Pioneering sustainability in Africa

12.03

2021

On the journey to make the most positive contribution to Ethiopian sustainable textile business, Sabahar has renewed its WFTO guaranteed status and obtained OEKO-TEX STeP certification.

„These certifications are a way for us to be sure that we are exploring all the areas we need to consider in order to be an ethical business. The certifications enable us to soul search and analyze our methodologies and get an external point of view from international auditors”, says Kathy Marshall, founder and owner of Sabahar.

Sabahar just achieved a major milestone: the company is now STeP by OEKO-TEX certified. This means that the company is the FIRST AFRICAN COMPANY to get certified at Level 3 (there are three possible levels).

What does this mean at Sabahar?

The World Fair Trade Organization (WFTO) Guarantee System (GS) combines Fair Trade and social enterprise verification into one. It is built to verify that an enterprise is mission-led, focused on the interests of its producers, and this is in the structure, systems and practices of the enterprise. Sabahar has been a member since 2010 and a guaranteed member since 2016. The company just completed its Self Assessment Report and has been renewed through March 2022.

What is STeP?

Sustainable Textile Production (STeP) is an independent certification system for textile manufacturers. The STeP certification is a comprehensive analysis and evaluation of environmentally friendly technologies, efficient use of resources as well as compliance with social working conditions.

This certification system is ever-evolving. The company will be regularly checked so that it is a continuous process of improvement. The process involved a self-assessment which is then audited by three different experts.