On a sunny summer day the project working group, members, and other stakeholders of The new Scandinavian Quality Control model met at the BVT office, in downtown Copenhagen.
The agenda consisted of insightful presentations and discussions in the areas of analysis of usage of water, electricity, chemistry and oil/gas in industrial laundries, the newest regulation and trends regarding PFAS and EU’s strategy for environmental pollutants, and reduction of microplastics in industrial laundries.
Another important topic discussed during the meeting was the future EU legislation regarding sustainable businesses. The presentation focused on ESG (Environment, Social, Governance) as well as ESPR (Ecodesign for Sustainable Product Regulation).
Other presentations focused on the management and recycling of textiles, the possibilities for lower washing temperatures and hygiene requirements, and how to include this in a future control model.
Inclusion and environmental sustainability are key factors in the project
Inclusion and diversity are at the heart of the project. Accessibility and inclusiveness as means to open up for people with fewer opportunities are to be involved in all project activities.
The project will also explore environment and climate change since the majority of the requirements in the authorisation controls are related to environment and sustainability. By giving employees access to information about why the quality requirements in the process are important, and developing their skills on how to save resources and reduce energy, they can become true agents of change.
Knowledge sharing and new quality control material co-funded by the EU
The Swedish and Danish partnership for cooperation and exchanges of practices aims to create a forum for knowledge sharing and comparison of current Scandinavian quality control models for the textile services industry. This can serve as the foundation for further progress and development of new quality control models that comply with aspects of sustainability as well as European standards.
Both The Swedish Textile Service Association and The Washing and Textiles Service Association of Denmark currently execute yearly quality controls of their members. The controls ensure members hold high professional, corporate and environmental standards.
Throughout this collaboration, both parties aim to exchange experiences and ideas – creating new, innovative or joint curricula or courses ; Enterprise, industry and SMEs (incl. entrepreneurship) ; Quality Assurance. The project, which is co-funded by the European Union via Erasmus+, started the 1st of January 2023 and will proceed until the 31st of December 2024. One major multiplier event is the joint autumn meeting that takes place on November 16 in Halmstad, Sweden. There, the project results will be presented to members who will have the possibility to interact and give feedback on the work forward. The grand finale will be a presentation at Texcare in Frankfurt, November 2024.
The organisations
The Swedish Textile Service Association (Sveriges Tvätteriförbund) is an independent industry organisation representing members in both Swedish industrial textile services and consumer laundry services. The association has a long and proud tradition. Together with its members, totalling approximately 70 textile service businesses and 60 suppliers, the association pursues an active agenda focused on the future. The association’s members account for approximately 90% of the total domestic industry turnover. The Swedish Textile Service Association wants to make a difference for its members and society at large.
The Washing and Textile Services Association of Denmark (Danish: Brancheforeningen for Vask og Tekstiludlejning, BVT) is a professional interest and service organisation for industrially run laundries in the private and public sectors, as well as suppliers to laundries. The Association is part of the Confederation of Danish Industry as part of the Industry Community DI Service. Part of its responsibilities include securing the members’ interests in industry matters and to create and maintain a good reputation for the laundry industry.
For more information, please contact
Lasse Rafiq Hangaard
Industry consultant, BVT
(+45) 5218 5990 (Mobile)
laha@di.dk
Danske Vaskerier – BVT
Daniel Kärrholt
CEO Sveriges Tvätteriförbund
(+46) 705 11 36 85
daniel@tvatteriforbundet.se
Tvatteriforbundet.se
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