A TEXTILE company's efforts to go green are going from strength to strength.

Hilden Manufacturing, which has five bases in Blackburn and Hyndburn, achieved the environmental management standard ISO 14001 in January 1998.

Since then it has kept up the good work, finding ways of minimising waste from its operations and reducing energy costs.

The firm has won several awards for its environmental programmes and has been a sponsor of green group Hyndburn Prospects for four years.

It has found bulk markets for textile and polythene waste, installed an environmentally-friendly neutralisation system at its Woodnook Bleaching and Dyeing operation in Accrington, and it reuses most of its paper and board.

Malcolm Beck, the company's environmental adviser, said: "The improvement objectives of ISO 14001 are now developing into bottom line savings and are resulting in significant environmental benefits."

The company has entered the Lancashire Evening Telegraph's Grimewatch competition, which rewards all kinds of green efforts.

The competition is run in conjunction with the Tidy Britain Group, the Environment Agency, British Aerospace and Groundwork.

Judging takes place in January and winners will be announced in March.

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