Schijvens – 100% recycled corporate clothing

Family business Schijvens Corporate Fashion has been designing, producing and distributing corporate clothing since 1863, with 160 years of experience and craftsmanship. Over the years it has built up an impressive customer portfolio with customers such as Albert Heijn, NS, KLM, Transavia, CSU, Kruidvat, Etos, Hema, Praxis, Karwei, Gamma, McDonald’s, Sligro, Makro and Intratuin. Together with its customers, Schijvens goes through the entire process until it designs a complete collection that the customer is satisfied with. The collections are casual, timeless and, above all, pleasant to wear.

The current fifth-generation has been running it since 2005. 90 enthusiastic employees work in Hilvarenbeek, Amsterdam, Bladel and ‘s-Hertogenbosch. Schijvens has all the departments necessary to deliver a high-quality production process, including a design department, a quality department, a purchasing department, a sales department with office and field service, a distribution center and supporting staff departments.

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Sustainability

Sustainability is in Schijvens‘ DNA, following a strict CSR policy with respect for people and the environment! In addition, Schijvens has been a member of the Fair Wear Foundation since 2010, a foundation which monitors the social conditions at production locations. With a monitoring percentage of 100% and 88 out of 100 points, they belong to the Leader category. Schijvens also won the Best Practice Award in 2017 with their living wage tool.

In 2017, Schijvens introduced its first 100% recycled collection. Since then, they have strived for 100% circular production. Since 2017, every step they take is a step closer to making the world more sustainable. This resulted in winning the Circular Award in February 2020 and in the visit of King Willem-Alexander and State Secretary Stientje van Veldhoven in September 2020.

Return logistics

At the beginning of 2021, Schijvens introduced its Return Logistics program with PostNL. This means that they can collect the old work clothing from the customer and transport it to their distribution center in Bladel. The clothing is processed in Bladel and then sent to Turkey, where it is shredded and fiberized. These textile fibers are mixed with recycled polyester fibers to make the yarn strong again. New yarn is then spun from this, which they use to knit and weave fabric. They can use this fabric to make new company clothing. This ensures an environmental saving of an average of 96% water, 36% energy and 20% CO2 emissions. And this in an industry that is known as the second most polluting in the world. Schijvens and its customers work towards reducing textile waste.

Women Empowerment

In 2022, Schijvens started an investigation in Pakistan with the aim of developing a program for women in the clothing industry, giving them opportunities to gain work experience, expand life skills and increase their self-confidence.

This is being accomplished under the leadership of consultant Rabia Suljuk, the wife of the Pakistani ambassador, with an RVO subsidy and in collaboration with Zeeman and three Pakistani factories: MYM, Lucky and Denim Craft. For a year, Rabia visited women in the neighborhoods around several textile factories with the question: would you like to work? And how can we help you with that? Family members of these women were also questioned: husbands, children and mothers-in-law — important key figures in understanding the resistance of women’s social environment and how to reduce it.

The first trainings in Pakistan started in June 2024. 90 women were offered the opportunity to develop into accomplished seamstresses for two years. In addition, a training program was set-up in collaboration with Karvaan Kraft Foundation to help the women develop more life skills, such as reading, writing, financial awareness and self-confidence.

For more information, visit www.schijvens.eu.