Our path to Sustainability
At CWS Workwear, sustainability is embedded in our company's DNA. We proudly champion a circular business model through four key strategic pillars:
Sustainable Transformation
Our sustainable transformation initiative focuses on reducing our carbon footprint in logistics and operations by utilizing energy-efficient processes and renewable energy.
Responsible Supply Chain
Our supply chain emphasizes transparency and partnership, with a strong commitment to ethical practices and environmental protection.
Offer Sustainable Products
Our services and products are the cornerstone of our business-as-a-service approach, crafted from resource-efficient materials and designed for durability and recyclability.
Close-The-Loop Infrastructure
With our circular business model in mind, developing a comprehensive end-of-life infrastructure for our entire portfolio is one of our four key priorities, ensuring the reuse and recycling of our textiles and minimizing waste
Together, these priorities form a comprehensive approach to a more sustainable, responsible future, making us the preferred choice for businesses committed to environmental and social sustainability.
Circular economy is our business model
We protect your workers and the planet
We create workwear solutions to protect people and the planet. With partnerships based on trust, we combine convenient Workwear as a Service with style, comfort and durability, thus helping our customers fulfil their own sustainability goals.
As a workwear industry leader, we encompass more than a century of innovation and service.
Our Workwear as a Service approach provides customized, stylish, long-lasting and protective workwear as part of our 360° customer experience. Convenient rent or buy options include consultation, sizing, and aftercare such as pick-up, laundering, and repairs. Provided by 30+ state-of-the-art industrial laundries in Europe.
Our workwear solutions support responsible production practices and significantly reduce our carbon footprint and those of our customers. Embracing a circular business model goes towards creating a sustainable and resilient future.
''For You, For Your Business, For Your Planet''
Collection & Delivery
"We regularly collect your work clothes and prepare them in our laundries, optimizing routes to reduce carbon emissions."
Wash & Care
"We wash and care for your workwear using eco-friendly detergents and energy-efficient methods to conserve water and energy."
Repair & Adjustment
"We repair and adjust workwear to extend its lifecycle, minimizing waste and supporting sustainable use of resources."
Replacement
"When workwear reaches the end of its lifecycle, we responsibly replace and recycle it, ensuring a minimal environmental footprint."
Our Responsibility Report 23/24
The Responsibility Report 2023/24 report showcases CWS Workwear’s and CWS Hygiene’s measures towards their responsibility for their operations and how these affect people, society and the planet. Responsibility is at the heart of their business concepts and they strive for a circular economy that makes a positive impact on the environment. Read the report now.
Our Strategic Priorities
1st Priority: Sustainable Transformation
We are committed to integrating renewable energy and energy efficient technologies across our laundry operations, and logistics, driving sustainability and reducing our environmental impact. Our target defines up to -50% CO2 reduction by 2030.
2nd Priority: Responsible Supply Chain
Our commitment to sustainability is backed by trusted certifications and strong partnerships. We adhere to the highest standards to maintain a responsible supply chain, ensuring ethical sourcing, environmental stewardship, and quality assurance every step of the way. Achieving 100% compliance with our Code of Conduct.
3rd Priority: Sustainable Products
CWS Workwear products and services work for people and the planet from material sourcing to the finished collection. The majority of our garments are made of sustainable materials. But we don’t stop there: Our repair service extends the life cycle of workwear, reduces waste and helps save natural resources
4th Priority: Close-The-Loop Infrastructure
CWS Workwear aims to support and establish a holistic end of life infrastructure for textiles in Europe, enhancing the reuse and reintegration of textile resources.
Our Climate Action Plan is dedicated to cutting emissions, improving sustainability, and advancing renewable energy use. We're committed to reducing our environmental impact and fostering a sustainable future.
1st Priority: Sustainable Transformation
Extract from measures in Laundries
Optimal resource use:
• Reuse of rinse water for pre-washing
• Efficient wastewater systems to comply with wastewater limits
• Heat recovery process from waste water to heat active process water
Extract from measures in Logistics
Route optimization:
• More efficient route management leads to continuous savings in resources and emissions
E-Mobility:
• Focus on transforming our service fleet --> Changeover dependent on EV efficiency & availability for service logistics
"Use our Emission Calculator to uncover your environmental impact"
Discover the positive environmental impact of our innovative circular service model with CWS Workwear’s “Emission Calculator.” Compare it to home washing and see firsthand how our approach contributes to a greener planet. Explore the benefits today and make a sustainable choice for your workwear needs.
Our circular business model
Repair | Reuse | Recycle
The CWS Workwear service reduces CO2 emissions in the service of workwear by 70 %.
2nd Priority: Responsible Supply Chain
In-house production of CWS collections
• In-house design team and production in Eastern Europe
• Regular independent audits in accordance with BSCI: (United Nations guidelines, UNGC, OECD guidelines, ILO core labor standards)
• With a special focus on freedom of association, fair remuneration, occupational health and safety, environmental protection & ethical business practices
• Reliable and resilient supply chains with European focus
Trade goods
• Long-standing cooperation with trustworthy partners in the textile sector
• Partnerships with a strict focus on social and environmental aspects
Towards greater responsibility: our Procurment Policy
Our Code of Conduct principles
We hold our suppliers to the highest standards of ethical conduct and sustainability. Our Code of Conduct, aligned with the principles of the amfori BSCI (Business Social Compliance Initiative), ensures that all partners commit to fair labor practices, environmental responsibility, and human rights. By working with suppliers who share our values, we aim to create a responsible and transparent supply chain that benefits both people and the planet.
For companies and employees, it is a shared responsibility to comply with all applicable rules and regulations at all times. To promote a culture of compliance within and outside our company boundaries, CWS Workwear offers a Compliance HelpLine available to all internal and external stakeholders worldwide.
The CWS Compliance HelpLine enables suppliers and customers to confidentially report irregular and unethical behaviour as well as compliance breaches.
Click HERE to see how the Compliance HelpLine mechanism look like.
3rd Priority: Offer Sustainable Products
Product Development
• CWS Workwear stands for durability, high quality and sustainable materials to prolong life cycles
• In our products we offer sustainable materials as certified Cotton, rec. PES
and Viscose to achieve a overarching sustainable footprint of our products
Use Phase
• With its rental service CWS supports clients to reduce waste/ resource consumption and their environmental footprint
• CWS Workwear professional laundry and repair services increase the durability of material and optimized the need of resources
What Circularity means to CWS Workwear
We create workwear solutions to protect people and the planet. CWS Workwear has been operating in a circular business model for more than 125 years. With partnerships based on trust, we combine convenient Workwear as a Service with style, comfort and durability, thus helping our customers to fulfil their own sustainability goals. Thanks to our business model, circularity is not taken as a trend, but as given. Our focus lies on the reuse and repair of workwear in order to extend its service life and optimize the resources usage.
4th Priority: Close-The-Loop Infrastructure
End of Life Solutions
CWS Workwear is cooperating in relevant consortium and industrial initiatives to develop the textile recycling business in Europe.
Following solutions are already in place:
• Industrial recycling streams for 100% cotton fabrics into fibre2fiber recycling
• Expanding partnerships to achieve fibre-to-fibre recycling for our entire workwear range, promoting a circular economy
• Reselling cooperation's for wearable textiles
• Offering custom-made collecting services and reintegration of materials in recycling technologies
Latest Sustainability News
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Know more about Sustainability
Certified quality
Repreve®
TECAWORK®
FAIRTRADE®
Cotton made in Africa
Ecovadis
Amfori BSCI
UN Global Compact
