CHEMICAL MANAGEMENT
& Policies
Applying the best available technology to reduce our negative impact.
At Helly Hansen, we work and play outdoors. Being respectful of the environment is one of our main concerns, and this includes making sure that our manufacturing process has the lowest possible impact on people and the environment. Thus, all our Tier 1 and Tier 2 suppliers must sign our Restricted substance list, which ensures no substances of concern are applied when producing our fabrics and materials.
PROUD PARTNERS WITH BLUESIGN®
With the production of high-tech textiles comes concerns regarding water, energy and chemical consumption. That’s why we partnered up with bluesign® in 2008. Over 70% of our sportswear line is bluesign® approved.
The widely recognized and independent bluesign® system acts as a global guiding tool for the entire textile industry’s production chain. It starts from the ground up, and it’s not about testing finished products, but rather ensuring that the process is done right all the way from its first stage. All components from chemistry applied with raw materials and dye stuff, to textile manufacturers, should meet the criteria. Bluesign’s input stream management system ensures specific threshold limits for chemical substances in finished chemical products. The limits are following a precautionary and hazard-based approach where bluesign® system partners are carefully tracking that no unwanted substances are used in any manufacturing step. The goal is to ensure that products are produced environmentally responsibly and pose no health hazards.
NO ANTIBACTERIAL SUBSTANCES
There are serious environmental and health concerns surrounding antibacterial treatments, which are often added to textiles and sports garments in order to reduce odor. Several of these compounds have been found in high concentrations in the environment, polluting the water, threatening aquatic life, and damaging plants that use this water for nutrition. Many of these substances are still under review by ECHA as they are believed to possess human- and/or environmental toxicity and cause multi-resistant bacteria.
At Helly Hansen, we are committed to ensuring that all our apparel is, and will remain, free of antibacterial substances.
MICROFIBRE RELEASE
The textile industry was faced with a huge challenge a few years ago when research showed that almost all textile materials shed small microfibre plastics which pollute our environment and oceans.
Helly Hansen is now engaging in several research projects in order to understand how we can implement solutions to prevent microplastics from reaching the environment, considering the whole supply chain. We are also adopting and investigating new fibres and materials, which are less prone to releasing microfibres.
The Microfibre Consortium
Microfibre
