WORKWEAR
A STEP TOWARDS A SUSTAINABLE FUTURE
Swedish workwear and PPE group Hultafors is bringing a new brand to market this month and it’s one that
takes the group’s sustainability aims further than ever.
E
mma is a Dutch footwear brand that joined the Hultafors group earlier this year. Its biggest
sustainability claim is its complete circularity, says Hultafors managing director Peter Dumigan. “Emma has a fascinating story,” he says. “They were set up as part of the Dutch mining industry to provide work for employees who could no longer work down the mine. They were either too old or injured and couldn’t do the work necessary. That particular company named all its mines after members of the Dutch Royal family; Emma is the mine where the brand started. To this day, a large proportion of the employees are those who might otherwise find it hard to find employment.”
Dumigan says that it is this ethic that has led the brand to care very deeply about how they operate and the world in which it operates. “The brand developed a truly circular process in order to ensure that everything has the minimum possible impact on the planet and on society.”
What this means is that the brand aims, as far as possible to avoid the use of primary raw
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and it’s something we take very seriously.”
materials, reduce energy use and CO2 emissions, facilitate the recovery of raw materials and increase the use of recycled material in new products. All materials in the circular collection used are environmentally safe and recyclable, as well as PVC-free. All shoes have a QR code which details exactly what was used in their making – in effect, each shoe carries its own material passport. When they are recovered at the end of their useful life, it’s possible to see where they can be recycled.
“Thus, every part of the shoe can be recovered and used for something else, whether it be more footwear or to form a part into some other product,” Dumigan explains. “So, every single shoe that is produced in their factory is recyclable and can be tracked. That is unique and we are thrilled that they are now a part of us at the Hultafors group because they will lead us down a path that we are heavily focusing on. It is a requirement for all our companies to look at their sustainability story
He adds: “The Emma brand is so far ahead of almost anyone else in our industry that they will drag us forward in a very positive way. Instead of talking to potential customers abut price and product performance and all those things we normally do, we can ask well do you care about sustainability? If you talk to large companies now they all say that they care about the environment and they all have a policy on sustainability, so the next question the from us is ‘well, in that case, is your safety footwear 100 percent sustainable?’ and it’s an area they most people have not really thought of in terms of sustainability. It’s a great starting point for a conversation” In addition to the brand’s sustainable and social responsibility credentials, Dumigan says a real benefit is its commitment to the breadth of its offer. “Many Emma footwear styles are made in three different widths and they aim to be able to say that an
www.buildersmerchantsjournal.net September 2020
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