The German authorities now acknowledge the bluesign system as a qualifier for Green Public Procurement (GPP).

As the impact of past and present business and manufacturing practices on the local and global environment is becoming more and more apparent, governments and public authorities are trying to lead by example and change to GPP practices for the large volumes of goods and services they purchase. The EU Green Deal will further drive this trend.

The rules and requirements for public procurement in the EU are defined in Directive 2014/24/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council of February 26^th  2014.

Environmental label requirements defined in Article 43 stipulate open, transparent and comprehensible processes for the creation, revision and application of label criteria which are implemented in the national legislation of the member states such as Germany. Provided that the requirements are fulfilled, the labels concerned can be used in public procurement processes according to applicable procurement guidelines.

For the latest revision of the criteria for the bluesign environmental label, more than 500 stakeholders were invited to participate in the consultation process, providing valuable feedback for revision and insights into the needs of different groups.

“Public procurement of textile articles is a large market including workwear for fire fighters, police forces, the military, bed linens for hospitals etc., and governments will increasingly focus on the procurement of sustainable textiles,” said Thomas Schaefer, head of the bluesign Academy. “Governmental bodies should be a forerunner, and in some countries there are already commitments to achieving a certain level of sustainable textiles in procurement decisions. We are proud that bluesign is now accepted as a qualifier. That’s important for public sector bodies because with our label a wide range of textile articles with high technical performance will now be accepted.”

“We are pleased to learn that the German authorities now recognize the bluesign system as a qualifier for GPP,” said Kilian Hochrein, director of environmental affairs at outdoor clothing manufacturer and bluesign member W.L. Gore. “For Gore, this milestone is further proof the science-based and pragmatic approach of bluesign, which will help transform and strengthen the segment of consumer and technical protective apparel in the textile industry. This is strong support for Gore’s efforts to provide high performance protective fabrics to professionals in public safety, security and workwear with the least environmental footprint. We are confident that the German example will be acknowledged in textile procurement throughout the EU.”

The bluesign system is a solution for a sustainable textile production. It eliminates harmful substances from the beginning of the manufacturing process and sets and controls standards for environmentally friendly and safe production. This not only ensures that the final textile product meets very stringent consumer safety requirements worldwide, but also provides confidence to the consumer to acquire a sustainable product.

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