British PPE Manufacture – Sustainability in focus

24 January 2019

In this age of import, where the majority of textile manufacturing is outsourced to Asia, it’s difficult to imagine that the UK was once a thriving hub of textiles manufacturing, with over a million workers in the industry and the UK economy enjoying a large portion of revenue from this sector. The exodus to offshore manufacturing began in the 1970’s and by 1995, 70% of textiles manufacture was taking place in China.

There are increasing reasons to bring UK garment manufacture back into vogue, especially in the PPE market. We have been PPE manufacturers for over 30 years and have strictly maintained the ethic of producing our own PPE, here in the UK. Having this business model has enabled us to control the quality of our products, and to introduce new products to our range and bring them to market within short lead times. It also enables us to be a PPE manufacturer who can produce custom-made garment lines to suit challenging applications and to deliver these solutions to customers quickly.

Climate change and the supply chain
Environmental experts predict, that unless profound changes are made quickly to stop an increase of global temperatures beyond 4° (including changes to how businesses operate), there will be catastrophic consequences to our world. Major economic forces which impact us environmentally include energy and fuel, water, urbanisation, ecosystem decline and deforestation.  Businesses are under increasing scrutiny to consider the environmental impacts of their processes. In 2010, the United Nations stated “Urgent action is needed to address the climate change issues. With unsustainable supply of energy and the need to reduce carbon footprint, a new approach to carbonisation and the management of the supply chain is required.” The clothing production industry globally uses a huge amount of resources. Global supply chains mean high energy use leading to a heavy carbon footprint and high volume, inferior quality of garments means fast turnaraound of goods – good for profit, but with dire consideration for the environment.

Sourcing British-manufactured PPE is a good choice environmentally.  The decreased energy used in sourcing locally, rather than the heavy impact of a long-distance supply chain is a major factor.  British-made goods are acclaimed for their high quality, meaning the longer lifespan of products and a reduced energy output for production.  As a PPE manufacturer, our lean processes mean that we make to order, with no wasted stock.  Our quality ethic means that your PPE product is built to last, with a production process that reduces the carbon footprint of the garment.

If you are looking for a PPE manufacturer in the UK, talk to our team about how we can supply both our off-the shelf ranges and bespoke PPE ranges.

Find out more about our PPE here.

Read a case study about our custom-made PPE here.

 

Written By Sharon Shaw