uniform-solutions
Workwear Group commits to using FSC
Workwear Group is working with suppliers to use more FSC product across all printing.
ANZ shares with stakeholders their sustainability journey and the changes they have been able to put in place.
ANZ has more than 10,000 employees globally who wear a uniform. Each employee may have up to 18 different items, and these are refreshed every year.
That's a lot of materials – not just the garments themselves, but also what's needed to make, label, protect and send them to our employees around the world.
Together with our global wardrobe supplier (Workwear Group), our Global Wardrobe Team has been working hard to reduce the environmental footprint of the ANZ branded apparel worn by our ANZ staff around the world.
It's definitely a journey, rather than a destination, but it's one we're very excited about embarking on,
says Sonya Mitchell, who is the New Zealand representative on the global wardrobe steering committee, as well as a member of the Sustainability Working Group.
"We had feedback from staff who were concerned with the huge amount of plastic packaging that is used to distribute the wardrobe items. So we've been working really hard with our global supplier to implement some changes for the 2021 refresh, and there's more in the pipeline for later in the year."
Some of the big wins so far (including some that are coming with the March 2021 refresh):
Next on the wardrobe sustainability slate is to look at using sustainable cotton and other recycled fibres, threads and yarns in our garment fabric bases, as well as researching all options for more sustainable zippers, buttons and tags. Continued testing and investigation will also occur within the packaging and disposal solutions as well.
There's lots of options and methods to investigate on this journey," says Sonya.
"But it's a key part of our purpose and it feels great to be able to chip away. Because we have so many employees, each small change can make a big difference.
Workwear Group has been working in partnership with ANZ since 1987 and we are proud to continue on this sustainability journey with them.
We have a team of passionate uniform specialists excited to help you and your team create a distinct look.