ICE Compliance©

SQ Stevensons Chroma ltd, Bangladesh

Stevensons fashion dyers were part of the UK dyeing and finishing scene for over 100 years until the closure of their site in Derbyshire last year.

However the loss of production capacity didn’t signal the end of world class know-how and they have entered into a number of joint ventures around the world – to provide the world’s best garment dyeing and finishing expertise to the industry.

One such operation is the SQ Stevensons Chroma Ltd operation just outside Dhaka in Bangladesh where they have built a garment dyeing facility on the existing Colormaster site, owned by their JV partner SQ. One attractive feature for Stevensons was that the infrastructure was in place to deal effectively with the dyehouse effluent.

In common with many developing nations Bangladesh has major pollution problems arising from the historic lack of regulation and enforcement on the dyeing and finishing industry, but there are good dyehouses operating to high standards.

The ICE Compliance scheme allows those operating in areas where regulations are only just emerging to demonstrate their adherence to internationally expected standards.

Stevensons grasped the chance to sign up to the ICE Compliance scheme.“Unfortunately there is a tendency for onlookers to view all operations in a developing nation as being at the same level and we were aware that we would have to work hard to differentiate ourselves” commented Gordon Cawood, technical director of Stevensons.

“We felt it necessary to demonstrate to the retailers and brands we work for, and increasingly their stakeholders, that we do meet demanding standards for worker safety, environmental compliance and responsible use of chemicals. ICE Compliance is a demanding, but pragmatic scheme that not only certifies us but educates our workers, who may never have been exposed to the requirements of the leading brands.”

“In a time when there are unprecedented levels of attention being paid to major brands sourcing activities we are certain that ICE Compliance will enable them to select dyehouses that do not put their good names at risk with more confidence than ever before. We believe our membership of ICE Compliance makes sense for the brands we serve, our workers, the environment and most importantly for Stevensons”