Chemicals are ubiquitous in our daily lives, as well as in the manufacturing, washing, dyeing and printing processes of clothing. Effective and competent management of chemicals is critical to ensure the safe production of materials and their reuse.

Lichi is constantly working to ensure that all of our products are safe in production and use. This includes eliminating any hazardous emissions to water, soil and air. Our vision is to make the transition to safe food and toxic-free fashion as soon as possible, guided by our chemical policy.

Chemical policy of the Lichi company
This is how Lichi will try to pave the way for our ultimate goal: toxic-free fashion by 2035.

Transparency of production — minimization of chemicals used in the production of Lichi for commercial goods by 2035. Political Participation — Promote and support legislation and government policies that promote the progressive regulation and control of chemicals. Buyer Information — Share chemical data with customers, including full public disclosure of wastewater and greenhouse emissions tests conducted. Material Improvement and Research — Fostering innovation and the development of better chemical materials and technologies throughout the supply chain. Zero Emission — No release of priority hazardous chemicals in the supply chain. 100% Climate Support — Our goal is to achieve 100% recycled or other environmentally friendly materials by 2035 in terms of chemicals (materials and processes).

Towards change
Lichi's chemical requirements for suppliers are usually higher than existing regulations and we are promoting progressive chemical management in the production of our partners. Hazardous chemicals must not be used in manufacturing or contained in any of our products. LICHI fully maintains the Chemical Restrictions List, which is constantly updated. Our suppliers are contracted to abide by this list.

In the future, Lichi will participate in a collaboration to reduce the use of hazardous chemicals in the apparel and footwear supply chain called the Office of Apparel and Footwear Manufacturing (AFIRM) and a Zero Discharge of Hazardous Chemicals Agreement (ZDHC). Our chemical restrictions on textiles will comply with both the AFIRM Prohibited List and the ZDHC Prohibited List. In addition, there is a lot of material that Lichi has already stopped or will stop using. This is based on precautions and environmental concerns or legal standards in the markets in which we operate. To ensure compliance with our limited list, we regularly test our products, mainly by third-party laboratories.

Safe products
Lichi selects all materials used very carefully, we try to use only the best materials in their class. We carefully assess the risks and use a third party assessment that takes into account all the risks to the environment and human health. This allows us to avoid hazardous substances in production. We define the hazard of each material as persistent, toxic, carcinogenic, mutagenic for reproduction or endocrine disrupting.

When selecting chemicals, we recommend our suppliers to use the ZDHC Gateway chemistry module. It is an industry wide web platform providing information on MRSL compliant chemicals.

Products that do not contain toxic substances
In 2011, many brands signed a pledge to phase out hazardous chemicals in their textile and leather supply chains by 2020. We support these processes, as well as ZDHC and its programs to ensure the proper management of chemicals.

Lichi plans to implement this program as early as 2023.
Our commitment to sustainability, which all of our suppliers are required to sign, includes a set of requirements for compliance with chemical restrictions, safe handling and storage of hazardous substances, and environmental requirements such as wastewater treatment and hazardous waste management.

How we go to meet the requirements of the ZDHC MRSL
The ZDHC program allows us to assess how we are progressing towards toxic-free fashion. We are currently trying to achieve 68% compliance with the ZDHC MRSL input chemical requirements. Our goal is to achieve 100% ZDHC MRSL compliance in 2035, and we continue to work towards this goal every day.

Compliance with waste water treatment requirements
The wastewater from our production chain will become cleaner. We will achieve 99.9% ZDHC MRSL compliance. LICHI works with each supplier and analyzes each production involved in our chain, our goal is to help our suppliers achieve 100% of the requirements.

Recycled materials and chemicals
Recycled materials are a key element of the global economy. But increasing their use while maintaining the absence of toxic substances is a challenge. To address this issue, we have begun creating chemical assessment maps for our partners' textile waste streams to ensure that hazardous substances are not reintroduced into the production cycle.