bluesign® Service On A System Partner
The bluesign® company founded in 2000 focuses on chemical management, impact reduction, worker health and safety, sustainability, and environmental sciences. The company is offering several options to work closely together. One of the services is that you can become a system partner as a brand or a retailer. Explore the process step by step on how to join forces.
Image by system partner Pure Denim and provided by bluesign®.
The Benefits Of Becoming A System Partner
Becoming a system partner of bluesign® has many benefits for brands and retailers. A few of these benefits are shortly described here below;
- Access to bluesign’s expert support in reducing impact in the brand supply chain through the elimination of toxic chemistry from the manufacturing processes and from final products, as well as the implementation of bluesign’s strict environmental and worker safety requirements at the production facilities.
- Partner with the “go-to” solution provider recognized as the gold standard for sustainable chemical management.
- De-risk the textile value chain with bluesign’s expertise helps and ensure alignment with regulations such as the European Union’s Ecodesign for Sustainable Products regulation.
- Risk management regarding consumers: bluesign® Approved chemistry ensures consumer safety.
- Transparency and credibility with environmental claims.
- Access to bluesign® Guide, a global marketplace for bluesign® Approved fabrics and accessories that meet bluesign’s strict consumer and environmental safety criteria.
- Connect with system partner manufacturers via the bluesign® network.
- Stay up to date with changing chemical limits and regulations through periodic updates from bluesign®.
The holistic approach connects the entire supply chain, from chemical suppliers to textile manufacturers and brands, ensuring approved production processes and chemistry for reduced impact and consumer safety.
How it works? Once a brand signs the bluesign® System Partner agreement, there are several services that are being offered: The first is an assessment of the company against bluesign® Criteria for brands. The brand assessment results in a gap analysis and building a roadmap to close those gaps. Parallel to the brand assessment is the supply chain analysis where the bluesign® experts do a deep-dive into the supply chain to assess risks.
As part of the system partnership, brands get to use the bluesign® System Partner logo as well as access to bluesign’s online portal for partners, the CUBE. The CUBE acts as a digital repository for bluesign®’s know-how as well as contains online platforms such as bluesign® Finder and bluesign® Guide, where brands/retailers can connect with system partner chemical suppliers and textile manufacturers to find bluesign® Approved chemical products and fabrics/accessories.
Brands receive continuous guidance on how to implement the bluesign® System in their supply chain and reduce impact by focusing on environmental management, worker safety, chemical management, and resource efficiency.
How To Label Your Denim Products As bluesign® Product
Once the brand assessment is complete, bluesign® team evaluates whether the brand meets the requirements as a company to label products, as per bluesign criteria. In addition, for denim apparel to be labeled as bluesign® Product, a minimum of 90% of the fabric and a minimum of 30% of the accessories need to be certified as bluesign® Approved. Since denim is a two-step process, both the mill and the laundry have to be bluesign® System Partner facilities, to ensure both fabric manufacturing and garment processing/laundry stages meet bluesign’s strict environmental and worker safety requirements, using bluesign® Approved chemistry in all production steps.