Environmental Practices

Panaz contract furnishing fabrics may often be described as ‘out of this world’ in terms of design appeal, but the company maintains a very down-to-earth approach to its production and management processes, with formal environmental and sustainability policies applied across every aspect of the company's operations.

Within the company's eco-manifesto, general policy statements stress that concern for the environment should be an integral and fundamental part of Panaz business strategy, and emphasise the corporate aim of reducing the environmental impact of the company's manufacturing activities. The need to engage all employees in fulfillment of this aim and to encourage suppliers and customers alike to adopt sound environmental policies is also articulated.

However, such statements are not just bland declarations of intent: they are backed up by practical supporting measures implemented across the company's production process. All Panaz flame retardant contract prints are produced using transfer print methods for example, which means no chemical processes or effluents are involved. In addition, no chemical treatments are necessary to achieve the required FR properties - those collections based on Trevira CS also qualify for Oeko Tex certification.

Sourcing and disposal of materials is another area where ‘eco-friendly’ policies are actively applied at Panaz. All transfer print papers come from sustainable resources, and packaging materials used during the manufacturing and dispatch process are purchased from specialists in re-cycled paper products. When it comes to waste disposal, any oil and chemicals resulting from routine machine maintenance are collected and disposed of by a registered specialist, with packaging material from incoming raw materials also collected for re-processing.

Print Factory

Our main raw materials are polyester prepared-for-print fabric and transfer printing paper. There is also some use of backing paper to protect the fabric during the second pass through the printing machines during double sided printing.

Panaz fabrics are produced by transfer print methods, which involve no chemical processes or effluents. No solvents are used during the printing process, and any potential contaminants, for example any waste oil or chemicals produced by ourselves during routine machine maintenance, are collected from us by B & M Salvage Fuels, a company registered for safe disposal of such by-products.

All packaging materials and cardboard cores used in our manufacturing processes are purchased from Multi Core Recycling Company - specialists in re-cycled paper products. The cores themselves are also re-used repeatedly being passed back to the print from the warehouse when emptied.

Transfer print papers used to print our fabrics are produced for us by manufacturers whose raw material is supplied to them using pulp from sustainable forests. In addition ink and dyes for all but a small percentage of our papers are water-based products.

Once the printing paper has gone through the machine, the waste rolls are stored and collected. This paper goes for recycling, some of it being sold on to the retail sector as packaging.

Sita, a company registered with our local authority under the UK Waste Management Licensing Regulations as well as the Control of Pollution Act, collects all packaging material from incoming raw materials. In particular all cardboard and office generated paper waste are sent for recycling and, where possible, Certificates of Recycling are obtained.

Warehouse

As well as printing our own designs Panaz also offers a range of colour woven fabrics that, where possible, are sourced from local mills. Three of these mills are within 25 miles of our Burnley site. In fact our largest single supplier is just 2 miles from Panaz allowing us to minimise transport emissions in our supply chain.

The warehouse at Panaz also encompasses our piece cutting and packing section as well as storage of our finished goods stock. Panaz use a combination of corrugated cardboard and lightweight shrink film to pack our fabrics for the smaller orders, and pallets for bulk quantities.

The main waste material is packaging from incoming fabrics. Where possible this is recycled.

In order to minimise the amount of plastic packaging used, Panaz has invested in an automated packing machine, the first to use this particular solution in the United Kingdom. This will allow us to reduce our use of plastic packaging by 30%, by using a lighter weight film and reducing the waste by having no off-cuts.

Other waste streams such as short ends of fabric (that is to say the last metre or so of fabric left on a roll) are sent to our samples department rather than being discarded. In the case of some fabrics we accumulate these small pieces that are then sold to some of our clients who occasionally require very small quantities of fabric.

Other Activities

Panaz has recently had a full site survey carried out by the Carbon Trust. The survey, and following report, has identified ways in which the company can reduce its energy consumption and thus further reduce our environmental impact.

The report has identified seven projects requiring modest investment with a short payback time, targeting a reduction in energy use and therefore CO2 emissions of 15%.

Our Sales Representatives are all encouraged to do the minimum mileage required to carry out their duties. In addition all company cars run on diesel fuel to minimise CO2 emissions.

The Future

As you can see managing waste and our processes is a priority at Panaz. Other recycling schemes for the site are being investigated, such as batteries, drinks cans from the vending machines and light bulbs and discharge tubes.

Panaz are actively exploring other activities to reduce its environmental impact and implement a sustainable procurement programme. We are encouraging our suppliers to do likewise. All new suppliers to Panaz are required to complete a detailed document showing their policies on the Environment, Sustainability and Corporate & Social Responsibility.

The Company are also looking to the next challenge of implementing a documented, structured environmental policy such as ISO14001.