Intertek, the leading global provider of international trade solutions, today announced it has
partnered with leading global retailers, consumer brands and fabric mills to launch an
unprecedented industry program to facilitate industry-wide collaboration around better solutions
for the social, environmental and quality performance of global fabric mills.
This unique program is designed to better prioritize the critical concerns facing responsible
textile production today and add clarity in identifying collaborative opportunities for most
effectively leveraging available industry resources tomorrow. The Mill Qualification Program (MQP)
addresses the challenges faced by retailers and consumer brands to assist suppliers in
understanding and achieving their social, environmental and quality expectations. By facilitating
industry collaboration towards the sharing of fabric mill performance behaviors, MQP enables a more
efficient approach for responsible textile production, which advances sustainability and fosters
overall industry innovation.
The absence of a widely accepted approach for measuring fabric mill performance and the
expense of visiting geographically dispersed facilities makes it difficult for retailers, consumer
brands and fabric mills alike to balance ensuring the quality their customers demand while
upholding their sustainability values and commitments. MQP addresses this challenge by delivering
several key benefits for all industry stakeholders:
* Deep visibility into the supply chain
* Greater awareness to mitigate risk
* Independent evaluations that can be benchmarked
* Improved speed to market
* Reduced mill evaluation costs
* Access to market-wide data for more informed decision making
Andre Raghu, President of Intertek Sustainability Solutions explains, “The successful
promotion of responsible textile production depends on emphasizing performance and cost benefits in
addition to sustainability value. This pioneering initiative will provide the global textile
industry with a new operating environment to understand when sustainability factors are effectively
integrated into business strategies and operations of fabric mills, allowing purchasers to weigh
several key factors and take a best value approach in their buying decisions – – not just price.”
By enabling a more efficient process for all industry stakeholders, MQP participating
retailers, consumer brands and fabric mills will benefit from smarter business decisions with
greater confidence.
Visit
www.millqp.com today, to support a more efficient and
sustainable production process for the global textile industry.
About Intertek
MQP is enabled by Intertek Sustainability Solutions, a network of global supply chain
professional and technical experts, offering a broad range of trade advisory, technology and
support services. Intertek (ITRK.L) is a leading provider of quality and safety solutions serving a
wide range of industries around the world. From auditing and inspection, to testing, quality
assurance and certification, Intertek people are dedicated to adding value to customers’ products
and processes, supporting their success in the global marketplace. Intertek has the expertise,
resources and global reach to support its customers through its network of more than 1,000
laboratories and offices and over 23,000 people in 110 countries around the world.
For more information, visit
www.intertek.com
November 4, 2008
Press Release Courtesy of Intertek
