Why Portwest are the Leaders in Workwear Sustainability

Portwest has been driving the sustainability agenda within the workwear industry, working on initiatives to improve efficiency and bring more sustainable products to their customers. In 2023, they were awarded a gold medal from Ecovadis, establishing the workwear brand in the top 5% of globally rated companies for sustainability.

How did they achieve this? By building and committing to Portwest Planet, a sustainability strategy defined by five pillars: Products, Planet, People, Place, and Principles. In this blog, we’ll explain how the brand has built a huge product range that reflects this strategy and how it earned them such high praise.

Products

Portwest continues to increase the use of more sustainable materials in their garments, such as recycled polyester, CMiA, and organic cotton. Through significant investment in quality, durability and performance, they rigorously test their fabrics to ensure only the best are selected for each product, resulting in durable and hardwearing fabrics that do not break down easily.

In 2023, Portwest moved all DWR products to their Texpel Splash Eco finish. This finish is not only an extremely water resistant fabric finish, it is also a C0 finish meaning no harmful chemicals are used in the finish. In addition to this, 85% of all their garments are certified to meet the Oeko-Tex Standard 100 criteria.

Planet

Portwest have improved the packaging their garments are shipped in, as well as engaging with end of life solutions for products ensuring they are working towards a circular business model. The company has achieved ISO 9001, the globally recognised Quality Management system, and they own their factories in order to achieve a level of visibility that is above the norm in our industry.

Portwest have worked to greatly reduce their carbon footprint, and are currently working towards finalising their plan for reducing emissions in a strategy that will ensure years of using renewable energy - through applications such as their warehouses using solar panels. Having already achieved ISO 14001 certification in their two biggest sites, they are working towards implementing this across the globe.

People

Portwest has a global workforce of 5,500 people working in offices, warehouses and manufacturing facilities around the world. Their manufacturing facilities are modern and offer a high standard of safety and wellbeing for our colleagues. Their facilities have annual SMETA audits and in Bangladesh have WRAP certification.

Place

Portwest strives to positively contribute to the communities in which they live and operate. Examples of this include supporting grassroots sports in Ireland, the 2023 March of Dimes, a USA organisation aiming to end preventable maternal health risks and deaths, and close the health equity gap, and the support of Beyond Blue fundraising, an Australian non-profit organisation raising awareness and providing support for individuals and families affected by mental health issues.

Principles

Trading ethically and operating responsibly is a fundamental part of the business strategy. Portwest is committed to doing business in a fair, transparent and ethical manner.Their commitment can be found in the various features of their products, examples include:

• Sustainable swing tag - FSC card swing tags are an eco-friendly, alternative packaging solution. Eco-friendly swing tags emphasise sustainability values, and the accompanying sustainable organic cotton string further reduces their carbon footprint.
  
• Organic cotton string - 100% organic cotton string that can be 100% recycled or composted. Portwest is eliminating single use plastic lock pins.
  
• Moisture control packets - Portwest has removed all silica gel packets from their products, replacing them with 100% natural dri-clay packets, which are biodegradable, sustainably sourced, home-compostable and plastic free.
  
• Responsible Packaging - Portwest are currently shipping 15 million garments per year with sustainable packaging.