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Product Marketing Name:
Sustainable Living Fabrics
Use and Application: Commercial and
Screen fabrics
Date of Certification: 20 May 2005
Sustainable Living Fabrics Pty Ltd is an Australian-owned
manufacturer of high-quality wool, polyester, wool/nylon and
wool/polyester/nylon textiles. The company is dedicated to providing
high-quality and low-environmental impact textile products to the
Australian and international markets. All products carry a
10-year quality warranty.
All Sustainable
Living Fabrics textiles are manufactured to provide superior
quality, durability, design and low-environmental impact with
clientele ranging from government offices, buses/trams/ferries,
private offices, banks and call centres, hospitals and medical
centres, universities and schools, hotels/motels, and theatres and
convention centres.
After a comprehensive assessment
undertaken by the Australian Environmental Labelling Association the
products have been awarded an Australian Good Environmental Choice
Licence. The voluntary environmental labelling standard used to
assess the environmental characteristics of this product line AELA -
19 2004 is one of the toughest environmental standards in the world.
1.
Description of the verification.
The Australian Environmental Labelling Association Inc. manages the
Good Environmental Choice – Mark of Conformity in conformance to ISO
14 024 – International Standard for Third Party Environmental
Labelling and Declaration as the only product life cycle independent
environmental declaration in Australia (www.aela.org.au)
The organization is an independent non-profit environmental
research and certification organization recognised as the Australian
member of an international network of ecolabelling schemes under the
Global Ecolabelling Network. The Eco-label is awarded to those
products that meet or exceed voluntary standards of environmental
performance.
The verification procedure is managed via a Documented Quality
Management System and Certification Program Manuals which have made
significant use of the ISO 14 000 series. The following standards
have been adapted to the programs requirements, ISO 14 001, 14 0012,
the 14020 series, 14 031 environmental performance evaluation,
14040. This verification report has been compiled in
conformance to these procedures and ISO 14 024.
2.
The
Products
BRAND:
Sustainable Living Fabrics
FUNCTION:
Commercial and screen fabrics
PRODUCTS:
Chelsea,
Superthor, Persuade, Cord, Reunion, Kimberleys, Full-Stop, Galaxy,
Kakadu, Ria, Como, Classics, Renegade, Spritz, Renew, and
Roundabout.
Core Environmental Performance Criteria Tested
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Manufacture of Products |
Core Environmental Performance
Requirements Passed |
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Wool Fibre:
- Pesticide & Herbicide Residues |
Products fully compliant. |
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COD content of Wool Scouring Effluent:
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Released to waterways (max. 60 g/kg)
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Treated on-site before release (max. 5g/kg) |
Products fully compliant (as follows):
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No scourers discharge effluent to receiving waters
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All discharge to local treatment plants |
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Polyester Fibres:
- Antimony content (max. 260 ppm)
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VOC air emissions (max. 1.2 g/kg)
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Solvent-based spinning not permitted |
Products fully compliant (as follows):
- Only contain 3.03 ppm, well below limit
- VOC emission below 1.2g/kg.
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Solvent-based spinning not used. |
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Polyamide (Nylon) Fibres:
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Annual N2O emissions (max. 50 g/kg)
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Solvent-based spinning not permitted |
Products fully compliant (as follows):
- 0.73 g/kg
(per annum), well below limit
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Solvent-based spinning not used |
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Textile fibres
must not be stripped or de-pigmented using heavy metal salts
(except iron) or formaldehyde. |
Products fully compliant.
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Compounds of
cerium shall not be used in the weighting of yarn or fabrics. |
Products fully compliant.
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Detergents,
Fabric Softeners & Complexing Agents must be at least 95%
biodegradable |
Products fully compliant. All detergents, softeners
and agents greater than 95% biodegradable. Effluent discharges
from all relevant sites nonetheless discharged to municipal
systems for biological digestion treatment. |
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Bleaching
agents (AOX) in Effluent (max. Chlorine 40 mg/kg) |
Products fully compliant. No bleaching agents used
by any wet-processing operation. Effluent discharges from all
relevant sites nonetheless discharged to municipal systems for
biological digestion treatment. |
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Ionic [metal]
impurities in pigments |
Products fully compliant. No ionic impurities in any pigments /
dyestuffs used. |
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Chrome-mordant
dyeing not permitted |
Products fully compliant. |
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Metal Complex
(MC) dyeing:
- Cellulose
dyeing (max. 20% MC dyes in effluent)
- Other
fibre dyeing (max. 7% MC dyes in effluent)
- Ni, Cr and
Cu in effluent (max. 50 - 75 g/kg) |
Products fully compliant (as follows):
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Less than 7% MC dyes in dye effluent, below limit
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Less than 7% MC dyes in dye effluent, below limit
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Negligible for all dyers (all effluent treated in municipal
treatment systems) |
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Use of banned
AZO dyes (EU Dir.2002/61/EC) |
Products fully compliant. No banned AZO dyes used. |
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Use of
carcinogenic / teratogenic / mutagenic dyes |
Products fully compliant. No dyes of these type
used. |
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Use of dyes
toxic to genetics & reproduction |
Products fully compliant. No dyes of these type
used. |
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Use of
potentially sensitizing dyes:
- Minimum
wet & dry fastness rating of four (4) |
Products fully compliant (as follows):
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All applicable dyes exceed level 4 fastness |
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Halogenated
polyester dye carriers not permitted. |
Products fully compliant. |
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Plastisol-based
printing not permitted. |
Products fully compliant. |
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Formaldehyde
emissions from final fabric:
-
Products for
infants <2yrs (max. 30ppm)
-
Products with
direct skin contact (max. 75ppm)
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All other
products (max. 300ppm) |
Products fully compliant (as follows):
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Maximum detected emissions of 0.2 – 20 ppm only |
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Use of banned
carcinogenic / teratogenic / mutagenic flame-retardants |
Products fully compliant. No flame-retardants
applied to any textiles. |
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Halogenated shrink-resist substances or preparations shall only
be applied to wool jumpers. |
Products fully compliant. No flame-retardants
applied to any textiles. Textiles not worn as clothing. |
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Use of banned
carcinogenic / teratogenic / mutagenic coatings, laminates &
membranes. |
Products fully compliant. |
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COD content of
water effluent (except wool scourers) must not exceed 25 g/kg
per annum. |
Products fully compliant. All dyers release effluent to municipal water
treatment systems. |
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Fillings |
Products fully compliant. No fillings used for any
textiles. |
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Metal-based
pickling not permitted. |
Products fully compliant. No pickling processes used
for any textile. |
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Metals in final
product. |
Products fully compliant. No final textile product
exceeds relevant metal content limits. No dyes contain ionic
impurities. |
3.
Environmental and Social Regulatory Obligations:
Sustainable Living
Fabrics Pty Ltd out-sources all phases of its textile production,
including wool scouring, yarn spinning, weaving, and textile/yarn
dyeing and finishing. A review of all members of this supply chain,
and Sustainable Living Fabrics Pty Ltd itself, reveals that all are
fully compliant with relevant environmental regulations at the
Local, State and Commonwealth level, without any breaches thereof;
all scourers and dye-houses release effluent under licence to local
municipal waste-water treatment systems; all are suitably zoned and
contain all emergency evacuation procedures and fire control
infrastructure; and all comply with relevant employee wage, OH&S,
anti-discrimination, work-cover (or similar) and equal-opportunity
requirements without any breaches thereof. Much of this information
was confirmed following site-assessments of the Australian scourers
and dyers by qualified assessors from the Australian Environmental
Labelling Association (AELA), and/or its recognised overseas
partners.
4. Additional Information
The range of Sustainable Living Fabrics can
be ordered from the head office in Melbourne or distribution offices
in Adelaide, Brisbane, Canberra, Melbourne, Perth and Sydney.
You can purchase this product
line from:
Sustainable Living Fabrics
Postal:
PO BOX 57, Oakleigh VIC, 3166
SITE:
48 Downing St, Oakleigh VIC, 3166
PHONE: 1800 224 184
FAX: 1800 224 185
E-Mail:
Living@livingfabrics.com.au
You can go to the manufacturers web site here:
Website: www.greenliving.com.au
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