Sustainability is one trend which has for the last few years consistently found a place in our final top trends for the year… the movement just seems to get bigger by the day. What started with a concern for the environment and the concept of ‘carbon credits’ in the middle of the last decade is today a strong movement with the consumer, buyer and supplier well aware of the importance to conduct business in a sustainable way for long term progress. Much has been written about natural resources and how the human race has unwittingly depleted them through excessive wastages and unplanned use, creating a real fear that the subsequent generations may have little or no natural resources like water, clean air or trees to enjoy and live with! But, sustainability is not only about preserving natural resources for the future… the term is much wider and deeper than what most think.
[bleft]Concepts like natural lighting, CFL/LED lightings, servo motors, air cooling systems, glass with UV protectors to block heat and rain water harvesting have become common practices at manufacturing units. The average industry saving from energy conservation is around 25-20 per cent over conventional methods. [/bleft]
Today, environment sustainability engulfs natural resources – air, water and land and how to manage these resources to prevent wastage and pollution. Additionally, it has been recognized that true sustainability can only be achieved through economic sustainability of businesses and communities. TASMA, an organization that represents textile spinning mills in Tamil Nadu is the pioneer in transporting the concept of Carbon Credit to India by bringing together a large number of textile companies to take advantage of windmills to generate energy, thereby cutting down on carbon dioxide (CO2) emission by these units, directly and indirectly. Some apparel companies participating in the project are SP Apparels, Eastman Apparels, KPR Knits, Centwin Textiles, Gangotri Textiles and SCM. Other textile companies that are working to reduce carbon footprints are Malwa Industries, Trident, Nahar Industries, Vardhman and JCT. Rajshree Mills, Gupta Exim and Renuga Textiles are three companies that have already installed bio-gas plants and many others are on the process.
There is also focus on water cleaning and recycling and factories that are having washing units, have individual ETP plants or have collectively installed the same. Tirupur, which faced one of its worst crises with the shutdown of its processing units unable to comply with norm of zero effluent discharge for ETP plants, is slowly coming back to its feet with few experimental projects showing success in achieving the desired results.
Concepts like natural lighting, CFL/LED lightings, servo motors, air cooling systems, glass with UV protectors to block heat and rain water harvesting have become common practices at manufacturing units. A rough estimate puts the average industry saving from energy conservation at around 25-20 per cent over conventional methods. Some companies even claim savings up to 40 per cent on energy and 50 per cent on water by implementing sustainable solutions. It has also helped that technology providers too are now introducing machines which are energy-efficient and more productive.
[bleft]Green technology is the focus of many technology manufacturers today – JUKI, Brother, Pegasus, Siliconi, Duerkopp Adler, Zoje, Typical, Jack, Gerber, Lectra and Veit are only some of the companies with concentration on sustainable options, which they also showcased at major technology fairs held in 2011. [/bleft]
Taking sustainability to a higher level going in for Green factories is gaining ground. In 2010, Tirupur-based exporter SNQS International built a Green textile unit at Avinashi, which is the first garment unit in India to be silver rated under LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design). Since then Go Go International, Bangalore and Pratibha Syntex, Indore has also been certified as Green factory. Orient Craft’s eco-friendly unit in Rajasthan is the latest to receive a LEED Green certificate just recently. Cotton Blossom and Eastman Exports, Tirupur are in the process of the same.
Green technology is the focus of many technology manufacturers today – JUKI, Brother, Pegasus, Siliconi, Duerkopp Adler, Zoje, Typical, Jack, Gerber, Lectra and Veit are only some of the companies with concentration on sustainable options, which they also showcased at major technology fairs held in 2011. All these companies claim to make their products not only under strict sustainable environment, but also less hazardous to the ecology and consuming less energy while improving performance when compared to their older versions.
Juki has built the philosophy of the company around the concept of sustainability aptly termed as ‘Eco-Mind declaration’. The Group started the “JUKI ECO-PRODUCTS AUTHORIZATION SYSTEM” in March 2009. It is a basic policy that the new products assume to exceed the old products in performance, marketability, and environmental consideration in the new product development.
New generation machines are being introduced to meet specific requirements of sustainability. VEIT’s has introduced the highly innovative machines of the new eMotion series that claims to save at least 25%-40% energy and Mauser Spezial introduced the environmental label “Envio-Line” that guarantee customers an environmentally friendly production process energy saving while using doing their part to protect our nature and future.
In the field of “Drive Technology” PFAFF has introduced a new generation of sewing drives that stand out due to their low use of energy and are manufactured without lead, cadmium, mercury, etc. making them compliant with RoHS requirements and are therefore environmentally-friendly. In washing equipment, saving on water consumption and chemicals used is also a focus area.
At CISMA this year Typical displayed under the theme “Intelligence, Efficiency”, wherein the company highlighted its technical path from reformation and innovation to efficiency and environmental protection under the guidance of new strategy.
