Social Responsibility
Effluent Treatment
Coats operates in multiple locations with very variable situations. In some cases, we operate on a business park, which has centralised effluent treatment facilities, while in other cases we operate our own treatment plants. In all cases, we operate to the standards of the local legislation as a minimum, but we aim to surpass these in cases where we feel that they are not adequate.
Coats is now working to a determined global standard for effluent treatment in all of our new facilities and this standard will be rolled out to all existing sites around the world.
Harmful Substances
Coats has been working with its own Restricted Substances List (RSL) for more than four years. The objective of the Coats RSL is to set the most stringent standards of requirements in the non-organic textile industry. The contents of this list are continuously monitored and enhanced as required and we work with our suppliers both global and local, to ensure their compliance to our RSL.
The list currently covers more than 340 different products.
The Coats Restricted Substances List covers more products than the newly published list from the American Apparel and Footwear Association.
Organic Products
Organic textile fibre is fibre (e.g.cotton) which is grown without pesticides, herbicides or chemical fertilisers, from plants which are not genetically modified. Organic agriculture uses crop rotation and biological pest control instead of agrochemicals and artificial fertilisers. Other fibres such as linen and ramie (Chinese grass) may also be grown organically.
At the moment, generally accepted global organic standards, such as the Global Organic Textile Standards (GOTS) developed by leading organic associations from USA, Germany, UK and Japan (OTA, IVN, Soil Association and JOCA), accept that sewing threads in organic garments can be made from synthetic material. This recognises that there are not, today, viable organic alternatives for the demands placed on modern sewing threads.
Coats has now developed an organic 100% cotton thread to cater for the possible demand from customers. This range of Coats EcoVerde organic cotton is now available following the harvest of the first organic cotton crop of suitable quality to make sewing thread.
Definitions
Recycled
Recycled refers to products which have been made from fully recycled materials.
Recycling
Recycling is the reprocessing of materials into new products. Recycling prevents useful material resources being wasted, reduces the consumption of raw materials and should reduce energy usage and hence greenhouse gas emissions, compared to virgin production.
Recyclable
Recyclable materials, also called "recyclables" or "recyclates", may originate from a wide range of sources including the home and industry. In textile terms recyclable materials include man made materials such as polyester and nylon as well as cellulose based materials like cotton, linen and rayon. Sewing threads are recyclable pre use e.g. waste threads, but post use recycling is not practical.
Contact Us for more details.