On November 16th, the 19th China Corporate Social Responsibility Forum, hosted by the China News Agency's China News Weekly, was held in Beijing. With the theme of "Resilience: The Way to Sustainable Responsibility," guests from the political, business, academic, and research circles, including Chen Zhili, former State Councilor and Vice Chairman of the Standing Committee of the 11th National People's Congress, Ma Peihua, Vice Chairman of the 12th National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference and Chairman of the China Reunited Warm Care Engineering Foundation, and Zhang Wenkui, Deputy Director of the Enterprise Research Institute of the Development Research Center of the State Council, attended the forum to explore ways to fulfill responsibilities under the new circumstances. With their commitment and innovative practices in the field of social responsibility, Winner Medical and Purcotton have won the "Annual Responsible Enterprise" award for two consecutive years.
During the roundtable dialogue session at the forum, Liao Meizhen, Vice President of Purcotton, a consumer brand under the Winner Medical, said: "For 14 years, Purcotton has been dedicated to promoting the natural fiber cotton, hoping to make more consumers and users aware of the sustainable and environmental value of cotton. Since 2022, Purcotton has conducted "WE Environmental Protection, More Cotton" environmental protection lectures in over 200 universities nationwide, allowing students to understand that wearing a cotton t-shirt can greatly reduce carbon emissions and practice environmental protection in their daily lives together.
Roundtable dialogue, Futian / photo
Cotton is not only breathable, comfortable, and warm but also an environmentally friendly fiber. Compared to hundreds of years for chemical fibers to degrade, cotton products can degrade in 3 months when buried in the soil. Planting 1 kilogram of cotton can absorb 5 kilograms of carbon dioxide, effectively reduce soil erosion during the planting process, and improve land desertification, which is of great significance in safeguarding the ecological environment of the Earth. Therefore, Purcotton focuses on the development and innovation of cotton products, expands its product range from single cotton towels to a full range of cotton products, and brings a comfortable, healthy, and environmentally friendly lifestyle to more people by relying on the whole industry chain established by its parent company, Winner Medical.
Based on its commitment to cotton, Winner Medical and Purcotton have collaborated with upstream and downstream companies to promote the sustainable development of the cotton industry. According to statistics, over the past 14 years, Purcotton has purchased 250,000 tons of cotton. It has sold more than 58.22 million pieces of all-cotton clothing and bedding, reducing the pollution caused by an equivalent amount of chemical fiber products. It has also sold 57.7 billion pieces of cotton towels, reducing deforestation significantly.
Cotton repels sandstorms and turns deserts into oases
The concept of sustainable development is rooted in every step of the Winner Medical's raw material sourcing and consumer end. Continuous innovation in product development and production processes is also a powerful exploration made by Purcotton.
In terms of product development, Purcotton designs green products from the source and actively carries out product carbon footprint certification. Nine products including all-cotton towels, gauze towels, and wet wipes have obtained the China Green Product Certification. The Purcotton, baby wipes, and baby robes have obtained the first domestic SGS carbon footprint verification statement. At the same time, Purcotton takes the lead in implementing the "Zero Plastic Plan" green packaging initiative, with over 1,458 products in more than 30 categories having their packaging materials changed to environmentally friendly materials. It has also distributed over 14.08 million degradable and environmentally friendly bags, avoiding the damage to the environment caused by an equivalent number of plastic bags.
By focusing on topics such as "sustainable cotton" and "sustainable processes," Purcotton continues to develop and apply cotton breeding and environmentally friendly organic cotton at the source. It has also innovated waterless processes and yarn mist washing processes to save a significant amount of water resources and reduce wastewater discharge. It adopts natural "plant dyeing" to effectively avoid the damage that traditional chemical dyes may cause to the ecological environment and human health, achieving energy-saving and consumption reduction across the entire industry chain.
Based on the value of cotton, Purcotton has been actively promoting cotton culture for more than a decade. In August of this year, it hosted a themed exhibition called "Hello, Cotton Colors" to educate users about the life cycle of cotton and its sustainable value. It launched the "WE Environmental Protection, More Cotton" public welfare campaign in collaboration with over 200 colleges and universities nationwide, exploring green and sustainable lifestyles with the "Generation Z" through various forms such as public lectures and environmental protection packaging design competitions. It has also released a documentary series called "She Makes Changes" for two consecutive years, documenting the stories of contemporary female representatives who are brave and full of positive energy.
As a socially responsible company, the Winner Medical has always actively participated in social welfare undertakings. When rare flood disasters occurred in the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region, when various parts of the country experienced recurring epidemics, when the Luding earthquake occurred in Sichuan, and when heavy rainfall hit Henan, Winner Medical promptly donated medical and epidemic prevention supplies and daily necessities to hospitals, communities, universities, and other places across the country. Meanwhile, Purcotton, under its umbrella, has collaborated with organizations such as the National Women's Federation and the China Women's Development Foundation to carry out charitable initiatives for the care of women and children. Since 2020, the cumulative value of donations, including funds and goods, has exceeded 73 million yuan, allowing the enduring influence of a cotton flower to continue blossoming.
For Winner Medical, practicing social responsibility is a long-term commitment and an essential path to sustainable development. We believe that only by upholding the symbiosis of corporate values and social values can we keep pace with the times, driving high-quality, sustainable development for the company.