OUR VISION AND STRATEGY
REDUCE - MINIMAL USE OF RESOURCES AND REDUCTION OF CO2 EMISSIONS
ENVIROMENT
BLANCHE ́s concern about nature and environment is incorporated in our business model and core values.
We want to take responsibility of our global society and generations to come. Our key focus in design and product development is that our production should have as small impact on the global environment as possible.
We care about where and how we produce and aim to produce “closer to home”, in order to reduce transport, and to easily make audits to ensure that our suppliers are meeting our standards. We have detailed manuals for our suppliers to follow and we use environmental standards that require the suppliers to reduce energy consumption and work to minimize their carbon footprint, including reducing water use and implementing water recycling as much as possible.
CHEMICAL RESTRICTIONS
Chemicals are needed in all kinds of textile products including ours – from the manufacturing of raw material to dyeing, printing, nal look, and function. The challenge is to avoid the toxic ones that are harmful to the environment, animals and our health.
BLANCHE ́s Chemical Restrictions are based on EU’s regulation REACH. Moreover, the criteria (compounds and limit values) are inspired by the Oeko -Tex Standard 100. We believe this is needed for calling a product and production safe and sustainable.
LONGEVITY - LONG LASTING ESSENTIALS
OUR CHOICE OF FIBRES AND MATERIALS
The choice of bres and materials has a big impact on the total environmental footprint of our products. It is estimated that this is accountable for up to 40 per cent of the total footprint. Therefore, it is highly important to make deliberate decisions, so that our products cause the least possible negative impact on both planet and people.
At BLANCHE, we have a preferred list of materials and bres - most of them carrying certifications guaranteeing their level of sustainability.
LEARN MORE ABOUT OUR MATERIALS HERE
FAIRNESS - GENDER EQUALITY & SOCIAL FAIRNESS
For BLANCHE, CSR is not only about making sure our products live up to our high-quality standards and customer expectations, but also that they are produced responsibly. Our social responsibility includes every interaction with BLANCHE. Our main obligation for our consumers and essentially the employees manufacturing our products is to assure the working conditions in the factories we partner with are decent.
At BLANCHE, we especially emphasise women’s rights and how we can possibly achieve gender equality in the fashion industry. Many garment workers – women as well as men – work under poor conditions but numbers indicate that the majority of workers are female. It is estimated that as much as 80 per cent of workers at garment factories in Bangladesh - a big fashion and textile supplier – are women.
In the year of 2017, many women in the fashion and textile industry still work under significantly poorer conditions than men. Cultural stereotypes have made it easy to take advantage of women, which has made them desirable workers; they are frequently subjected to physical as well as verbal harassment, they are prevented from taking maternity leave and often women receive lower wages.
BLANCHE has kept the majority of the production in Europe. First of all, the distance makes it easier to keep track of working conditions and whether partners follow our production policies. Second of all, European countries are governed by the EU and must respect labour and environmental standards, with a clear reference to the core labour standards as defined by ILO (International Labour Organisation).
When entering partnerships, we have looked for companies who support women’s rights and have a high number of female employees. A majority of women in a given company is not in itself an indication of proper working conditions for women. However, in combination with support for women’s rights and policies promoting gender equality, there clearly is a common understanding for the importance of this area.