All of Sateri’s five viscose mills in China have undergone independent evaluation of their social and labor practices, having completed the Higg Facility Social and Labor Module (FSLM) audit and achieved a consistent high score of above 80 percent, the company said.
A member of the RGE group of companies, Sateri said it also one of the world’s first viscose producers to have completed the Higg Facility Environmental Module (FEM) assessment, with the similar verified high score of over 80 percent for all its viscose mills. Developed by the Sustainable Apparel Coalition, a global, multistakeholder nonprofit alliance for the fashion industry, the Higg Index is a suite of tools that enables brands, retailers and facilities to accurately measure and score a company or product’s sustainability performance.
The FSLM tool of the Higg Index holistically assesses working conditions of the mills, including fair wages and compensation, health and safety, and respectful treatment of employees, while the FEM tool focuses more on environmental performance, including energy consumption, greenhouse gas emissions, water use, chemical and waste management.
“In light of increasing scrutiny on working conditions in the textile industry, the FSLM tool enables us to identify gaps and opportunities to improve on social and labor practices, Allen Zhang, president of Sateri, said. “Our high score of over 80 percent is an affirmation of our ongoing efforts to uphold workers’ welfare and create a conducive work environment, especially during these difficult times brought about by the Covid-19 pandemic.”
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Sateri is the world’s largest producer of viscose fiber, a natural biodegradable raw material found in everyday items like textiles, wet wipes and other personal hygiene products. Its five mills in China collectively produce about 1.5 million tons of viscose fiber annually.
Sateri’s range of viscose products, branded EcoCosy, is independently verified as safe, sustainable and responsibly produced. The company also produces yarn, spunlace nonwoven fabric, Lyocell and Finex, a recycled textile fiber.
Headquartered in Shanghai, Sateri has a sales, marketing and customer service network covering Asia, Europe and the Americas.
Separately, the Lycra Company, a global manufacturer of fiber and technology solutions for the textile and apparel industry, announced last week that its largest manufacturing site, located in Foshan, China, earned a score in the upper quartile for the Higg FEM. Located in Guangdong province, the Foshan plant first opened in 2005. The manufacturing site produces Lycra fiber for apparel and Lycra HyFit fiber for personal care products and employs about 500 people.