Saitex, the Vietnam-based denim manufacturer favored by brands like Everlane and Madewell, announced Thursday that it is the now the only apparel factory headquartered in Asia with B Corporation Certification. As a B Corp, Saitex will measure and manage the impact of its business on its workers, community and the environment and monitor its profits.
Companies receive the distinction of being a Certified B Corporation from B Lab, a non-profit organization that measures best business practices, by meeting rigorous standards of social, environmental performance, transparency and legal accountability. Companies must meet B Lab’s 80-point bar for certification—a process that requires interviews, proof of documents and background checks. Certified B Corporations are also subject to random site reviews.
Saitex’s Ho Chi Minh City-based facilities achieved a score of 105.6. The LEED-certified and Fair Trade facilities produce an average of 18,000 pairs of jeans per day and with a $2 million recycling system on-site, the water consumption for each pair of jeans is greatly reduced from 80 liters to one. The entire facility is supported by renewable energy sources including wind and solar while minimizing all waste products or reinventing them into building materials used to build orphanages in neighboring cities.
“It’s an honor to achieve B Corp certification and join the community of likeminded businesses with shared efforts and commitments to responsible manufacturing,” said Saitex founder and CEO Sanjeev Bahl. “The public transparency and legal accountability that must be met for B Corp certification will push us even more for continuous improvement, encouraging others to follow. This is an opportunity for us to communicate and spread impact.”
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Brands have built collections around Saitex’s efforts to produce garments in safe and sustainable environments. J.Crew tapped Saitex earlier this year for a Fair Trade Collection. And last year Madewell introduced its Eco Collection produced by Saitex. The company’s roster of brand partners also includes G-Star Raw, Everlane, Edwin USA, Target, Eileen Fisher, Outerknown and Barker’s Clothing.
Achieving the B Corporation Certification serves as motivation for Bahl to push further in sustainable manufacturing.
“Instead of resting on a feeling of achievement B Corp, we will continue to aggressively invest and innovate in increasingly sustainable and conscious ways of manufacturing, and continue connecting with organizations and individuals to create an open source platform of resources,” he said. “We want to help strengthen the community who is redefining responsible production and be a key part of the global shift to better our world.”