Exploring the power of partnership

The Guild and TSA have worked well alongside each other, particularly in recent years and have achieved much. Clearly though, both felt it was time to review the way laundry and drycleaning industries are represented.

So this April’s conference took the future as its theme and asked: “What kind of representation will meet the professional textile care industries needs in the next decade and beyond?”

TSA’s chief executive Murray Simpson said that membership of the Guild and the TSA had benefited members of both organisations.

Collaboration between the two organisations had resulted in a well-supported joint conference for the past eight years and a joint Scottish conference in 2008 and 2009. Since 2007 they had successfully combined their secretariat services.

Simpson also highlighted how the TSA had strengthened its links with other industry organisations such as SLEAT (the Society of Laundry Engineers & Allied Trades) and more recently with UKFT (the UK Fashion and Textile Association).

Now, he told delegates, it was time to “serve you smarter” by looking at ways of streamlining organisational structures and to widen the debate on the way the industry should be represented in the years to come.

Taking their cue from the televised political leaders’ debates in the run-up to the UK General Election, Murray Simpson and Adrian Redgate, president of the Guild of Cleaners and Launderers, presented their own “head-to-head” debate on the power of partnership.

Redgate started by outlining the meaning of partnership, which he defined as an agreement between two or more persons or organisations for pooling any or all of their resources – money, goods, labour and skills – for the purpose of advancing fair trade.

Simpson then explained that working in partnership with other organisations could make industry representation more effective.

He explained: “We are not talking about a merger, we are not talking about a takeover. We are working for you, working for the industry. What is required is sharper definition.”

Both TSA and The Guild had a great deal to be proud about.

“Be proud of your past but also be aware that as an organisation, we need to remain relevant to the challenges and issues to come.”

Simpson paid tribute to Redgate who combined his role as Guild president with his role as a partner in National Dry Cleaners, his Nottingham-based business .

The work of the industry organisations owed a great deal to Redgate and people like him who gave up their time to work for the benefit of all concerned in their industry, said Simpson.

Adrian Redgate said several factors need to be explored for the greater benefit of the industries in the coming decade. First, trade organisations would need to look at combining some administrative services to reduce costs. Then they would need to find and explore potential areas of membership.

He invited delegates to contribute to the review and welcomed their suggestions of membership areas to explore.

Murray Simpson summarised the debate:“We are deadly serious about our intention to develop a representative body that will go forward with the industry, looking ahead to the 21st century rather than back to the 19th.”

The conference was also told that the TSA is moving from its present home at 5 Portland Place, London.

From September 2010 it will be based at 3 Queen Square, Bloomsbury and it will again share offices with the UK Fashion and Textile Association, which represents fashion, clothing and knitting businesses across the UK.

TSA will continue to work closely with UKFT on common issues but it will still act independently on matters directly related to the laundry and drycleaning industries.

UKFT deputy director Adam Mansell then took up the conference’s themes of partnership and industry representation.

In discussing the options for an association for this next decade, he examined the concerns shared by industry associations related to textiles and textile care. He described possible areas of collaboration.

Mansell believed that more “networking” events could bring all areas of the industry – from textile designers and manufacturers to machine manufacturers and professional garment cleaners – into closer contact. This would help “to develop a better-educated industry” at all levels, he said.

He spoke of the co-operation between UKFT, TSA and The Guild and mentioned that Simpson and Redgate are both on the UKFT board – an example of how collaboration can work well. At present 15 trade associations are represented on the UKFT board and benefit from its contact with Westminster, and with the European Union in Brussels.

Determining the way the textile industries should be represented in the decade ahead is challenging – “We don’t know what the industries will look like in two years time” – but he encouraged an “open door” approach. This would give members, including manufacturers, suppliers and cleaners, a say in what representation is required and how this could be achieved.

Mansell is also the president of Ginetex, the international association for textile carelabelling. He outlined some of the complexities of labelling in an international market and the variations between each country.

He explained that ISO3758 – the international standard for textiles’ carelabelling using symbols, was revised in 2005 but is currently subject to ongoing revision. It is difficult to predict when a final standard will be agreed.

This is creating problems with the “do not bleach” symbol. In the current version this instruction is represented by a filled-in triangle with a cross imposed over the top.

This has proved difficult to reproduce, said Mansell, and so it was decided to introduce a blank triangle with a super-imposed cross instead.

The Ginetex governing body has extended the transition period, during which both symbols can be used until 30 November 2012.

Mansell also outlined other proposed labelling changes. These would affect manufacturers more than drycleaners but drycleaners still need to be aware of the proposals.

First, the EU and the USA continue to push for a textile-specific agreement on labelling in the current trade negotiations round of the World Trade Organisation (WTO). The information required may include the fibres used; the product’s country of origin and the care instructions.

Second, Defra – the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs in the UK – is examining the sustainability of products, services and materials used in the UK.

This has led to the development of the “sustainable clothing roadmap”. The steps that Defra will consider adopting are: providing more consumer information on labels such as organic, the Bluesign standard and Oeko-Tex Confidence in Textiles; EU ecolabels for textiles and footwear; providing energy ratings on white goods (washers and dryers) and country of origin labelling on cotton.

Guild president Adrian Redgate described forthcoming developments from his organisation. The Guild has published a Laundry Chemicals booklet and it is also compiling a comprehensive a drycleaning guide – described as the “definitive industry Bible”. This project is being led by the Guild’s chairman of publications, Ken Cupitt and it should be available in 2011.

Bob Ruddick, a loans account manager with the Carbon Trust, explained how to apply for interest-free loans to purchase energy-efficient capital equipment and also how such loans should be used.

The Carbon Trust is an independent, not-for-profit company set up in 2001 by the Government to accelerate the move to a low carbon economy.

According to the Carbon Trust, the UK’s direct emissions of CO2 are 560million tonnes a year, and the business sector accounts for 25% of these. The Government’s aim is to reduce UK emissions by 80% by 2050.

The Trust is committed to helping businesses reduce energy use. To this end, 0% business loans of £3,000 - £100,000 (£500,000 in Northern Ireland) are available from the Carbon Trust to help organisations finance and invest in energy saving projects. Since 2003, the trust has loaned about

£145million to more than 4,600 customers, producing CO2 savings of an estimated 620,000tonnes.

The size of the loan offered and its repayment period is based on the Trust’s assessments of the CO2 savings. The repayment period can vary from 12 months to 48 months and the trust can give loans of £1,000 for every 2tonnes of CO2 saved per annum. (In Northern Ireland the calculation is £1,000 for every 1.5 tonnes).

To be eligible for the scheme, companies must:

• Belong to the private sector (including charities, friendly societies and the like).

• Have traded for at least 12 months.

All small or medium-sized Enterprises (SMEs) in England, Wales and Scotland are eligible (subject to qualifying criteria).

Larger businesses can also apply if they do not qualify for participation in the Carbon Reduction Commitment (CRC) Energy Efficiency Scheme (subject to qualifying criteria).

Regardless of size, all businesses in Northern Ireland can currently apply for a loan (subject to qualifying criteria).

Roger Cawood gave an informative presentation on the best ways of removing stains without damaging the fabric’s fibres, its colour or its the finish.

Garments should be checked at the counter before cleaning, after cleaning and then given a final inspection before return to the customer.

He said many of the problems that cleaners experience during stain removal are a direct result of dirt on and inside spotting tables. Pre-spotting tables should be kept scrupulously clean.

“It should also be possible at all times to place any delicate or lightweight fabric on post-spotting equipment without fear of contamination from spotting chemicals or products,” he said.

The top of the spotting table should be removed on a regular basis and the interior of the equipment cleaned thoroughly.

When stains fail to respond to treatment, the following factors must be considered:

• Time – has sufficient time been allowed for the chemical to fully react with the stain?

• Temperature – has the steam gun been used to raise the temperature? Was raising the temperature appropriate?

• Reagent – has the correct reagent been used? Has the stain been identified correctly?

• Mechanical action – tamping is much safer than using a spatula and is also more effective but this method is rarely used.

Brian Pearce from ITAS UK presented his “African Experience” which charted his involvement

with the development of the Garment Care drycleaning business in Nigeria.

Starting out with the training of twelve graduates, the business has grown to become an influential blue-chip company in Lagos, with a customer base of over 45,000 and a staff of around 300. The company recently opened a purpose built, two-storey cleaning factory at Lekki.

Staff undertake a two-year training programme and are expected to learn how to handle and clean garments that range from expensive designer wear to intricate native dress.

Charles Barnescone of the business development consultancy Infinite Possibilities examined the subject of leadership.

He explained that a well-trained manager makes all the difference to the way teams operate within a small- to medium-sized business.

He said that the five key factors of strong leadership were:

• Setting the destination

• Personal leadership

• Interpersonal leadership

• Team leadership

• Organisational leadership.

Barnescone outlined a basic business model that could be developed by identifying the company’s vision and its values and deciding the leadership style.