The International OEKO-TEX Association is pleased to announce that global apparel manufacturer Gildan Activewear Inc. has been selected as Company of the Month for September 2012 and has been nominated for the OEKO-TEX Sustainability Award. The award program was created to celebrate the Association’s 20th anniversary and is targeted to companies who are certified to the OEKO-TEX Standard 100 or to the OEKO-TEX Standard 1000 and have demonstrated outstanding performance in sustainable products and processes. All Companies of the Month are eligible for the OEKO-TEX Sustainability Award in one of five categories: environmental management, safety management, quality management, social responsibility, and product innovations. The OEKO-TEX Sustainability Award 2013 will be conferred in April 2013.
Gildan Activewear is recognized as a sustainability pacesetter in the apparel industry. The company was the first manufacturer catering to the wholesale imprinted activewear industry to obtain the OEKO-TEX Standard 100 certification more than eight years ago. Today all Gildan Activewear branded products are OEKO-TEX Standard 100 certified. The OEKO-TEX Standard 100 ensures that textile products are tested to be free from harmful levels of more than 300 substances believed to be dangerous to human health, including chemicals such as formaldehyde, lead and other heavy metals, residual pesticides and surfactants, and carcinogenic dyestuffs. The certification is voluntary, independent, and global.
OEKO-TEX certification is just one component of Gildan’s Genuine Stewardship sustainability program which spans four key areas of focus: safe and sustainable products, protecting the environment, people well-being, and community engagement. With offices in Canada and the United States and manufacturing facilities in Central America, the Caribbean Basin, and Bangladesh, Gildan Activewear’s more than 30,000 employees worldwide lead by example and make positive impressions on the entire global textile supply chain.
More information on Gildan Activewear’s corporate citizenship practices can be found at www.genuinegildan.com.
