Planet

When the pandemic threw our economy and industry into disarray, we swiftly adapted to the challenging circumstances with the tools we had in our arsenal and responded to the new needs rising on a global scale. However, even while the pandemic overshadowed climate issues in people's minds, we never forgot our mission to tackle climate change.

Single-use masks, the important protective gear during the pandemic, has been detrimental to the landfill and ocean due to its Un-recycling and plastic features. Our drive for both innovation and sustainability shines through DETERMINANT, our business development in response to the surge in demand for face masks and other protective products. With our existing technology, we developed DET30™, a high-quality cotton mask with anti-bacterial features that is washable and can be reused up to 30 times. Its reusability effectively reduces the burden on landfills caused by single-use masks. After their anti-bacterial properties wear out after 30 washes, the masks can be used a simple dust mask. Until June 2021, over 43,600,000 masks were shipped worldwide, which potentially saved over 1,300,000,000 single-use masks.

Our reusable mask effectively replaces the need for 30 single-use disposable masks. Every donation and sale protects the people while remembering the planet by saving landfill waste. 

Accountability is paramount in ensuring that we are adopting sustainable practices. We look at the bigger picture and look to cover every stage in the manufacturing process. 

Starting from the first day we have operated in Gaoming, we have equipped with our own wastewater treatment facilities. Esquel's R&D team then invested over HK$40 million to construct our first wastewater recycling treatment plant in 2012. It has become one of the largest wastewater treatment plants utilized by a textile company in China, recirculating 3000 tons of purified water back into the company's manufacturing operations at a standard that surpasses the government's purification requirements a day.

Essentially, the treated wastewater is partially reused in our production while the rest is released into surrounding water bodies. In 2019, we reused and recycled over 3 million tons of water. In being included in the “2020 Exemplary Companies in Water Efficiency” list, Esquel’s 46.58% water reuse rate was one of the deciding factors alongside other water efficiency indicators. Multiple water conservation technologies were all important drivers for our leading status on the list. 

By building our own wastewater treatment facilities, we hold ourselves accountable for the fact that discharging the wastewater without proper treatment may result in negative environmental impacts and affect the neighboring ecosystems. 

At Esquel, we believe that investing in renewable energy sources is vital to a sustainable future. As a part of that ambition, we have been steadily incorporating more sustainable energy sources.

To minimize our carbon footprint, we have installed 30,850 pieces of solar panels (equivalent to 7,000 m²)  at our flagship facility in Gaoming, Foshan since 2015, to support our daily operation with renewable energy. The solar panels also absorb heat, allowing the spaces there to use fewer air-conditioning facilities. 

Beyond our Gaoming operations, we have installed solar panels at our fabric mill in Binh Duong, Vietnam. The 930m² facility is expected to generate 240,000 kWh of electricity and cut carbon emission by 209 tons each year. Solar panelling also covers the entire roof of our fabric mill office in Vietnam, outputting a substantial amount of energy per year and reducing a significant amount of CO2 emissions.

We will continue to take steps towards lowering our environmental footprint with continued expansion to clean energy sources.

To safeguard the ecosystem and biodiversity, Esquel takes stringent measures as a responsible manufacturer. Every year, our production processes – including dyeing and finishing – use approximately 100,000 metric tons of chemicals that can result in unwanted chemical waste in the environment. That’s why we reduce, substitute and eliminate as many chemical additives from our manufacturing processes as possible. 

Our Chemical Safety Management (CSM) Protocol covers every stage of production and prioritizes safety throughout the entire chemical lifecycle, from sourcing to handling, transportation, storage and disposal. Our definition of ‘hazardous chemicals’ is stricter than government and ZDHC standards to ensure we never source anything unsafe. We also check that our processes have zero discharge of any harmful chemical residual. 

Beyond our commitment to complying with the ZDHC standard by 2022, we are constantly innovating novel dyeing and finishing methodologies that remove chemical waste from the equation entirely. We aim to continuously improve our chemical management for a more sustainable future.