At CWS, we are working for a healthier, safer tomorrow - every day. The approach: to offer products as a service as part of the circular economy, focusing on long durability, reparability and sensible recycling at the end of life. The declared goal: CWS wants to become the most sustainable company in the industry by 2024. To achieve this, the full strength of the "circular economy" business model is to be utilised: in addition to saving resources in the processes, the main focus is on the development of more sustainable products and the testing of new end-of-life concepts as well. The company's own sustainability film shows in an appealing way what this can look like:
Reduce, Reuse, Recycle - three important factors of the CWS sustainability strategy. Here is a short and exemplary overview:
Reduce
Become more hygienic with fewer resources - hand in hand for the future of hygiene
As early as summer 2019, up to 90 percent water and 60 percent soap can be saved during a handwashing process thanks to the CWS SmartWash sensor fitting. It dispenses a pre-prepared mixture of water and soap for the contact-free handwashing process: First, the hands are moistened, followed by a water-soap mixture, and after the hands have been soaped, they are rinsed with clear water. Pre-portioning results in the corresponding savings without compromising hygiene. More hygiene by using less resources: No washing process can take place without soap.
Reuse
Fire extinguishers - safety in everyday life
CWS Fire Safety is an expert in preventive fire protection. Fire extinguishers are an effective tool in the initial extinguishing of incipient fires. But what happens when the fire extinguisher has been used or needs to be refilled according to the test? It can easily be refilled with water, extinguishing powder or extinguishing foam. In this way, the individual fire extinguisher is not simply discarded and recycled, but can continue to serve the purpose of firefighting.
Recycle
The second life of the plastic bottle: A new workwear jacket is created
It's the inner values that matter: At CWS Workwear, the proportion of sustainable and thus recyclable materials will be increased by 90 percent by 2024. One example of this development is the CWS Workwear collection "Pro Line": the polyester content in the clothing is made from used PET bottles and industrial plastic waste instead of newly extracted crude oil. Up to 34 bottles are ultimately recycled in a single garment. In addition, Fairtrade cotton is used alongside the recycled polyester. This is already being used in over a million pieces.
