Handling of chemicals

With the following guidelines and supporting documents we provide our business partners and wet process facilities with orientation for improved handling of chemicals:

• Our Manual on Chemical Management provides guidance and practical advice on how a facility can implement good chemical management and thereby meet the requirements of the Otto Group and other companies.
  
• As a member of the Partnership for Sustainable Textiles, the Otto Group uses the Manufacturing Restricted Substances List (MRSL) of the ZDHC Foundation (a foundation in which large companies have joined forces to improve chemical management worldwide) as an industry standard. The MRSL defines threshold values for selected chemicals in textile production and provides guidance on which ones to avoid and replace in production.
  
• The Otto Group's own internal guidelines define chemicals that are either completely banned in the end product or banned above a certain threshold value.
  
• On the subject of PFCs, we have produced a brochure for our business partners that provides information on the potential hazards, identifies suitable alternatives and makes recommendations for substitution. PFCs are perfluorinated and polyfluorinated chemicals that are used in many final products due to their special water-, grease- and dirt-repellent properties.

The documents are made available to our business partners in the relevant local language. At the same time, they are requested to forward them to their facilities.

Most of our products are manufactured in facilities with which we have no direct contractual relationship and where other companies also have their products manufactured. Particularly in upstream production stages, such as wet processes, the influence of a single company is often not sufficient to initiate changes in a targeted manner. In terms of effective chemical management, this means that we achieve substantial changes when we work together with other companies in a coordinated manner. Uniform standards, a common understanding and a concerted appearance in the main sourcing countries enable us to effectively initiate improvements in the handling of chemicals.

For example, one focus of the Textile Partnership was to standardize chemicals management by means of the Partnership's Chemicals Management Initiative, to jointly reduce negative environmental impacts caused by textile production and to develop relevant measures for this purpose, on which members report. Accordingly, we at the Otto Group also align our ongoing measures and progress with the goals of the Partnership for Sustainable Textiles. As part of our membership, we publish these annually in a report.

Many different chemicals are used in the manufacture of textiles, especially in the wet processes (dyeing, washing, printing). Some of them can pose a risk to people and the environment if they are not handled, stored or disposed of properly. Especially in emerging and developing countries, facilities often lack awareness or the necessary knowledge and experience. To counteract this in a targeted manner, the Otto Group has launched the EMPact program.

The program has two focal points. The first is to raise awareness of the effects of inadequate chemical management - both among facility management and employees. Then, the missing know-how for improvement measures is built up. In doing so, we always take into account specific local conditions. This is because the players in the supply chains sometimes face very different challenges with regard to chemicals management. It is precisely by trying to conduct these dialogs at eye level that we achieve sustainable improvements through EMPact.

To support our business partners, we provide them with an information package to pass on to wet process facilities. It consists of, among other things, the Chemical Management Manual, the Manufacturing Restricted Substance List (MRSL) and an overview of other forms of support we offer.