Press information
Impressive demonstration of sustainability
OEKO-TEX® 1000 Certificate for Guangdong Esquel Textiles Co., Ltd.
23-Aug-2012 | 2081-EN
The Chinese textile industry is undergoing fundamental structural changes in the form of
higher salaries and a strongly increasing domestic demand, both of which have resulted
in higher price levels. At the same time standards have also risen moving away from
pure cheap production and towards high-quality textiles. The corporate philosophy of
the Esquel Group, one of the world’s leading cotton shirt producers, has for many years
been orientated towards maximum product quality and sustainable production. Its major
production base in Foshan, China of the company have been certified as environmentallyfriendly and socially-acceptable production sites in accordance with the OEKO-TEX®
Standard 1000.
Excellent Qualities
The Esquel Group was founded in 1978 and is headquartered in Hong Kong. It is one of
the world's leading manufacturers of cotton dress shirts, T-shirts and polo shirts. With a
total of 54,000 employees and production facilities covering China, Vietnam, Malaysia,
Sri Lanka and Mauritius, the vertically-integrated company produces over 100 million
woven and knitwear clothing items per annum – mainly for prestigious international brands
such as Ralph Lauren, Tommy Hilfiger, Nike, J.Crew, Brooks Brothers, Hugo Boss,
Lacoste, Bestseller and Muji. Esquel has primarily been committed to quality. Based
on this principle the company has consistently focused on the vertical integration of all
production phases – from cotton cultivation through yarn spinning, weaving, knitting,
dyeing, finishing to garment manufacturing, to ensure the highest quality in every step
of the manufacturing process. The company even produces its own accessories and
packaging. Esquel has its own sales distribution network with worldwide merchandising
offices which puts it in a position to respond flexibly to customer requirements and to
ensure optimum provision to the trade. John Cheh, the Vice Chairman & CEO of Esquel
Group is convinced that it is precisely this strategy that has been the cornerstone of
Esquel's success, namely that "quality starts with the raw material. This is why we grow
extra-long staple cotton in the company's own fields in the Chinese province of Xinjiang.
In addition to the traditionally cultivated plantations, we also cultivate fields with organic
cotton. Each individual production phase at Esquel is underpinned by an endeavour to
achieve top quality and sustainability."
Safer products - sustainable processes
Back in 2000 the company started to have its products certified according to the OEKOTEX® Standard 100. Now all the items produced in the Chinese production sites
comply with the required human/ecology criteria. For John Cheh this is an important
Issued by:
OEKO-TEX® Association
Secretariat
Splügenstrasse 10
8002 Zürich
SCHWEIZ
Phone: +41 44 206 42 35
E-Mail: info@oeko-tex.com
Contact person:
Helmut Müller
Phone: +49 7143 271-709
E-Mail: h.mueller@oeko-tex.com
component of company quality assurance. "In accordance with our corporate culture,
the independent proof as certified by the neutral test institutes of the OEKO-TEX®
Association, demonstrates that our products are harmless to health and represent an
additional quality guarantee both for us and our customers."
Apart from product quality, sustainability issues are also very important at Esquel. In 2000
Esquel was one of the first textile companies in China to succeed in having its production
sites certified under the international environmental management standard ISO 14001.
Through extensive investments in innovative and environmentally-friendly production
technologies for all processing phases of the fully-integrated company, both efficiency
and competitiveness have been significantly improved. Environmentally controversial
substances such as APEOs and the dyestuff Blue Navy are not used as a basic principle.
Moreover, outcomes such as energy savings, a reduction in water usage and waste
water load plus the reduction of emissions have also had a positive influence. For John
Cheh, the commitment to sustainability has been worth it: "Already as a result of high
process-related water and energy consumption, our ongoing optimisation measures
of all production processes have become a firmly embedded element of our corporate
philosophy. For instance, we have our own modern thermal power station which ensures
our independence from external sources. Our recycling and reuse of process water in our
water treatment facilities has contributed to make savings in our fresh water usage of 54
% between 2005 and 2011.
The successful certification in 2011 of two plants in Gaoming in Guangdong province
as environmentally-friendly and socially-acceptable production sites in accordance
with OEKO-TEX® Standard 1000 impressively also proves Esquel's sense of purpose
in relation to environmental protection issues. The areas covered by the certificate
include spinning, weaving, knitting, dyeing, finishing and making up of garments, i.e. the
production of cotton shirts and knitwear items such as dress shirts, T-shirts, polo shirts
etc. Esquel also holds the OEKO-TEX® Standard 100plus certificate for selected spinning
yarns.
e-culture
The staring point for all Esquel corporate activities is the all-encompassing philosophy
of "e-culture". This requires all employees to be a good citizen and a good employer
(ethics), cherish the environment (environment), explore and embrace innovative solutions
(exploration), reduce wastage through functional excellence (excellence) and dare to err,
but learn quickly (education).
According to John Cheh, the specific importance of sustainability is not solely restricted
to the savings made within one's own company: "We are always of the view that
sustainability requires a holistic approach. It is a question of a continuous journey, not a
final destination. The implementation of sustainable production conditions is not only of
benefit to the environment, but also has a positive effect on business performance.
Contact:
Esquel Enterprises Limited
13/F, Harbour Centre
Issued by:
OEKO-TEX® Association
Secretariat
Splügenstrasse 10
8002 Zürich
SCHWEIZ
Phone: +41 44 206 42 35
E-Mail: info@oeko-tex.com
Contact person:
Helmut Müller
Phone: +49 7143 271-709
E-Mail: h.mueller@oeko-tex.com
25 Harbour Road
Wanchai | HONG KONG
info@esquel.com
www.esquel.com
The Esquel Group is one of the world's
leading manufacturers of cotton dress
shirts, T-shirts and polo shirts. The company
is distinguished by its excellent product
qualities, the use of the best-available and
sustainable production technologies and also
by its first-class customer service.
Its major production base in Foshan, China
has been certified as environmentallyfriendly and socially-acceptable production
sites in accordance with the OEKO-TEX®
Standard 1000.
The company has consistently focused
on the vertical integration of all production
phases from cotton cultivation through yarn
spinning, weaving, knitting, dyeing and
textile finishing to garment manufacturing.
Issued by:
OEKO-TEX® Association
Secretariat
Splügenstrasse 10
8002 Zürich
SCHWEIZ
Phone: +41 44 206 42 35
E-Mail: info@oeko-tex.com
Contact person:
Helmut Müller
Phone: +49 7143 271-709
E-Mail: h.mueller@oeko-tex.com
The best-possible product quality is the
Esquel claim – which is implemented
consistently.
Investments in innovative and
environmentally-friendly production
technologies have enabled Esquel to
achieve significant savings in its use of
resources.
Within the framework of more sustainability,
the ongoing optimisation of all production
processes is a firmly embedded element of
Esquel’s corporate philosophy.
Issued by:
OEKO-TEX® Association
Secretariat
Splügenstrasse 10
8002 Zürich
SCHWEIZ
Phone: +41 44 206 42 35
E-Mail: info@oeko-tex.com
Contact person:
Helmut Müller
Phone: +49 7143 271-709
E-Mail: h.mueller@oeko-tex.com
The Esquel Group produces products for
prestigious international brands such as
Ralph Lauren, Tommy Hilfiger, Nike, J.Crew,
Brooks Brothers, Hugo Boss, Lacoste,
Bestseller and Muji.
With a total of 54,000 employees and
production facilities covering China, Vietnam,
Malaysia, Sri Lanka and Mauritius, the fullyintegrated company produces about 100
million woven and knitwear clothing items
per annum.
Issued by:
OEKO-TEX® Association
Secretariat
Splügenstrasse 10
8002 Zürich
SCHWEIZ
Phone: +41 44 206 42 35
E-Mail: info@oeko-tex.com
Contact person:
Helmut Müller
Phone: +49 7143 271-709
E-Mail: h.mueller@oeko-tex.com