Simona Tanning
Accreditations
At Simona, we are dedicated to delivering to clients the highest quality, supported by the best levels of service and efficiency.
From products to processes including our commitment to sustainability, our culture encourages continuous improvement and professional development. We’ve put this to the test by going for prestigious accreditations.
We are very proud to have achieved these and feel they show our dedication to operate in the best way, not because we are told to, but because it’s the right thing to do.
SATRA Company Accreditation
Certified SATRA consultants have overseen the training of quality inspection personnel at Simona Tanning Inc. Our company and quality inspection personnel have received certificates of accreditation for meeting SATRA laboratory testing procedures and protocols.
Through this process Simona Tanning Inc. and our quality inspection personnel have been insured by SATRA that the level of our competence meets or exceeds industry standards and all testing conducted follow SATRA outlined testing methods.
SATRA Lab Accreditation
In addition to our quality inspection personnel our on-site laboratory has received accreditation after undergoing SATRA’s rigorous auditing process. SATRA conducts additional audits periodically to ensure all operational procedures and testing guidelines are being maintained.
SATRA Leather Grading Award
Simona Tanning is certified and award the SATRA leather grading accreditation, a rigorous grading system is known as the ‘five-point grading system’ which requires that every skin in the delivery is visually inspected and assigned to one of a number of pre-determined bands of usability.
The Leather Working Group
The LWG audit protocol is a tool to assess the environmental and humanitarian performance of leather manufacturers all over the world. It was developed by brands and leather manufacturers over several years assessing tannery operations in absolute terms, for example: the energy required to produce a square foot of leather proportional to the waste recycled (chemical and water waste).
The LWG framework rewards good environmental and humanitarian practice through a medal system. The medal levels have been set based upon current and ever evolving best practices within the industry. The scoring system enables leather manufacturer’s to evaluate themselves in comparison with their peers, promoting year-over-year improvement to leather manufacturing practices. Simultaneously the LWG serves as a platform to promote sustainable and humanitarian practices within the leather industry. Including collaborating with organizations outside – but still connected – to the industry, such as: Green Peace, ZDHC, USDA, NASF, etc.
The organization operates with a transparent approach, where brands, suppliers, retailers, leading technical experts, and NGO’s are involved to build the best practices, and continually challenge the industry to improve.
Simona Tanning Inc. is proud to have received and maintained LWG Gold rating for nearly 6 years.
What does Gold Standard mean?
The LWG has established three medal grades; Bronze, Silver and Gold, to rate tanneries performance on all aspects of leather manufacturing and operations. To achieve Gold rating, the tannery must receive exemplary marks in all facets of the audit: water usage and recoverability, waste water treatment facility, energy usage and conservation, working conditions of facility, air filtration and emissions, proper chemical disposal, traceability of raw material and wet blue, etc.
ISO 9001, ISO 14001
ISO certification certifies that a management system, manufacturing process, service, or documentation procedure has all the requirements for standardization and quality assurance. ISO (International Organization for Standardization) is an independent, non-governmental, international organization that develops standards to ensure the quality, safety, and efficiency of products, services, and systems.
ISO certifications exist in many areas of industry, from energy management and social responsibility to medical devices and energy management. ISO standards are in place to ensure consistency. Each certification has separate standards and criteria and is classified numerically.
ISO 9001 DEFINITION
The certification ISO 9001:2008 includes three components: ISO, 9001, and 2015. Here’s what each component represents:
- ISO as mentioned above, ISO refers to the International Organization for Standardization. This organization develops the standards, and it does in order to certify businesses or organizations. Certification is handled third-party and tested annually.
- 9001: the number appearing after ISO classifies the standard. All standards within the ISO 9000 family refer to quality management. ISO 9001 is among ISO’s best-known standards, and it defines the criteria for meeting a number of quality management principles. It helps businesses and organizations be more efficient and improve customer satisfaction.
- 2015: the final number in an ISO certification refers to the version of the standard that’s being met and is represented by the calendar year those standards were launched. 2015 is the fifth edition of ISO 9001. It was launched in September 2015, and Mead Metals has updated its processes to meet the specifications of this newest version.
What is ISO 14001?
The ISO 14001 Environment Management System Standard is an internationally recognized certification that sets out the criteria for an effective environmental management system. Implementation of ISO 14001 helps an organization that wishes to set up, improve, or maintain an environmental management system to conform with its established environmental policy and requirements.
Designed for any type of organization, regardless of its activity or sector, it can provide assurance to company management and employees, as well as external stakeholders, that environmental impact is being measured and improved. The ISO 14001 standard is structured as per the High Level Structure and incorportates a number of elements, such as context of the organization, leadership, planning, support, operation, performance evaluation, and improvement. Accredited certificates for ISO 14001 has a validity of 3 years upon successful completion of annual surveillance audits.
Higg Index - Verified Module Sustainable Apparel Coalition
The Higg Index is an LCA tool for the standardized measurement of value chain sustainability and it is central to the SAC’s mission to transform businesses for exponential impact. It is comprised of a core set of five tools that together assess the social and environmental performance of the value chain and the environmental impacts of the products. The five tools are; Higg Facility Environmental Module (FEM), Higg Facility and Social & Labor Module (FSM), Higg Brand and Retail Module (BRM), Higg Materials Sustainability Index (MSI) and Higg Product Module (PM)
The Higg index has been designed to be usable by consumer goods brands, retailers, manufacturers, government agencies, NGOs and customers to provide transparency to sustainability efforts and drive industry transformation. The methodologies used have been formulated over 10 years of research and collaboration with SAC members, consultants, stakeholders and industry experts.
Higg Index - Self Assessment Sustainable Apparel Coalition
Across topics such as water use, carbon emissions, and labor conditions, consumer goods brands, retailers, manufacturers, governments, NGOs, and consumers can use the Higg Index to inform their individual sustainability strategies and drive collective industry transformation. We developed the methodologies of the Higg Index over ten years using the latest scientific research, in partnership with SAC members, consultants, stakeholders, and industry experts
WGSN Member
For over 20 years, WGSN has been getting it right in trend forecasting, powering the world's most valuable brands and empowering best practices at every stage and phase of the product development lifecycle.
Leather Naturally Member
Leather Naturally believes that the promotion of sustainably made leathers supports a continuous effort and the development of best practices supporting a circular economy. Moreover, it facilitates dialogues between the leather upstream supply chain, manufacturers, and consumers.
