SHOWA GROUP ANNOUNCES TO BE FIRST EVER GLOVE COMPANY TO ACHIEVE THE GREENCIRCLE BIODEGRADATION CERTIFICATION

SHOWA has achieved this year the GreenCircle certification for 8 protective gloves from our range that meet all the necessary qualifications to be certified for the following claims: Biodegradable. The ASTM D5526 certification demonstrated that SHOWA EBT gloves achieved 82% biodegradation in only 386 days, while gloves without EBT achieved only 1.9% biodegradation over the same period of time.

MAKING A DIFFERENCE TO THE ENVIRONMENT

As a response to the overwhelming amount of plastic waste and the growing climate crisis, SHOWA is investing heavily in Research & Development (R&D) for products with a reduced impact on the environment. An estimated 100 billion pairs of gloves are thrown away each year. Laid out end-to-end, that’s enough to stretch to the moon and back 30 times.

Considering that these gloves take more than 100 years to biodegrade in a landfill, the amount of glove waste in landfills is expected to increase vastly with our growing population. In 2012, SHOWA launched its revolutionary Eco Best Technology® (EBT) and introduced the first biodegradable disposable nitrile glove in the market.

SHOWA’S ECO BEST TECHNOLOGY: SAME GLOVE, BETTER FOR THE PLANET

EBT offers the solution that makes a difference to the environment, without any compromise on protection and performance for the user. Thanks to their special composition, EBT gloves achieved 82% biodegradation in only 386 days, as proven by ASTM D5526 certification, while non-EBT products take more than 100 years to do so. We offer to all our customers across the world 8 biodegradable products and certified with GreenCircle.

Why Green Circle

GreenCircle’s vision is “to empower every business to drive positive global change”. Sustainability is an urgent global matter where every individual and companies have a role to play. It is a global effort. That said it opens so many doors and possibilities for sustainability concepts, roles and impact.  Sustainability is not just environmentalism. Embedded in most definitions of sustainability we also find concerns for social equity and economic development.

There are so many types of sustainability: renewable energy, waste reduction, circular economy, water treatment, recycling, local food sources, pollution control, protection of biodiversity, biodegradation, and each come with an exhaustive list of possible actions and claims toward the same goal.

Sustainability is the idea that people’s actions have consequences on the planet.

What’s the customers benefit

SHOWA brings its stone to the building of a more sustainable world. We have been the first-ever PPE company to develop and launch Biodegradable gloves (SHOWA 6110) and are now the first protective glove company to give brand transparency to our EBT biodegradation claim. Our biodegradable products (EBT technology) are certified with GreenCircle and it is designed to assure our customers of our sustainable effort and to offer a comparison attribute with other sustainable products claim.

About GreenCircle Certified, LLC

“GreenCircle Certified is an internationally recognized third-party certification entity whose thorough evaluation process provides independent verification that sustainability claims related to an organization’s products and operations are honest, valid, and verified. GreenCircle is ISO 17065 compliant, following industry requirements for bodies certifying products, processes, and services. Biodegradable certification demonstrates an organization’s commitment to utilize materials and develop products that will completely break down and return to nature within a reasonably short period of time after customary disposal and reduce reliance on materials that do not decompose, thereby reducing the amount of waste in landfills. GreenCircle Certified’s (GreenCircle’s) Biodegradable Certification was developed after encountering many false and unsubstantiated biodegradability claims in the marketplace.” For more information visit www.greencirclecertified.com

ABOUT SHOWA

As a 100% integrated protective gloves manufacturer, SHOWA has complete control of the design and manufacturing process of our protective gloves, continuously innovating to provide each wearer with a product that matches expectations. This autonomy ensures excellent quality in production and service, to provide ordinary hands with extraordinary abilities.  To us, sustainability isn’t just a commitment, it’s part of our legacy. We continue to pioneer the industry with products that have a reduced impact on the environment.