TRSA will distribute a fire safety survey to TRSA operator members this week. Modeled after the United Kingdom’s Textile Services Association’s (TSA-UK) 2023 Fire Safety Study, the objective of the survey is to conduct a comprehensive assessment of fire safety practices within commercial laundries.

While laundry operators in today’s post-COVID era are breathing easier since the pandemic has passed, the need to prepare for similar contingencies remains, and in fact the risks to laundry operators are more serious than ever due to a range of natural and societal trends.

At Alsco Uniforms’ recent Managers Meeting in Maui, the company announced a donation of $50,000 to the Hawai’i Community Foundation’s Maui Strong Fund. This philanthropic initiative will provide vital financial resources for both immediate and long-term recovery efforts in the wake of the destructive Maui wildfires that occurred in August 2023.

Additional recent headlines from consumer media of interest to linen, uniform and facility services operators, and especially readers of Textile Services Weekly.

Attendees at TRSA’s upcoming Fourth Annual Canadian Production Summit & Plant Tours this Oct. 4-5 in Toronto will get a close look at a company that not only survived a disastrous fire and a series of COVID-19 lockdowns, but now has a fully refurbished plant, and an outlook on the future that’s brimming with optimism.

Additional recent headlines from consumer media of interest to linen, uniform and facility services operators, and especially readers of Textile Services Weekly.

TRSA President & CEO Joseph Ricci recently submitted comments on the importance of reusable personal protective equipment (PPE) to the U.S. Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP) as part of the committee’s request for information on policies that the committee should consider during the reauthorization process for the Pandemic and All-Hazards Preparedness Act (PAHPA). The act is due to be reauthorized before the end of this fiscal year.

House Energy and Commerce Committee Members Reps. Richard Hudson (R-NC) and Anna Eshoo (D-CA) recently released a Request for Information (RFI) in preparation of the upcoming Pandemic and All-Hazards Preparedness Act (PAHPA) reauthorization due by Sept. 30. After shortages in supply at the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, TRSA has led the effort to make reusable isolation gowns and other textiles more prominent in hospital inventories under PAHPA and provided the committee with information supporting this position.

A recent case study on Ecotex Healthcare Linen Service noted that the operator saved Ontario taxpayers $70 million during the first 24 months of the COVID-19 pandemic. During a time of widespread shortages of personal protective equipment (PPE), Ecotex was able to supply hospitals in the Greater Toronto area with AAMI Level II rated reusable barrier isolation gowns.

Unitex International Inc., Duluth, GA, recently announced that Cintas Corp. has honored the textile manufacturer with a “Platinum Level Quality Performance Supplier” award for fiscal year 2022, according to a news release.