PRESS RELEASE

The Swedish textile company Another Textile Company (ATC) has developed a method to produce clothes in a sustainable way. The garments are made from recycled PET bottles and organic, Fair-Trade certified cotton waste. During 2015, approximately 40,000 garments are delivered to Coca-Cola Enterprises Sweden's restaurant and café customers.

The idea for a 100 percent sustainable clothing collection came about two years ago through Coca-Cola Enterprises Sweden's partnership with Adare International and Another Textile Company. ATC was commissioned to produce a line of 100 percent sustainable work clothes for restaurant and cafe customers of Coca-Cola Enterprises Sweden.

- Having the opportunity to implement this together with Coca-Cola Enterprises Sweden and Adare International is a favour. However, this is only the beginning, only imagination sets the limits to what we can do, and with the help of Coca-Cola we can now reach even wider, says Fredrik Strand, CEO of Another Textile Company.

The clothes are responsibly produced with consideration for both people and the environment, made from 60% polyester from recycled PET bottles and 40% Fairtrade and organic cotton waste. A study carried out by SGS shows that the new production reduces water consumption by as much as 99.9 percent compared to conventional textile production. Carbon dioxide emissions are reduced by 79%, energy consumption by 47%.

- Coca-Cola Enterprises Sweden is passionate about sustainability and is constantly looking for new opportunities to positively influence the environment. This is a unique opportunity for us to work with a circular economy. We can save on water, energy and carbon dioxide emissions, which is fantastic. ATC has also shown that it is possible to contribute to a sustainable society without the products becoming more expensive. Rather the opposite, says Rönnaug Vinje, head of sustainability at Coca-Cola Enterprises Sweden.

In addition to the environmental benefits, the project is also covered by so-called Living Wages, a program which means that an amount is paid out in addition to the regular price per garment, which goes directly to the workers' wages. The sum compensates the difference between the statutory minimum wage in the country and a real living wage. With the help of Living Wages, a textile worker should be able to support 2 adults and 2 children with food, housing, clothing, school, healthcare and insurance, something that the minimum wage alone is not enough for.

FACTS

The material

The method involves first grinding down PET bottles and processing them into fiber, then mixing 60% of the polyester fiber with 40% recycled organic Fairtrade cotton fiber from the spinning. The end result is a garment that is 100 percent recycled. In a first stage, Another Textile Company produces a line of work clothes for Coca-Cola Enterprises Sweden's customers. T-shirts, piques, sweatshirts, aprons and accessories for restaurant and cafe customers around Sweden. The finished clothes are shipped from India, where they are manufactured, to Sweden by boat. The freight is climate-compensated by planting forests in the manufacturing country, India.

The project

Living WagesMany textile factories in India pay minimum wage, the statutory minimum wage. The problem is that you can't live on it. With minimum wage, you can get food for the day if you're lucky, but it's not enough for much more. The factories Another Textile Company works with pay their workers 20 percent more than the minimum wage requires. ATC wanted to change the situation for those who work in production. That's why they created the Living Wages project. With the help of Living Wages, a textile worker should be able to support 2 adults and 2 children with food, housing, clothing, school, healthcare and insurance. Within the textile industry in developing countries, staff turnover is high. Before ATC introduced living wages, staff turnover was around 82 percent per year in the factory. One year after they introduced living wages, staff turnover dropped to 53 percent. In 2015, they are working to reduce it to 23 percent. This is something that benefits both the employees and the factories.

Another Textile Company

Another Textile Company was founded in 2006 by the brothers Anders and Fredrik Strand. The brothers have over 20 years in the textile industry behind them. Another Textile Company was founded through the dream of creating a different textile company that goes its own way and makes a difference.

The business idea is to develop and strengthen brands by designing and producing clothing and accessories for companies and organizations. ATC always invests in the highest quality, both in the choice of materials for sustainable manufacturing that takes place under good working conditions.

Coca-Cola Enterprises Sweden AB

Coca-Cola Enterprises Sweden AB produces, distributes and sells non-alcoholic beverages on the Swedish market. Some of the brands are Coca-Cola, Fanta, Sprite, MER, Burn, Bonaqua Silver, Powerade and Minute Maid. About 800 people work at Coca-Cola in Sweden, of which about 600 at the head office in Jordbro outside Stockholm. Around 1 million liters of beverage are produced here every day. In Sweden, Coca-Cola was launched in 1953. The recipe for Coca-Cola was created in 1886 by pharmacist John S. Pemberton in Atlanta, USA. For further information, please visit our website or follow us on Facebook

Source:

https://www.mynewsdesk.com/se/coca-cola_drycker_sverige_ab/pressreleases/coca-cola-flaskor-blir-till-arbetsklaeder-1278656