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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)
20.5 =
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), Bracell, and Asia Symbol.

The core risks affecting Sateri’s Hot Button rating, risks identified in Sateri’s first audit, need to be addressed and measurable progress made prior to the company being eligible for a second audit. Core supplier, APRIL, has yet to effectively address ecological risks and priority peat restoration identified in Sateri’s first CanopyStyle Audit. APRIL continues to operate on carbon-rich, drained tropical peatlands. APRIL 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 was disassociated from the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) in 2013 due to concerns over large-scale deforestation and social conflicts. 

Additionally, parent-company RGE has been subject to numerous claims over the past three years of being associated with deforestation of high-carbon forests in Kalimantan — claims the company has denied.  

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.  

Areas Where Company is Showing Leadership

  • Developed a policy in 2015 committing to zero deforestation.  
  • Has internal traceability system in place for its products, which it reports allows customers to request tracking from MMCF fibre to garment. 
  • Sateri’s key supplier and sister company APRIL is investing in Land Use Planning with several communities in proximity to its operations and is piloting a biodiversity monitoring and assessment tool in cooperation with IUCN.
  • Sateri has been encouraging RGE and key supplier APRIL to support conservation initiatives in the critically important Leuser Ecosystem. In the past, concrete progress was made on individual concessions, however progress in securing concessions for conservation has encountered roadblocks in the past year, and outcomes remain uncertain. 
  • Sateri has called on the UN Climate COP30 to prioritize financial mechanisms to support circularity and nature-based climate solutions.
  • APRIL has established a conservation fund, wherein $1 for every tonne of production is allocated towards research and potential action on conservation and restoration activities.   
  • Sateri has a Next Generation product line FINEX™, which contains between five and 50 percent 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 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.   
  • Commit to full transparency within the FSC Remedy Process in the identification of members of the RGE /APRIL Corporate Group. Properly applied, a credible Remedy Framework would require the company to effectively address its legacy of both social and environmental harms, include full transparency of the entire Corporate Group, and have the support of Civil Society Organizations in Indonesia. 
  • Set targets and timelines to retire and restore high-carbon peatlands within concession boundaries.  
  • Significantly scale the use of Next Generation Solutions in order to reduce current impacts on forests and peatlands.  Prioritize the integration and sourcing of Next Generation Solution technologies and feedstocks for future expansion plans and new suppliers.   

Sateri can also:  

  • 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 deforestation or the conversion of natural forests to plantations.  
  • Proactively use ForestMapper and complementary guidance to avoid sourcing from Ancient and Endangered Forests, and work to acquire further information from suppliers.

Facilities

Annual production capacity is 2.125 million tonnes (VSF and lyocell combined). 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. A 34,000 tonne non-woven line under construction as of December, 2022. Located in Liyang, Jiangsu Province, China. 
  • Sateri Nantong Fibre Ltd, VSF 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. Two facilities with combined production capacity of 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.  

Sateri has six mills producing VSF and all of these are registered on the ZDHC platform. For the chemical recovery module (C2), all but two mills achieved the lowest level (foundational). The two mills Sateri Jiangxi and Sateri Jiangsu did not achieve minimum requirements in C2 module. All mills achieved progressive or aspirational level in the wastewater management module (C3). All mills achieved aspirational level in air emissions module (C4). As a result, Sateri has a light green flask.  

    POLICYAUDIT REPORTLIST OF SUPPLIERS

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    Hot Button Score

    20.5 =

    1. Completion of CanopyStyle Third-Party Verification Audits

      1. Conducts Audits 2/2
      2. Audits published and results acted on1/2
      3. Audit risk results0/2

    2. Contribution to Conservation Legacies

      1. Promotes Ancient and Endangered Forest conservation2/2
      2. Supports conservation targets 1/1
      3. Influences supply chain and decision makers1/2
      4. Contributes to legislated protection1/2
      5. Extra responsibility: additional support for conservation1/2

    3. Innovation via New Alternative Fibres

      1. Advocates for Next Gen 1/1
      2. Invests in R&D1/1
      3. Has a commercial-scale product 2/2
      4. Publishes targets and timelines2/2
      5. Uses Next Gen pulp0/1
      6. Proportional contribution0/2
      7. Implementing ambitious scale-up2/2

    4. Adoption of Robust Forest Sourcing Policy

      1. Has a policy2/2
      2. Policy aligns with CanopyStyle0.5/2

    5. Traceability & Transparency

      1. Has track and trace systems1/1
      2. Publishes list of suppliers2/2
      3. Conducts due diligence in sourcing0/2

    6. Leaders in Supply Chain Shifts

      1. Is responsive and proactive0.5/1
      2. Acts on FSC preference 1/1
      3. Supports ForestMapper0/1
      4. Addresses risk0/2

    7. Associated with High Risk of Sourcing from Ancient and Endangered Forests and other Controversial Sources

      1. High risk sourcing-3.5/-5

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    Sustainable Chemical Management

    5.5

    1. Participation in ZDHC

      The company is an active participant in ZDHC, where all of their MMCF facilities have joined the ZDHC Supplier Platform and have access to the MMCF Module. 1.5/2

    2. Chemical Recovery

      All of the company’s MMCF viscose staple fibre and modal staple fibre facilities have reached at least the Progressive level in their chemical recovery parameters and limit value, according to Chapter 1: ZDHC MMCF Responsible Fibre Production Guidelines V2.20/2

    3. Wastewater

      All of the company’s MMCF viscose staple fibre and modal staple fibre facilities have reached at least the Progressive level in their wastewater discharge parameters and limit values, according to Chapter 2: ZDHC MMCF Wastewater Guidelines V2.22/2

    4. Air Emissions

      All of the company’s viscose staple fibre and modal staple fibre facilities have reached at least the Progressive level in their hazardous chemicals’ air emissions parameters and limit values, according to Chapter 3: ZDHC MMCF Air Emissions Guidelines V2.22/2

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