Advancing sustainable textile services during Finnish Presidential State Visit to China

Lindström recently confirmed two strategic partnerships during the Finnish Presidential state visit to China. These agreements underscore our commitment to improving the sustainability of our workwear and cleanroom services in China.

With sustainability rapidly gaining importance in China, businesses actively invest in sustainable solutions to align with regulatory requirements and meet growing customer expectations. Government policies, including the national goal to achieve carbon neutrality by 2060, further reinforce the priority of sustainable business practices. Aligning with these efforts, Lindström formalised two key sustainability-focused agreements during the presidential state visit.

“Lindström has been in the Chinese market since 2006, and we are committed to providing sustainable alternatives for workwear and cleanroom textiles. These strategic partnerships highlight our dedication to circularity and sustainability,” explained Anupam Chakrabarty, Lindström’s Senior Vice President. Chakrabarty, who joined the business delegation accompanying Finnish President Alexander Stubb, signed the sustainability focused contracts in a prestigious ceremony in Beijing’s iconic Great Hall of the People.

Collaboration for improved circularity in textiles

One of the most pressing issues in the textile industry globally is the staggering amount of waste it produces—over 85% of textile waste still ends up in landfills or is incinerated. Lindström’s collaboration with Dingyuan Textile Technology, a textile recycling company based in Hangzhou, helps to address this problem. The collaboration started two years ago and has since expanded to cover the company’s waste textiles in the Suzhou, Shanghai, Jiaxing, Wuhan, Chengdu, and Guangzhou regions.

The next step is the development of closed-loop solutions where the end-of-life textiles would be transformed into raw materials for their new products. Incorporating recycled fibres into textiles can help reduce their carbon footprint, as the production of recycled fibres requires less water and energy. Currently, recycled PET bottles are the main source of these fibres, but new innovations are needed to decrease reliance on virgin materials. Closed-loop solutions are an increasing focus in our product development.

On the way to halving the emissions

As the world faces the consequences of climate change, reducing greenhouse gas emissions remains a top priority. Over 70% of global greenhouse gas emissions stem from energy production, so the transition to cleaner energy sources is vital. One company providing solutions for this is Yuan Tong Hui Energy Technology, a Beijing-based provider of renewable energy solutions. Recognising energy as a core resource in our operations, we partnered with them.

The collaboration is part of our ambitious goal to halve our greenhouse gas emissions by 2030, a target verified by the Science-Based Targets initiative. The collaboration will help us reduce emissions by approximately 450,000 kg. We anticipate that by 2025, half of our electricity in China will come from green sources.

Dennis Chan, Managing Director of Lindström China, elaborates, “Our efforts to cut emissions go beyond energy sourcing. We’ve already transitioned 10% of our logistics capacity to electric vehicles continue to do so in the coming years. This has reduced both CO2 emissions and operating costs.”

A shared commitment to sustainability

These initiatives underscore the collective efforts required to advance environmental responsibility in the business sector. With these efforts, we want to set a benchmark for industry peers, showcasing that sustainability is an achievable goal through innovation and partnerships.

“With the invaluable support of our partners, we’re demonstrating that sustainable transformation is within reach,” says Chakrabarty. “Our goal is to lead by example, showing that environmental responsibility and business success can, and should, go hand in hand.”