Sustainability at Lindström

Helping our customers become more sustainable

Sustainability is in the very core of our purpose and strategy. We want to inspire businesses to grow in a sustainable way. As our business model is based on circular economy, we know that it is possible. For decades, we have been on a mission to avoid overproduction of textiles and optimise the use of natural resources.

Textile waste recycling
Our goal is to recycle 100% of our textile waste by 2025. In 2022 we recycled 68% our textile waste. In 2023, we focus on finding solutions for mat recycling whose recycling rate has been quite low, read more.
Closed-loop solutions
Our target is that 30% of purchased textiles will include recycled or bio-based fibers. Read more how we are actively collaborating with our partners to create closed-loop solutions.
Net-zero emissions
Our target is to is to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 50% across the value chain by 2030, ultimately achieving net-zero emissions by 2050. Our targets are validated by the Science Based Targets initiative.
Results and recognitions

Aiming for continuous improvement

million pieces of repaired textiles (2022)
>4.6
million pieces of repaired textiles (2022)
Our workwear is designed to be easily repairable to extend their lifespan.
Textile waste recycled (2022)
68%
Textile waste recycled (2022)
Our aim is to recycle 100% of our end-of-life textiles by 2025.
savings in water and energy consumption per washed textile kilo in the past three decades.
50%
savings in water and energy consumption per washed textile kilo in the past three decades.
We recycle water in the washing process and use heat recovery systems to save energy.
Threads reshaped for a net-zero future
We started our journey towards net-zero to stay at the forefront of sustainable development and help our customers become more sustainable with our services.

We started our journey towards net-zero to stay at the forefront of sustainable development and help our customers become more sustainable with our services.

We aim to halve our greenhouse gas emissions by 2030 and reach net-zero by 2050.  Our  targets are approved by the Science Based Targets initiative which ensures they are in line with the latest climate science to prevent the worst effects of climate change.

Threads reshaped for a net-zero future
Recognised sustainability
Our operations are certified by ISO14001 and our sustainability efforts have been recognised by various awards and nominations.

Our operations are certified by ISO14001 which sets out the requirements for an environmental management system.

Our sustainability efforts have been recognised by various awards and nominations.

2023 China: The Circular Economy Pioneer Award, in Sustainable Business Awards (SBA).

2023 Latvia: Gold Award in the Institute of Corporate Sustainability and Responsibility’sSustainability Index 2023.

2023 Estonia: Gold level recognition of the Responsible Business Forum Index.

2023  Bulgaria: 3rd place at the category ESG Program at the Greenest companies in Bulgaria, B2B Media award.

2021 Finland: Selected in the list of Forerunners in Circular Economy by Finnish innovation fund Sitra.

 

Recognised sustainability
EcoVadis Gold certificate
Our continuous efforts at sustainability performance have been rewarded by the Ecovadis gold certificate for two consecutive years. EcoVadis is a leading sustainability rating provider that offers a common platform to evaluate sustainability performance.

Our continuous efforts at sustainability performance have been rewarded by the Ecovadis gold certificate for two consecutive years. It means that we are in the top 5% of the more than 100 000 evaluated companies and the top 2% in our own industry. We especially performed well in the environmental area with an outstanding performance of 90/100.   The rating covers the entire Lindström Group, all countries of operation.

EcoVadis is a leading sustainability rating provider that offers a common platform to evaluate sustainability performance with a universal scorecard, benchmarks and performance improvement tools. The rating covers environmental, labour & human rights, ethics and sustainable procurement themes.

 

EcoVadis Gold certificate
Our circular business model

Minimising environmental impact

Our service reduces textile overproduction by extending the lifetime of textiles and by producing new textiles only when needed. By using durable materials and designing for circularity, we promote sustainable practices at the very beginning. We avoid millions of kilos of unnecessary textile production by repairing and re-using our garments.  We manufacture additional orders on demand in our own workwear manufacturing facilities, Prodems, which is as effective way to eliminate the textile obsolete risk in our stocks.

To conserve natural resources, we optimise the use of water and energy in our laundries as well as our customer delivery loads and routes. In the washing process, we recycle water and utilise heat from wastewater to warm fresh water. When textiles reach end of their lives, we recycle them as new products or raw materials.

Sustainability calculator

Compare home washing to Lindström's industrial washing process

Industrial washing
Home washing
Water Water
l / month
VS.
l / month
Save
l
water / year
with Lindström services
Detergent Detergent
g / month
VS.
g / month
Save
kg
detergent / year
with Lindström services
Energy Energy
kWh / month
VS.
kWh / month
Save
kWh
energy / year
with Lindström services
Carbon Footprint Carbon Footprint
kg / month
VS.
kg / month
Save
kg
CO₂ emissions / year
with Lindström services
Textile Waste Textile Waste
Expected repairs / month
VS.
Expected repairs / month
Save
kg
of textile waste / year
with Lindström services
add
The sources of the Sustainability calculator data

Our calculations for home washing are based on public information provided by different consumer companies and government institutions, as well as the study of the European Textiles Service Association (ETSA). We compare these numbers to the consumption of water, detergent, energy and CO2 emissions in our own industrial washing process.

Here’s a few facts behind the numbers

Washing and repairing habits (Study by ETSA 2012)

  • 68% of consumers say they wash workwear always or most of the time separately from other garments
  • 4,5 pcs is the average amount of workwear in pieces per washing load
  • 6,5 kg is the average home washing machine capacity
  • 51% say workwear is replaced, not repaired when it’s damaged*

The consumption figures of an average washing machine

60 l Water consumption per load in a new A-class home washing machine**
1,25 kWh Average home washing machine electricity consumption per load in 60°C program***
3 kWh Average home dryer electricity consumption per load***
0,58 Kg/kWh Average CO2 emissions/kWh of electricity in Lindström countries of operation
100 ml Instructed dose of liquid home washing chemical per load****

**verto.fi, kuluttaja.fi, ***vattenfall.fi,  ****omo.fi

Stories about sustainability

Forerunners of Sustainability

The Forerunners of Sustainability is a series of stories in which our customers talk about sustainability and how we work together for more sustainable business. The stories are told by customers for whom sustainability is an important part of their company’s purpose and strategy.

More stories about sustainability