AND SUSTAINABILITY
NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2012 | www.footwearbiz.com
Reverse osmosis is a key element in the zero liquid discharge plant at Perundurai in India.
CREDIT: AMERICAN & EFIRD