Biodegradable, Compostable or
Recyclable?
Biodegradable plastic has the perceived ability to decompose when it becomes
waste, but biodegradable plastic does not fully decompose in a landfill because
the necessary oxygen to decompose a product is too low in the landfill. This plastic
isn’t recyclable, either and can even degrade the quality of plastic if it’s
added to the recycling. To make matters worse, your backyard compost doesn’t get
hot enough to decompose this plastic. Unless your council has a composting
facility for these plastics, your biodegradable cup isn’t a very sustainable option.
Compostable, on the other hand, means that a product can break down into carbon
dioxide, water, inorganic compounds and biomass in small pieces in about 90 days.
This rate is similar to items you might see in a backyard compost, such as
leaves and paper. Compost has many beneficial uses including fertilizing and
improving soil health—plus, it doesn’t leave toxic residue behind because it’s
already organic.
Recyclable materials can like textiles, glass, paper, metal, plastic, and
electronics can all be recycled. The definition of recycling is to treat or process
already existing materials to be reused.
Many of us grew up
with the saying: reduce, reuse and recycle. As a refresher, this means that we
should reduce the amount of waste that goes into landfill, reuse items more than
once and recycle any items that are no longer appropriate to use. Reusing
materials such as garments, glass bottles or plastic containers several times also
reduces our demand for new products to be made.
A
circular economy is restorative and regenerative by design. This means that
materials constantly flow around a ‘closed loop’ system, rather than being used
once and then discarded. As a result, the value of materials, including
plastics, is not lost by being thrown away.
Environmental Policy
The main operational activity of
Vortex Designs Ltd is the design & manufacture of quality uniform blouses
and tops, and the delivery of our products to the U.K. and directly to
customers Worldwide.
The Company understands its dependence
and impact upon the world, and recognises the importance of sound environmental
management. Our sites comply with and,
where practical, exceed all relevant legal and regulatory requirements, and are
subject to regular external audits to ensure continued compliance and
improvement.
At our factory in Sri Lanka, Vortex
Apparels (Pvt) Ltd, we are keen to develop our Environmental Sustainability as
one of our key business values. Consideration is always given to the
environmental effects of our decisions based around the areas outlined below:-
1. The Environmental Impact of our
Product Specifications.
We seek to minimise the environmental
impact of the materials consumed in the making of our products, and, where
possible, will give preference to those materials produced from sustainable
sources.
2. The Minimisation of Energy Consumption
by our Sites.
Through the efficient use of all forms
of energy, we aim to reduce the emission of greenhouse gases and other
atmospheric pollutants to a minimum. Our
manufacturing site has energy usage reduction plans in place, and we are
continuously developing, implementing and improving these plans. We consolidate our shipments to minimise
environmental impact, with all delivery routes, whether global or local, being
planned with the minimum possible travelling distance involved.
3. The Minimisation of Waste from our
Sites.
Some wastage of material is
unavoidable in our operational processes, but the level of wastage is
continually reviewed to achieve the lowest practical amount. 90% of the waste
we generate is reused or recycled in some way, and by the end of 2022 we aim to
increase this to 100% of our waste.
4. Packaging.
We focus our packaging efforts in 3
areas: Reducing our use of materials, using more recycled content and ensuring
our packaging is reusable and recyclable.
5. The Minimisation of Product Returns.
Our commitment to continuous quality
improvement has had the effect of reducing the quantity of products returned
from our Customers, thereby reducing any transport and handling impact.
6. The Disposal of Products.
Ultimately all our products have a
finite lifespan, and the safe and environmentally-friendly disposal of these
products is now a major consideration at the design stage. We have a garment
replacement initiative, allowing customers to return their old uniform in
exchange for new garments at a discounted price. When products are returned to
us, these are either reused or recycled within the U.K. reducing the carbon
footprint of goods being sent abroad to be recycled.
Reviewed 20th January
2020
Vortex Designs Ltd is certified to ISO
14001 Environmental Management Standard. Copies of our certificates can be
supplied upon request.
Modern Day Slavery Policy Statement
Vortex Designs Ltd recognises that
slavery and human trafficking remains a hidden blight on our global society.
The aim of the Company is to identify our responsibility by alerting staff to
the risks, however small, in our business and in the wider supply chain. Staff
are expected and encouraged to report concerns to management, where they are
expected to act upon them.
The main operational activity of
Vortex Designs Ltd is the design and manufacture of quality uniform blouses,
knitwear & tops, and the delivery of our products into the UK and directly
to customers Worldwide. Likewise, we have a multi-disciplined supply chain to
support us through the different aspects and provisions of our business.
We are committed to ensuring that
there is no modern-day slavery or human trafficking in our supply chains or in
any part of our business. Our Anti-slavery Policy Statement reflects our
commitment to acting ethically and with integrity in all our business
relationships and to implementing and enforcing effective systems and controls
to ensure slavery and human trafficking is not taking place anywhere in our
supply chains.
This Policy takes into account, and
supports, the policies, procedures and requirements documented in our
Integrated Management System, compliant with the requirements of ISO
14001:2015, OHSAS 18001:2007 & ISO 9001:2015. The implementation and
operation of this management system underlines our commitment to this policy
statement. Formal procedures concerning slavery and human trafficking have been
established, including disciplinary procedures where they are breached.
Additional procedures ensure that this policy is understood and communicated to
all levels of the company, and that it is regularly reviewed by the Directors
to ensure its continuing suitability and relevance to the company activities.
The Company will achieve these aims by
our initiative to identify and mitigate risk in the following ways (but not
limited to):-
·
More
stringent vetting and investigation of our supply chain (contractors,
sub-contractors, policies, contracts etc.)
·
Continually
audit & review our practices for checking all employees are paid at least
the minimum wage and have the right to work.
·
We
encourage the reporting of concerns and the protection of whistle blowers.
·
The
company will not knowingly support or deal with any business involved in
slavery or human trafficking.
·
We
have zero tolerance to slavery and human trafficking. We expect all those in
our supply chain and contractors comply with our values.
To
ensure a high level of understanding of the risks of modern slavery and human
trafficking in our supply chains and our business, we provide training to
relevant members of staff. Directors have been briefed on the subject. We use
the following key performance indicators (KPIs) to measure how effective we
have been to ensure that slavery and human trafficking is not taking place in
any part of our business or supply chains:
Completion of Audits by Directors,
Managers, Safety Managers and Safety Advisors;
Use of labour monitoring and payroll
systems; and
Level of communication and personal
contact with next link in the supply chain and their understanding of, and
compliance with, our expectations.
This policy is in accordance with
Section 54(l) of the Modern Slavery Act 2015 and constitutes our group's
slavery and human trafficking statement.
Reviewed 20th January 2020
Quality Policy
The aim of the Vortex Designs Group is
to ensure that the needs of our customers are clearly understood and met
through close liaison at all stages of our work.
Ultimate responsibility within the
company rests with the Board of Directors; who are responsible for all matters
pertaining to the Quality System.
The Company’s Quality Policy calls for
continual improvement in its quality management activities, and to provide this
level of quality we employ a 4-part strategy :-
1.
A Quality-focused Culture.
From our front-line associates to the management team, top rate quality and
customer satisfaction are critical parts of the culture at the Vortex Designs
Group.
2.
A Stable and Experienced Workforce. Our workforce features very low turnover and we are
proactive in ensuring this remains so. We support continuous training and make
skills upgrading a critical job requirement for each of our people.
Cross-training to meet the exciting variety of products that we develop also
fosters a satisfied workforce with interesting work.
3.
ISO 9001:2015 The
Vortex Designs Group and its manufacturing facility, Vortex Apparels (Pvt) Ltd
have attained ISO 9001:2015 standard. Key elements of our business system
include rigorous processes for understanding customer needs, careful control of
materials, and diligently managed inspection processes.
4.
A Focus on Measurement and Continuous Improvement. A comprehensive system for measuring
our performance and proactively taking steps to drive continuous improvement
rounds out our strategy for quality.
We shall:-
·
Comply
with all applicable statutory laws and regulations.
·
Follow
a concept of continuously improving the effectiveness of this quality
management system and make best use of our management resources in all Quality
matters.
·
Communicate
our Quality objectives and our performance against these objectives throughout
the company and to interested parties.
·
Take
due care to ensure that activities are safe for employees, associates and any
subcontractors and others who come into contact with our work.
·
Work
closely with our customers and suppliers to establish the highest Quality
standards.
·
Adopt
a forward-looking view on future business decisions, which may have Quality
impacts.
·
Train
our staff in the needs and responsibilities of Quality Management and provide
the personnel and resources to ensure that the importance of meeting and
exceeding customer requirements is communicated and understood throughout our
organisation.
Conduct all work to a high
professional standard with technical and commercial integrity.
Reviewed 20th January 2020
Vortex
Designs Ltd is certified to ISO 9001 Quality Management Standard. Copies of our
certificates can be supplied upon request.
Social & Ethical Policy Statement
The main operational activity of
Vortex Designs Ltd is the design and manufacture of quality uniform blouses and
tops, and the delivery of our products to the U.K. and directly to customers
Worldwide.
The responsibilities of the business
now extend far beyond the traditional boundaries, and Vortex Designs Ltd
recognises the corporate responsibilities that our customers, staff and other
stakeholders rightly expect us to adopt with regard to social and ethical
issues. This means ensuring that our factories, and those of our immediate
suppliers, operate to the highest standards, and that we use our influence to
ensure that our supply chain meets our strict criteria.
Specifically, this means that
customers can purchase our products safe in the knowledge that they have been
produced by businesses that meet the following code of practice: -
Health & Safety - All of our
facilities will promote a safe and healthy working environment. We will
regularly train our employees, and we will provide all the necessary Personal
Protective Equipment. We will promote a culture of safety awareness and, in the
event of accidents; we will investigate all instances accurately and
thoroughly. Our objective will continue to be the elimination of accidents.
Working Hours - Employee working hours
will comply with the prevailing legislation. Overtime, when available, will be
allocated on an equitable basis and will be managed to ensure that the demands
on the individual are reasonable, and we will always provide adequate breaks.
Wages and Salaries - Will be paid at
market rates, and in accordance with prevailing legislation.
Equality - The Group operates to an
Equality Policy which will not tolerate discrimination, and our thorough
Grievance Procedure supports this stance.
Disciplinary Procedure – Vortex
Designs Ltd has a Disciplinary Procedure which applies to all employees. This
ensures that individuals have the opportunity to be represented at formal
investigations, and in the event that they disagree with the findings, they
have the automatic right of appeal to a more senior management forum.
Working Conditions - No employees will
be allowed to work in hazardous areas without suitable training. No-one under
the age of 16, or in a forced labour situation, will be involved in our
business, and no-one under 18 will be required to work on a night shift.
Vortex Designs Ltd is situated in
Harpenden, Hertfordshire and is also a major employer in the Panadura, Sri
Lanka area, and is an integral part of this community. The Company is,
therefore, committed to working with the local community, and will, where
possible, support projects which are consistent with its Brand and Corporate
values.
Reviewed 20th January 2020
Vortex Designs Ltd is certified to
OHSAS 18001 Health & Safety Management Standard. Copies of our certificates
can be supplied upon request.
Supplier Ethical Sourcing & Labour Policy
Vortex Designs Ltd is committed to
provide our customers with the highest quality products and we believe, the
best method of meeting this commitment is to build a strong relationship with
likeminded suppliers who share Vortex Designs values, ethical standards and
agree to our standards of business conduct. Our relationships with our
suppliers are based on the principle of trust and candid dealings and therefore
the principle must be extended to everyone along the supply chain, including
employees and sub-contractors.
We recognise that within some
countries there are legal and cultural differences from our own but all
factories must meet the following International Labour Organisation (ILO),
United Nations’ (UN) and LSAS standards:
· The
use of child labour is not acceptable. Employees, within the factories, must
meet the minimum legal working age and must not be less than 15 years of age,
whichever is the greater.
·
Discrimination
against an individual or a group as a result of colour, race, religion, gender,
nationality, age, maternity or marital status is not acceptable.
·
The
use of any form of physical abuse to intimidate or discipline workers is not
acceptable. Additionally, the use of non-physical abuse, for example, threat of
violence, sexual harassment or verbal abuse is also not acceptable.
·
The
use of forced labour or involuntary labour of any kind is not acceptable.
·
Workers
must be allowed to lawfully join or organise associations (providing organisations
are legal in their own country) and employers must not penalise or interfere
with the workers lawful efforts to do so.
·
Working
hours/days, wages, overtime pay and holiday pay must be in compliance with all
local laws and must meet the legal minimum wage or a wage that meets local
industry standards, whichever is greater.
·
Suppliers
must ensure that all working premises comply with all applicable laws regarding
working conditions, worker health & safety, fire safety and sanitation.
·
Suppliers
disciplinary procedures must be fair towards the employee and records kept for
at least one year.
·
Suppliers
are encouraged to promote employee training and education to ensure and promote
a greater understanding of their jobs and safety within their working
environment.
Monitoring
As a condition of business with Vortex
Designs, our suppliers must comply with all the above statements – a
contractual requirement for all supply partners. Vortex Designs will continue
to develop the supplier assessment procedures and site visits to monitor
supplier compliance. If Vortex Designs establishes that any supplier has
violated the policy, Vortex Designs may require the supplier to implement
corrective action or may terminate the business relationship. If the supplier
does not conform to the suggested corrective action Vortex Designs will suspend
current business or terminate the relationship and will delist the supplier
from the Vortex Designs approved supplier list.
Reviewed 20th January 2020
What is
sustainable fashion?
Many
people confuse 'sustainable fashion' with 'ethical fashion', and whilst the two
are unquestionably linked, the concept of sustainability in our industry refers
to the effects of the production of clothing on the environment.
Ethical fashion concerns the way clothing is made - encompassing everything from how
the cotton was grown to whether and how animals are used, and how the garment
workers are treated.
Our aim at Vortex Designs is to make sustainable & ethical clothing, so we
ensure that our garments are manufactured in such a way that the product's life
cycle minimises any undesirable environmental effect, and all garment workers
are treated with the utmost respect and well-being.
We also have a garment replacement initiative, allowing our customers to return
their old uniform in exchange for new garments at a discounted price. We shall
then arrange for these garments to be recycled within the UK - thereby reducing
the carbon footprint of goods being sent abroad to be recycled.
We are certified to the following Standards and copies of our certificates can be
supplied upon request.
ISO
14001:2015 Environmental Management
BS
OHSAS 18001: 2007 Health & Safety Management
ISO
9001:2015 Quality Management
