WestPoint Group is envisioned to positively impact the planet and the people it serves. This includes being good stewards of the natural resources it consumes, being protective of the environment throughout its operations and supply chain, giving back to the communities in which it operates, and valuing all of its own employees and those of its business partners.
As early adopters of sustainable practices, WestPoint’s efforts have exceeded industry standards for over three decades. WestPoint has shown a 45% reduction in total greenhouse gas emissions over the past twelve years. These effective sustainability efforts build community, improve the environment, and enhance business goals both socially and economically.
Commitment to making a better planet is fundamental to WestPoint Group’s corporate mission and all activities in its sustainability journey create a common thread that’s woven into the fabric of WestPoint’s corporate culture.
In the arena of global climate change challenge WestPoint Group’s Chief Executive Officer & President -Jonathan Witmer, Chief Operating Officer-Steve Burns and Sustainability Director-Julie Seel are leading the company to pave its road towards Sustainability Journey in the areas of water use, waste recycling, chemical use and use of recycled content in the products to further reduce the company’s overall carbon footprint by implementing several innovative processes and changes.
Water Use: WestPoint in its sustainability journey has set precedents in the areas of water conservation and water recycling and has become a benchmark for lowest water use in the textile industry for fabric processing.
At the time of Bahrain acquisition in 2006 water consumption was 83 liters/kilogram of fabric which was reduced to 34.57 liters/kilogram in 2020 and that is a 58% reduction in water use.
This milestone was achieved by adopting several water conservation measures including recycling of cooling water, reuse of PVA recovery permeate for scouring and reduced water use in the production processes.
This facility has been upgraded with a membrane clarifier and a reverse osmosis system that is now able to reclaim for reuse 50% of the treated wastewater from the facility. The eventual goal at the Bahrain fabric processing plant is to have zero discharge.
WestPoint Bahrain W.L.L is a textile conglomerate located in Al-Mazara’a Industrial Park Bahrain and was established on December 21,2006 by acquiring four state of the art textile factories.
These Bahraini textile manufacturing factories are operating under the Umbrella of WestPoint Home L.L.C, USA which is a marketer of home fashion brands across USA and has a heritage of over 200 years for being a global leader in the home textile Industry.
WestPoint is a proud beneficiary of Bahrain -US Free Trade Agreement having an investment of 165 million US dollars in Bahrain. There are 1450 employees onboard including 140 Bahraini employees at its Bahraini factories.
At this juncture Bahrain operations have attained a pivotal position in WestPoint’s global manufacturing modeling where 15000 bed sheet sets are produces every day. WPH is so proud for marketing its “Made in Bahrain” labeled superior quality products (Bed linens , shams and pillow cases) at global level mainly in USA by servicing brands such as Ralph Lauren, Sam’s Club, Marriott, and various other hospitality customers.
WPH is honored that its Bahrain operations have the accreditations and participations in the global environmental, Social and sustainability programs and certifications in the areas of, Higg Index, BHive, Zero Discharge for Hazardous Chemicals (ZDHC), Sustainable Textile Production (STeP), OEKO-TEX-100, Global Organic Textile Standard (GOTS), Carbon Disclosure Project (CDP), EcoVadis, SMETA and ISO 14001,18001,9001.
WestPoint has transitioned from compliance to commitment and treats Bahraini Environmental Compliance Standards as its minimum requirements. Recently Bahrain plant at its Effluent Treatment Plant has replaced the use of sulfuric acid which was used to neutralize the alkaline wastewater with waste carbon dioxide from flue gases of boilers.
This has not only reduced the sulphates content in the discharge water but also eliminated 200 metric tons per year of sulfuric acid thus reducing the impact of GHG emissions by 400 metric tons per year. Additionally post color removal treatment was installed initially with organic coagulant and later this will be done via ozonation of wastewater.
Ozonation will not only eliminate the use of color removal chemicals but also offer other environmental benefits in the form of sludge reduction and energy conservation. The company has recently installed a Nano Filtration system that will help to reduce the sulfate ions and recover the salts for reuse.
Waste Recycling - WPH has continued the long history of waste recycling established by WestPoint Pepperell and WestPoint Stevens.WPH strives to recycle every recoverable type of textile waste, including yarn, rags, fibers, batting, etc. WPH also recycles metal, cardboard, plastic, drums, tote tanks, and other items.
In 2020, Chipley (Florida) Plant was able to recycle 87% of the waste that it generated, and Bahrain Complex recycled 89% of its waste. Chipley has set a goal of zero waste (considered to be recycling at least 90% of all generated waste) by the year 2022. Both of WPH’s manufacturing facilities and all of its stores recycle 100% of their corrugated packaging.
Chemical Use – WestPoint strives to avoid the use of harmful chemicals and to minimize the use of all chemicals. The processing plant in Bahrain, Chipley Plant, and 24 of the suppliers are certified under the Oeko-Tex® Standard 100, which demonstrates that potentially harmful chemicals are not used in the manufacturing process.
The Oeko-Tex® certification procedure tests for the presence of Pesticides, Heavy Metals, Chlorinated Organic Carriers, and Chlorinated Preservatives. Oeko-Tex® certification also demonstrates compliance with European legislation regarding the use of Azo-dyes. Bahrain plant also recovers a substantial portion of the sodium hydroxide and polyvinyl alcohol used in its operation.
These chemicals are then reused on site. In addition to reducing the amount of new chemicals that must be manufactured, this practice also removes two substantial pollutants from its wastewater stream before it enters the wastewater treatment plant.
This reduces the amount of energy required to biodegrade those chemicals and also reduces the amount of pH reduction that must be done. In 2020, Bahrain recovered 3.6 million kilograms of PVA solution and 1.6 million kilograms of 25% sodium hydroxide.
Use of Sustainable Fibers – In 2019, Bahrain plants opted to use 100% More Sustainable Cotton, which includes organic cotton and Better Cotton. Both programs work to reduce the environmental impact of cotton production and improve livelihoods and economic development in cotton producing areas.
In 2020, WPH used 10,432,686 pounds of More Sustainable Cotton. 60% of all cotton used in WPH products fell in this category. WPH also used other more sustainable fibers like Tencel and recycled polyester. In total, WPH used11,791,230 pounds of more sustainable fibers, which accounted for 40% of the total fibers used in the products produced in 2020.
Use of Recycled Material – The WPH Chipley Plant also uses corrugated cardboard made from 35-50% recycled material and 85% of the batting fiber used to make comforters and pillows comes from recycled PET bottles. For example, the recycled batting in a Nate Berkus or Shabby comforter prevented 25 two-liter soft drink bottles from being sent to the landfill. In 2020, the recycled fiber used by the Chipley plant totaled
1,055,298 pounds – the equivalent of 47,968,090 sixteen-ounce water bottles. This saved 3,903 cubic yards of landfill space and saved the energy equivalent of 13,230,376 cubic feet of natural gas.
In 2015, the Chipley Plant was the fifth largest user of recycled polyester in the group of 89 companies who responded to the Textile Exchange’s Preferred Fiber and Materials Benchmark survey. WestPoint Home has sought out innovative products like SilverBac which increases the life of its products and reduces the environmental impact throughout the product’s lifecycle.
The company has also embraced the concept of circular economies for textiles by implementing a pilot study for textile recycling and is actively seeking further opportunities for other lifecycle programs.
Both of these programs will further reduce the carbon footprint of the company as well as those downstream in the supply chain. These programs represent the company’s commitment to driving the textile industry towards the future as it has done during its entire 200-year history.
Circular Economy – WPH is currently working on an expansion of a take-back program to recycle bed and bath products from distribution centers in the southeast. WPH is also working with the Textile Exchange’s Home and Hospitality Working Group to expand circular opportunities throughout the United States.
Bahrain factories cover 138,000 square meters of land area and there are 375 fully grown trees and 2500 square meters of green fields and belts which exhibit a carbon offsetting gesture. Plans are underway to plant 200 additional trees and develop 1500 square meters of additional grass fields/belts inside the factory premises. WPH is also evaluating to convert to 20% renewable energy sources by the end of 2030.
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