Tangshan Sanyou investing to meet CanopyStyle targets

06 Jul '18

4 min read

Courtesy: Canopy

There is evidence showing that Tangshan Sanyou Xingda Chemical Fibre is investing work and resources to implement commitments of its policy, consistent with the solutions and targets of the CanopyStyle initiative, according to an audit report of the company’s pulp sourcing by the environmental not-for-profit organisations Canopy and the Rainforest Alliance.

The company leads Chinese viscose producers by being one of the first viscose fibre producers headquartered in the country to complete the CanopyStyle Audit.

Tangshan Sanyou has taken immediate action to remove risks in their supply chain that were known and identified. However, the audit was unable to determine an overall result of low risk of sourcing wood from ancient and endangered forests, due to incomplete information from some of Sanyou’s dissolving pulp suppliers on their raw materials sourcing.

Tangshan Sanyou relies on more than a dozen suppliers of wood pulp, distributed in more than ten countries and various continents such as Asia, Africa, Europe, North America and South America. The audit report reveals the complexity of identifying the forest of origin of the wood pulp supply chain. More information is required from Tangshan Sanyou’s dissolving pulp suppliers, and the company is actively working to overcome this gap and to improve transparency of its raw material sourcing.

“Canopy welcomes the efforts made by Tangshan Sanyou to contribute to ending the use of endangered forests in fabrics,” said Nicole Rycroft, Canopy’s executive director. “Knowing that Tangshan Sanyou has taken actions to address their known supply chain risk and is seeking further transparency about the forest of origin of all of their suppliers is welcome progress to help them advance on the path to fulfill their CanopyStyle commitments.”

“The Rainforest Alliance is proud to participate in this important initiative that furthers our mission to conserve biodiversity and help ensure sustainable livelihoods,” stated Richard Donovan, Rainforest Alliance senior vice president/vice president Forestry. “Our role includes serving as the trusted auditor, helping drive the sustainable use of non-timber forest elements in fashion, and independently evaluating Sanyou’s progress. We conduct field evaluations, analyse and report on the progress required, and deliver audit results that are a snapshot in time, highlighting commitments met and areas for improvement.”

“These audit findings are of immense value, offering us an opportunity to learn about the impact of our supply on global forests, highlighting areas where we shine as well as areas where we can make improvements to become a more responsible business,” said Yu Han Jiang, vice general manager of Tangshan Sanyou. “It is our hope that all of our peers in the viscose manufacturing sector will undertake a similar audit assessment, increasing responsiveness and collaboration from more dissolving pulp suppliers.”

The report says there are information gaps in the supply chain due to some of Sanyou’s dissolving pulp suppliers providing incomplete information on raw materials sourcing, the report says. Some of the suppliers listed are sourcing from geographic areas that are in proximity to ancient and endangered forests.

Since the audit was completed, Sanyou has been making efforts to collect, identify and assess the forest of origin, the report says and adds Sanyou needs to continue to implement internal verification procedures to identify, confirm and track the forest origin for the majority of its suppliers, along with appropriate certification claims.

The report suggests the company could improve their annual audit results by collecting forest of origin information including GPS points, GIS coordinates and/or shape files from its dissolving pulp suppliers, which will allow for an overlay with the forthcoming Canopy ForestMapper of ancient and endangered forests.

It should also ensure suppliers hold certification, with a preference for fibre from Forest Stewardship Council certified forests. (SV)

Fibre2Fashion News Desk – India

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