Sustainability services
Building more sustainable products and supply chains is one of the most important challenges facing businesses today. We provide testing and consultancy to help you to achieve your sustainability goals.
Sustainability testing and certification
Identifying sustainable end-of-life solutions for materials and products is a key challenge being faced today by many industries. We offer a series of tests to determine if a material is biodegradable or compostable and we can provide support on understanding what claims can then be made about it.
ISO 14855-1:2012 – Determination of the ultimate aerobic biodegradability of plastic materials under controlled composting conditions. The material being tested is placed into compost; the amount of CO2 released over the course of the test is measured to determine the material’s biodegradability.
SATRA can arrange testing to ASTM D5511-18 (equivalent to ISO 15985) and ASTM D5526-18. These tests can be used to determine the anaerobic biodegradability of a material in anaerobic-digestion conditions and accelerated landfill conditions respectively.
We can provide certification to compostability specifications EN 14995:2006 and EN 13432:2000.
ISO 20200:2023 is used to determine the degree of disintegration of plastic materials under simulated composting conditions in a laboratory-scale test. The larger pilot-scale test ISO 16929:2021 can also be arranged.
This assessment is used to determine how safe the biodegraded material is when added to an ecosystem and see if any harmful substances are left. This is in-line with compost standards from around the world including PAS 100 and USCC.
ISO 20136:2020 is a leather specific aerobic biodegradation test. The leather is ground up and put into a mixture of nutrients, water and inoculum. The amount of CO2 released over the course of the test is measured to determine the material’s biodegradability.
REAL CCS 3.1 and OECD 208:2006 plant response tests determine if healthy plants (typically tomato or legume) can be grown in compost containing the test material.
This is a 20-day test in an environment simulating industrial composting to identify if a material is potentially a good candidate for the full ISO 20200:2015 disintegration test as well as further compostability testing.
Lifecycle assessment
We all want products that are sustainable and environmentally friendly, but how can this be measured and validated?
At SATRA, we can carry out a Lifecycle Assessment (LCA) in line with ISO standards on your products and materials to measure their environmental impacts throughout their lifecycle. This can focus solely on the global warming potential (carbon footprint) or consider a wider range of impacts that may be relevant.
Water-based adhesives
Changing from solvent-based to water-based adhesives (WBAs) can be a cost-neutral solution with real and lasting benefits. It can be cost-effective, improve working conditions and reduce the environmental impact of the manufacturing process.
We have developed a water-based adhesive consultation service to offer manufacturers and brand owners an in-country service to move production lines to WBAs.
Support and advice on reducing environmental impacts
We know that you’re always looking for ways to improve, and ways to minimise the environmental impact of your organisation or of a particular product, and there are many ways to achieve this.
We offer advice and guidance to help you take control of all aspects of production from design and material choice through to energy usage, transportation and end-of-life considerations.
Bio-based carbon content
Transitioning away from traditional plastic-based materials to bio-based materials, with a higher bio-based carbon content can be one way to minimise the environmental impacts of a product. Bio-based carbon (also known as modern carbon) comes from biomass such as plants and animals, whereas fossil-based carbon is derived from oil, coal and gas. We can arrange testing to ASTM D6866 (equivalent to ISO 16620-2) to allow you to verify the bio-based carbon content of your materials.
Introduction to footwear sustainability course
A one-day course aimed at anyone working for a footwear brand, sourcing company, retailer, or manufacturer who needs to understand the key sustainability challenges facing the industry and how to tackle them.
Useful publications
For any company on a sustainability journey, these SATRA publications provide some useful guidance.
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Restricted substances list - footwearOur chemical testing team have curated a Restricted Substances List specifically for the footwear industry. This list is available exclusively to SATRA members.
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Restricted substances list - consumer productsOur chemical testing team have curated a Restricted Substances List specifically for consumer product industries. This list is available free to industry.
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SATRA Bulletin Sustainability SpecialOur SATRA Bulletin Sustainability Special provides key information on sustainability topics relevant to the footwear industry.
Software solutions
Our software solutions help you understand your manufacturing time and material costs, enabling you to make improvements increasing efficiency and optimising environments and processes.
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SATRASummManage the efficient cutting of materials both synthetic and organic, reduce waste and free up your profits.
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TimeLineKeep production flowing at a lower cost, optimise your facilities, and get the best from your people.
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VisionStitchA complete stitching improvement package for all stitching operations, designed to improve productivity and quality.