Germany recognizes Bluesign for GPP certification

Bluesign, a solution provider for sustainable textile manufacturing has announced that the German authorities have recognized the Bluesign System as a Green Public Procurement (GPP) certification.

As per Bluesign, public authorities and governments have set off an example and switched to GPP practices for large quantities of goods. This is all because of the past and present business and manufacturing practices which are increasingly disclosing their impact on the region and the global environment.

Regulations and requirements for public procurement in the EU are defined in the Directive 2014/24 / EU of the European Parliament and the Council on 26 February 2014. Environmental label requirements stated in Article 43 stipulate open, transparent, and easy-to-understand processes for creation, revision, and application of label criteria which are implemented in Germany and other member states. The relevant label can be used in the public procurement process, if the requirements are met, according to the applicable procurement guidelines.

In the latest revision of the criteria for the Bluesign environmental label, Bluesign has begun a stakeholder engagement process, inviting more than 500 stakeholders to participate in the consultation process to provide valuable feedback for revisions to the standards and insights into the needs of various stakeholder groups. This will result in contributing to the continued improvement of the Bluesign system.

The head of the Bluesign Academy, Thomas Schaefer said that the public procurement of textile articles is a large market that includes workwear for the military, fire-fighters, police forces, bed linens for hospitals, etc. because of this governments will increasingly focus on the procurement of sustainable textiles.

He added that Government agencies are pioneers and some countries have already committed to achieving a certain level of sustainable fiber in sourcing decisions. They felt proud that Bluesign has been accepted as a qualifier. With their label, a wide range of textile articles with high technical performance will now be accepted hence it’s very important for public sector bodies.

The Bluesign system eliminates harmful substances from the beginning of the manufacturing process and sets and controls standards for environmentally friendly and safe production to ensure the final product is in compliance with the stringent consumer safety requirements globally.