Glove Intelligent Assistant
03.05.2024
Throughout the Ask GIA blog, we’ve discussed the topic of sustainability and waste disposal hierarchies. It is an integral component of any manufacturing process with any commercial product. If our manufacturing practices are unsustainable, our business is unsustainable. This includes waste, and our waste economy. It’s important to promote the practice of reducing waste, reusing gloves, and recycling glove material when possible. Gloves are a necessity in everyday life, it is easy to imagine how much waste this amasses.
Our R&D team estimates that per every million pairs of gloves used, it would accumulate 6.5 tons of waste just by landfill disposal. Our company is focused on employing a circular waste economy. We are working to reduce the unnecessary use of raw materials and to recapture our waste byproduct as a means to manufacture new raw materials or products. While it is preferred to work on waste prevention and limit waste generation, there still remains waste to be disposed of on a macro industrial level. Waste generation does not just pertain to the glove industry, as many other commercial industries are attempting to shift towards more sustainable waste economies.
The best way is to invest in high quality products and choose companies that offer transparency in where they source their materials for manufacturing. The best way to reduce waste is to source materials from sustainable sources and avoid expending excess resources. SW sources our materials from sustainable forests as we work with the Forest Stewardship Council. The Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) is an organization that has been around since 1995 and has certified over 3000 other US companies, guaranteeing that products are made from materials sourced from responsibly managed forests.
The FSC certifies that manufacturers are returning environmental, social, and economic benefits to the sources of raw materials used in the manufacturing process. SW makes every effort to reduce the consumption of natural resources, support zero-waste emission efforts, recycle end-of-life products and packaging materials. We prioritize working with small to medium sized local vendors to reduce unnecessary usage of gas during shipping. All of our outer packaging is made of 90% recycled paper and our inner packaging is made from 70% recycled paper. As a registered California Green Business, we meet all 65 criteria certifying that the company operates in an environmentally responsible manner. California Green Businesses collectively aim to reduce their carbon footprint by conserving their water usage, waste production, and energy usage.
The network, together in 2021, has saved 284 million gallons of water, 54 million kilowatts of energy, prevented 114 million pounds of greenhouse gasses, and diverted 17 million pounds of waste. SW has extensively worked towards reducing our company’s carbon footprint. However, while it is important to reduce waste, it is equally important to produce high quality products in order to waste less materials. Higher quality products are able to last longer and withstand multiple uses. SW’s impressive R&D team has developed Ecotek technology in order to streamline our company’s sustainability praxis. Gloves can take decades to decompose, piling up in landfills. Ecotek is an innovative solution that has been crafted with care for the environment.
SW was awarded with the 2023 Environmental Protection New Product of the Year, 2022 Best In Biz Silver Winner in Most Environmentally Friendly Product of the Year, and 2022 Environmental Protection Winner in Green Technology and Sustainable Safety/Health Products. Our various achievements over the years is a testament of our commitment to sustainability.