Toronto, August 18, 2008—Halpern’s School Uniforms is kicking off the 2008-09 school year with an exciting, integrated environmental and social responsibility program, according to company president David Hadden.
“I’m pleased to announce that we are now a carbon neutral company. We have reduced where we could throughout our operation and have offset what we couldn’t,” said Hadden. “We have calculated the carbon footprint for our three brands, Halpern’s School Uniforms, Beatties School Uniforms and Uniform Solutions and have made offsetting donations toward renewable energy and reforestation projects to reduce our impact to zero. The program was overseen by carbonfund.org, which is endorsed by Dr. David Suzuki.”
Customers will be engaged in this environmental initiative through a hang tag on garments that asks, “What kind of carbon footprint will you leave?”
Halpern’s has also reduced packaging of their various garments by 15% and have set a goal of a 25% reduction by 2009. “We took a hard look at our existing packaging and have worked with our suppliers to reduce or eliminate various components,” said Hadden. “For example, with our button down shirts we’ve done away with plastic support pieces, cardboard backing and additional tissue paper. Not only will it help the environment but we believe customers will be happy with a simpler presentation.”
Halpern’s goods will be produced with organic cotton certified by the Global Organic Textile Standard (GOTS). “We take great pride in ensuring that our garments are manufactured by companies that provide good working conditions and do not use child labour,” said Hadden. “We work with recognized global inspection bodies to ensure our high human rights standards are met so it’s only natural that we have similar certification for our organic cotton program.”
The company will also be launching an employee community volunteer program in September, 2008. “We’re always looking for ways to better the communities we serve and are proud of the charitable causes our company has supported. We’re going to take that a step forward with the launching of a program that will provide two extra days of paid leave a year for employees to devote to the charity of their choice,” said Hadden. “The charity to be assisted and the timing of the involvement will be determined by the employee. We’re encouraging every employee to participate.”
Contact: David Hadden, President, Halpern’s School Uniforms, 905-361-1112 ext. 238
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