Actions for responsible purchasing

- Commitment #9 -

Find all our past actions

Focus 2022

Regenerated fiber, the material of the future

As part of its recycling program initiated in 2015, CEPOVETT has made the reclamation of end-of-life business attire a key focus.

To give a second life to these clothes, the company uses innovative materials to obtain a 100% circular fabric, made of recycled polyester and cotton fabrics "post consumer". This is the case, for example, with medical gowns which, when mixed with recycled polyester, will produce, after reprocessing, a 100% regenerated fiber. The materials extracted from "post-consumer" clothing are frayed and blended into this fiber, which is composed of one-third recycled cotton, one-third recycled polyester from textiles and one-third recycled polyester from plastic bottles. Thanks to this innovative solution, CEPOVETT recycles clothes at the end of their life cycle and saves virgin material and natural resources used by the textile industry.

Focus 2021

Recycled materials mandatory in public procurement

Published in the Journal Officiel on March 9, 2021, Decree No. 2021-254 on the obligation to acquire through public procurement goods from reuse or reutilization or incorporating recycled materials comes to implement the provisions of Article 58 of Law No. 2020-105 of February 10, 2020 on the fight against waste and the circular economy, which entered into force on January 1, 2021.
This decree obliges to increase the share of purchases from the circular economy in public ordering and to reinforce the principle that it takes into account the environmental performance of products. Thus, the share of recycled materials from the reuse, reutilization or recycling channels must represent at least 20% of all textile products ordered by local authorities and semi-public companies. Several solutions in this sense have already been proposed by CEPOVETT for several years, including recycled polyester from the recycling of plastic bottles or post-consumer recycled cotton. This new regulation reinforces the State's responsible purchasing policy.

Focus 2020

Secure sourcing

The recent Covid-19 epidemic has raised a red flag for textile manufacturers, who are penalized by their mainly Asian supplies. This sanitary crisis underlines the need to diversify the supply channels by favouring closer sourcing, in particular the Maghreb and Madagascar. To do this, purchasing teams rebalance and secure their supplier portfolio, while integrating CSR aspects. CEPOVETT relies on a program of support for its suppliers "FabLab CEPOVETT" based on a collaborative approach with its workshops. The aim of this approach is to bring out, through a multi-year 360° CSR action plan, a certain number of best practices in terms of technical, economic, social and societal innovation. The company is also committed to guaranteeing the transparency of its production sites and the security of its supplies by carrying out SMETA-type social and environmental audits.

Our 2019 results

    • Implement the Recycled Clothing concept100%
    • Development of the FabLab program in Morocco40%
    • SMETA audits of our suppliers100%

    Focus 2019

    ISO 14001 certification of the Epsilon CEPOVETT Group workshop

    ISO 14001 is the most widely used international standard for environmental management. It is based on the principle of continuous improvement of environmental performance through the control and measurement of impacts related to the company's activity. ISO 14001 is the name of a standard that concerns environmental management and whose characteristics are likely to reassure the most demanding customers, concerned about the environment. Epsilon's environmental management will be enriched over time with new tools for dialogue and cost control, but above all for mobilizing employees.

    Our 2018 results

      • 100% of suppliers signatories of the CEPOVETT Group ethical charter100%
      • Development of the FabLab program20%
      • Evaluation of our suppliers' good CSR practices40%

      Focus 2018

      CEPOVETT Group Fablab", a lever for innovation in France and abroad

      CEPOVETT Group relies on an ambitious program of support for its suppliers. The "CEPOVETT Group FabLab" program is based on a voluntary and collaborative approach with its production workshops in its main production areas in the world (Eastern Europe, Asia and Maghreb). Its aim is to develop best practices in technical, economic, social, societal and environmental innovation through experimentation, using a multi-year 360° CSR action plan to improve overall performance.
      In 2017, CEPOVETT Group's CSR policy is also reflected in the deployment of its responsible purchasing charter. This charter makes it possible to secure and evaluate the good practices of each supplier. Its ambition is to make each production workshop progress in its CSR practices. The Ukrainian textile company Siluet is an example of successful integration of disability in a professional textile environment.

      Our 2016 results

        • 100% of suppliers signatories of the CEPOVETT Group ethical charter80%
        • Expansion of the FabLab program to other production sites40%
        • Identification and evaluation of our suppliers' good CSR practices40%

        Focus 2017

        2017 Report

        CEPOVETT Group relies on an ambitious program of support for its suppliers. The CEPOVETT Group FabLab program is based on a voluntary and collaborative approach with its garment workshops in its main production areas in the world (Eastern Europe, Asia and Maghreb). Its aim is to develop best practices in technical, economic, social, societal and environmental innovation through experimentation, using a multi-year 360° CSR action plan to improve overall performance. In 2016, the CEPOVETT Group FabLab program resulted in technical cooperation, the pooling of know-how and co-construction between French industrial partners to demonstrate the industrial feasibility of a closed-loop garment concept made from recycled clothing. It took nearly 16 months of thought and research to offer the market a product designed from 100% recycled fibers, including from post-consumer textiles from customers, whose approach is fully in line with the circular economy. This first experimentation is the logical extension of the CEPOVETT Group recycling program initiated in 2011. A further step towards an eco-responsible professional clothing.

        Our 2017 results

          • 100% of suppliers signatories of the CEPOVETT Group ethical charter80%
          • Expansion of the FabLab program to other production sites50%
          • Identification and evaluation of our suppliers' good CSR practices60%

          Focus 2016

          "CEPOVETT Group Fablab", a lever for innovation excellence "CEPOVETT Group Fablab", a lever for innovation excellence

          Beyond the aspects of audits and controls, CEPOVETT Group believes in the long-term support of its garment factories, through the exchange of good practices, the transmission of know-how and co-production as a model of cooperative work. Launched in 2014, the innovative "CEPOVETT Group FabLab" approach is an ambitious and exclusive program to support its industrial sites with the aim of making them true eco-socio responsible showcases. In 2015, many best practices were tested at the industrial site. For example, a major effort to reduce the environmental impact has been made at the EPSILON industrial site in Madagascar, thanks to the implementation of a process to recover heat produced by the activity, as well as the use of biomass energy. Concerning the well-being of employees, sports activities (Zumba) have been organized and a canteen is at their disposal. Community service projects have also been organized with local stakeholders.