134 | Business World Magazine |
July 2013
Ecotex was the first healthcare laundry ser-
vice in Canada (as well as in the U.S. North-
west) to secure “Clean Green” certification.
Today each the company’s linen processing
facilities have been certified. Additionally
Ecotex is recognized for adhering to the high
standards of the “Laundry Environmental
Stewardship Program” designed by the Tex-
tiles Rental Services Association. “We take
the ‘ECO’ in ‘Ecotex’ very seriously,” says
Bartsch.
He also concedes that some in his mar-
ket scoffed. In an area that is prone to rainy
weather, some asked, “Why are you so wor-
ried about conserving water?” Bartsch says
that he realized very early on that water is
one of the most important resources of the
business. “You can’t clean laundry without
it, but as much as our business depends on
water, it occurred to me how much all of
life depends on water,” says Bartsch. Ecotex
has invested significant capital in acquiring
the industry’s most state-of-the-art feats of
engineering which allow the company to
reduce water consumption, by recapturing,
filtering and re-using its water. Over the last
five years, the company’s fresh water con-
sumption has been reduced by more than 45
million gallons. Ecotex was also among the
earliest companies to move away from the
use of hazardous Nonylphenol Ethoxylate
chemicals to NPE-free detergents and low
