Mar 10 2008
Oki Electric Industry Co., Ltd., Teijin Fibers Ltd., Chikuma & Co., Ltd., announced that OKI is recycling its uniforms by collecting used uniforms and restoring the fabric. Disposed uniforms are reincarnated into polyester fabric through a complete recycling system called “Eco Circle,” based on Teijin Fibers’ “fiber-to-fiber” technology. Chikuma will then sew the fabric to a fully recycled uniform and provide it back to the OKI Group, which will enable OKI to recycle uniforms over and over again.
“We are pleased to contribute to reducing the environmental burden through recycling our uniforms. This is part of OKI’s group-wide commitment to 3R (Reduce, Reuse and Recycle) activities which include activities to achieve emission of zero waste to minimize landfills, and activities to use the water effectively,” said Masataka Sase, Senior Vice President of Oki Electric Industry and General Manager of OKI's Global Environment Division. “As part of these activities and leveraging Chikuma’s status as an authorized operator of a cross-jurisdictional waste treatment scheme, OKI decided to collect and recycle used uniforms at all OKI Group business locations.”
OKI provides uniforms to its employees at its plants and those in administrative positions. By March 2009, the OKI Group plans to recycle approximately 2000 uniforms, equivalent to a gross weight of 1.2 tons. Recycling uniforms will generate less CO2 than disposing of them and making new uniforms from petroleum products. Therefore, OKI will be reducing approximately 3.7 tons of CO2 through uniform recycling.
The completely recycled uniforms will have “eco-marks” sewed onto them to qualify them as meeting the criteria for used clothes by the Japan Environment Association. OKI Group will appropriately recycle used uniforms as resources by adopting widely the uniform recycling program and leveraging the waste treatment scheme operated by Chikuma.
Going forward, the OKI Group will actively work on various recycling activities and aims to further reduce environment burden.