Sateri (part of the RGE Group)

Products: VSF / Rayon, Lyocell

Risk Status

Known risk confirmed in audit

Next Gen Solutions

Next Gen

Chemical Management (out of 8)

5.5

Hot Button Score (out of 40)

20 =

中文

Risk of sourcing from Ancient and Endangered Forests

Known risk confirmed in audit

As part of the Royal Golden Eagle Group (RGE), Sateri continues to source from high-risk suppliers. A significant share of its pulp comes from sister companies Asia Pacific Resources International Ltd (APRIL) and Bracell. The core risks affecting Sateri’s Hot Button rating, identified in their first audit, have yet to be effectively addressed.  Therefore, the inclusion of red in a producer’s shirt rating — be it partially red or completely red — indicates risk of sourcing from high-carbon and biodiverse forests.

APRIL continues to operate on carbon-rich, drained tropical peatlands. APRIL, Toba Pulp Lestari, and their supply partners have a history of disputes with local and traditional communities and a legacy of deforestation and conversion of natural forests and peatlands to monoculture plantations. APRIL is currently engaged in a Remedy Framework process with the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) in an effort to regain FSC certification. This framework would require the company to effectively address its legacy of both social and environmental harms.

There is also an indirect association with Toba Pulp Lestari (TPL) mill in Indonesia, held by the same beneficial owner as RGE, the Tanoto family.  Recent information indicates that Toba Pulp has been logging protected forests within its concession boundaries.

Sateri supplier APRIL committed to zero-deforestation in 2015. While the company maintains that commitment still exists, the 2015 date has been removed from all updated RGE-affiliated wood sourcing policies and NGOs and local communities in Indonesia have asked that the date be reinstated. Sateri has achieved a green-yellow-red shirt in 2024. The green in the shirt represents progress made on several Hot Button criteria, and the red indicates that risk of sourcing from Ancient and Endangered Forests and other controversial sources remains.

Areas Where Company is Showing Leadership

Sourcing

Developed a policy in 2015 committing to zero deforestation. This policy commitment should be reinserted in all RGE and affiliates updated policies
APRIL has commissioned research that has the potential to inform decision-making on biodiversity restoration.

Conservation

Sateri has been encouraging RGE and key supplier APRIL to support conservation initiatives in the critically important Leuser Ecosystem
Has called on signatories to the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) to develop the regulatory mechanisms necessary to ensure that the Convention’s goals for nature protection are prioritized.  
APRIL has established a conservation fund, wherein one US dollar for every tonne of production is allocated towards research and potential action on conservation and restoration activities.

Next Generation Solutions

Sateri has developed plans to gradually increase production of their Next Generation product line FINEX, which contains between 5 and 50% recycled fibre.  
RGE and Sateri have been undertaking research into the potential of post-consumer waste textiles collection as part of RGE’s five-year, six-million dollar Research Centre project to develop new technologies for textile recycling.

Key Improvements Required

As part of the RGE family of companies, Sateri is well-positioned to advocate internally for substantive change in the practices of its primary suppliers to address identified risks, including encouraging APRIL to:   

Address the legacy of forest conversion and associated environmental impacts by increasing the restoration and protection of high-carbon peatlands within its operating land base.  
Scale up Next Generation technologies, innovation and production, while reducing reliance on forest-derived fibre. 
 Encourage transparency regarding APRIL’s planned production expansion, in particular through more open sharing of detailed information on long-term fibre sourcing plans. 
Ensure all supply partners and open-market suppliers are not associated with the conversion of natural forests to plantations. 
Reinstate the 2015 cutoff date for any fibre sourcing associated with deforestation into RGE, Sateri and all forestry-related affiliates’ sourcing policies.

Facilities

Annual production capacity is 2.175 million tonnes of viscose staple fibre and approximately 120,000 tonnes of lyocell. Sateri plans to increase lyocell fibre production in China to 453,592 tonnes by 2025.

Sateri has been producing FINEX, a Next Generation product, with 5 – 50% recycled textile waste.

Sateri currently owns six viscose mills, three lyocell facilities (one capable of also producing MMCF, nonwovens) and three nonwoven mills in China and holds controlling interest in the Linz (Nanjing) spinning mill (50,000 spindle capacity).

Sateri Lyocell Production Line. Rizhao, Shandong Province, China. Production capacity 20,000 tonnes of lyocell.
Changzhou facility which includes a Lyocell Production capacity of 100,000 tonnes, as well as 49,000 tonnes of non-wovens and a 34,000 tonnes non-woven line under construction as of December, 2022. Located in Liyang in Jiangsu Province, China.
Sateri Nantong Fibre Ltd, Lyocell Production Line, Nantong, Jiangsu Province, China. Production capacity 100,000 tonnes.
Sateri (Fujian) Fibre Co. Ltd. Putian, Fujian Province, China. Production capacity 300,000 tonnes of viscose staple fibre.
Sateri (Jiujiang) Fibre Co. Ltd. Jiujiang, Jiangxi Province, China. Production capacity 355,000 tonnes of viscose staple fibre (17 tonnes non-wovens).
Sateri (Jiangsu) Fibre Co. Ltd. Suqian, Jiangsu Province, China. Production capacity 300,000 tonnes of viscose staple fibre.
Sateri (China) Fibre Co. Ltd. Jiujiang, Jiangxi Province, China. Production capacity 580,000 tonnes viscose staple fibre.
Sateri Yancheng Fibre Co. Ltd. (formerly Funing Aoyang Technology Ltd). Yancheng, Jiangsu Province, China Production capacity 370,000 tonnes viscose staple fibre.

All of VSF facilities belonging to Sateri have been registered on the ZDHC platform. The Sateri Fujian facility has been assessed at the progressive level in all three criteria related to chemical management: chemical recovery, wastewater discharge, and air emissions. The Sateri Jiangsu facility has not undergone any assessment and the other facilities (Jiangxi, Jiujiang, Yancheng) have achieved progressive levels only for wastewater discharge and air emissions.