YOEK: Streamlining Restricted Substance Compliance in Fashion
YOEK is a Dutch fashion company, where Renée Donker leads sustainability initiatives. To comply with the European regulation and the policies of retailers like Zalando, YOEK must align its Restricted Substances List (RSL) with both Zalando's requirements and the AFIRM standard, an industry-wide consortium for chemical management.
Challenge
Reconciling three updated chemical substance standards
AFIRM and Zalando have updated their chemical standard. For YOEK, this meant a comprehensive gap analysis between three lengthy, technical documents, and with that:
- Hiring external consultants for multi-hour assessments
- Not building internal literacy on the topic
- Having to resort to consultancy for ad-hoc questions that come up year round in relation to their chemical substance policy.
Solution
Chemical limits compared and discrepancies flagged automatically
Spirefly is equipped with specialized tools to access, review, and improve chemical substance policies in a structured process. This allowed Renée to:
- Compare chemical limits across all three standards, flagging discrepancies and generating a prioritized action plan.
- Advice on how to deal with test samples that come back from the factory and do not comply with their standards.
Result
Faster policy updates and confident borderline-sample decisions
- Significant external costs avoided. YOEK can now reduce external expertise to focus on verification rather than creating the analysis from scratch.
- Continuous access to guidance. The system, having been informed of YOEK’s chemical policy and company portfolio, is now equipped to rapidly assess the severity of any infringement of chemical limits.
“We're not chemists. When a test result comes back borderline, you have to decide fast: cancel the batch or ship it? I still need to make the decision myself, but I can do so with much more confidence.”
More case studies
Termeer Group: Making Board-Ready Sustainability KPIs
Termeer Group, the parent company for Dutch retail brands Sacha, Sissy Boy, and Manfield, manages a portfolio of over 7,000 unique products within a global supply chain. Zsuzsa Kozma, the CSR Director, is responsible for translating new EU regulations into a viable strategy and execution plan for the organization.
Studio Anneloes: Accelerating B Corp Recertification for Fashion
Studio Anneloes is a Dutch fashion brand with high sustainability ambitions and just a two-person sustainability team. Sustainability Manager Laura Koedijk and Sustainability Coordinator Iris van Trigt lead all sustainability initiatives within Studio Anneloes, including the company’s B Corp status. With B Lab’s newly released 2025 standards raising the bar significantly, all certified companies must reassess their practices and meet a comprehensive list of requirements to maintain certification.
Westland Kaas: Building a Sustainability Business Case in Food
Westland Kaas is a Dutch, family-owned cheese company aiming for 100% net climate neutrality by 2036. Westland has a brand-driven focus, and a partially outsourced supply chain. This makes it important to engage with suppliers to reduce supply chain emissions. Daan Mes spearheads all sustainability initiatives across the organization and its value chain.
Ready to turn your supply-chain data into a nature strategy?
Discover how Spirefly can boost your sustainability ambitions and save valuable time and costs.