ALEXANDRIA, Va. —  September 15, 2017 — Paris Healthcare Linen Services, DuBois, Pa., has earned the Hygienically Clean Healthcare designation, reflecting their commitment to best management practices (BMPs) in laundering as verified by on-site inspection and their capability to produce hygienically clean textiles as quantified by ongoing microbial testing.

The certification confirms the laundry’s dedication to compliance and processing healthcare textiles (HCTs) using BMPs as described in its quality assurance documentation, the focal point for laundry plant inspectors’ evaluation of critical control points that minimize risk. The independent, third-party inspection must confirm essential evidence that:

• Employees are properly trained and protected
• Managers understand legal requirements
• OSHA-compliant
• Physical plant operates effectively

In addition, Paris passed three rounds of outcome-based microbial testing, indicating that their processes are producing Hygienically Clean Healthcare linens and garments and zero presence of harmful bacteria and fungus. To maintain their certification, laundry plants must pass quarterly testing to ensure that as laundry conditions change, such as water quality, textile fabric composition and wash chemistry, laundered product quality is consistently maintained.

This process eliminates subjectivity by focusing on outcomes and results that verify textiles cleaned in these facilities meet appropriate hygienically clean standards and BMPs for hospitals, surgery centers, medical offices, nursing homes and other medical facilities.

Hygienically Clean Healthcare certification acknowledges laundries’ effectiveness in protecting healthcare operations through testing and inspections that scrutinize quality control procedures in linen and uniform service operations. The Hygienically Clean standard provides for two inspections every three years. OSHA compliance is closely examined, particularly toxic and hazardous substance handling rules governing textiles containing blood and other potentially infectious materials.

Certified laundries use processes, chemicals and BMPs acknowledged by the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS), Association for the Advancement of Medical Instrumentation (AAMI), American National Standards Institute (ANSI) and others. Introduced in 2012, Hygienically Clean Healthcare incorporates the international cleanliness standards for healthcare linens and garments used worldwide by the Certification Association for Professional Textile Services and the European Committee for Standardization.

Objective experts in epidemiology, infection control, nursing and other healthcare professions work with TRSA launderers to ensure the certification continues to enforce the highest standards for producing clean healthcare textiles. With 100+ years as the textile services industry’s leading business association, TRSA’s expertise in laundry BMP development is unmatched.

“Congratulations to Paris on their certification,” said Joseph Ricci, TRSA president and CEO. “This achievement proves their dedication to building their customers’ confidence that their laundry takes every step possible to prevent human illness.”

Posted September 15, 2017

Source: TRSA

ZURICH — September 12, 2017 — Social and environmental concerns will soon play a greater role in public procurement. Although the aim is simple, the implementation may prove to be difficult.

Given the global supply chains within the textile industry, even experts face numerous challenges when evaluating the sustainability of uniforms and protective clothing. Due to its international
nature and the sheer volume of third parties in the production chain, responsibility is increasingly placed on those releasing new textiles onto the market. Public procurement stipulates that clothing must be safe, produced in environmentally friendly production facilities and under decent working conditions. Yet how can procurers gauge whether the supplier complies with these provisions? Thanks to public procurement regulation, the adherence to such sustainability requirements can now be determined from labels. Labelled textile products offer guidance and help consumers make responsible decisions when purchasing workwear. Yet when bombarded with hundreds of worldwide labels and certificates, selecting the right one is by no means an easy feat, so much so that the phrase “label labyrinth” was coined.

In pursuit of a suitable label, it makes sense to draw on those tried and tested designs. Since
 1992 OEKO-TEX® has been developing various solutions for environmentally friendly and socially responsible textiles. The guiding principles of Oeko-Tex are based on transparency, traceability, credibility and trust. Now available on the market, Oeko-Tex certificates and labels allow
textile manufacturers to prove compliance with environmental and social regulations in their production chains. Whether it is the use of chemicals in production, the continuous improvement
of the supplier’s working and production conditions or the safety of the final product – it can all be independently and credibly verified with the help of the various products developed by the Oeko-Tex Association.

With the label MADE IN GREEN by Oeko-Tex, for example, procurers can even trace the production process of the finished garment. Through a bar code or the product ID on the label, the different stages of production can be viewed. On the website www.siegelklarheit.de, the German Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development commends the transparency that the Made In Green label offers consumers, classifying it as a “very good option”.

Likewise, if the new legal status wishes to make procurement procedures simpler, then sustainability regulation requires a new approach. Relying on a trustworthy partner is certainly advantageous. 
For 25 years, Oeko-Tex has offered easy solutions, enabling procurers to successfully
overcome the increasing demands of the market; ensuring everything from chemical management, environmentally friendly manufacturing processes and fair working conditions to labels clearly displaying product performance. The Oeko-Tex system provides the optimal basis for this as it continually refines its standards and always focused on current market developments.

The Made In Green by Oeko-Tex label offers buyers the safety that products bearing the label are produced sustainably, and enables them at the same time to transparently trace the manufacturing of the article.

Posted September 13, 2017

Source: Oeko-Tex

ALEXANDRIA, Va. — September 12, 2017 — Although TRSA was forced to cancel its Annual Conference this week in Miami due to Hurricane Irma, there’s a silver lining: the association will make a significant contribution to relief efforts in areas affected by hurricanes Irma and Harvey.

While offering to refund all registration and sponsorship fees, TRSA has asked members to donate all or a portion of these fees to support local charities. Roughly half have committed their Annual Conference registration and/or sponsorship fees to local charities and as a result of this generosity, TRSA expects to donate approximately $125,000 on behalf of its members to ongoing relief efforts in Houston, Miami and elsewhere in Florida in the aftermath of these powerful storms.

Already, several hundred homeless residents were given welcome boxes that had been packaged for conference attendees.

“It’s very sad that for the first time in living memory, bad weather has forced TRSA to cancel our Annual Conference,” said TRSA President & CEO Joseph Ricci. “In an effort to make the best of an unfortunate situation, our members have stepped-up by contributing their registration and sponsorship fees to help the association make a significant contribution to the local economies and to people in need.”

“We are all very fortunate that we have not had to endure the hardships of our fellow Americans that reside in Houston and those impacted on the East Coast,” said G.A. Braun President Joe Gudenburr IV. The company is donating all of its TRSA conference registration and sponsorship fees. “The country is in need of unity, and we all need to look after our fellow man/woman/child in times of hardship and need. This is a nominal contribution that will hopefully be matched by many so that those in need can get some relief.”

Posted September 12, 2017

Source: TRSA