SUSTAINABILITY
Contamination-controlled cotton , ITF creating awareness
Indian cotton is good enough in quality but spoiled in wrong practice from farm to bale stage . To grab more business , this situation needs to improve . Indian Texpreneurs Federation ( ITF ), Coimbatore , an organisation of like-minded textile entrepreneurs with a combined annual turnover of over Rs . 40,000 crore , has come forward for the same . As India is expected to be the largest producer of cotton in 2018-19 , with the crop projected at 28.5 million bales , this issue becomes more relevant . Prabhu Damodharan , Convener , ITF told Apparel Online that their organisation is creating videos and organising educational tours regarding the effects of contamination and its impact on the further process . Some ginners have been selected who are closely working with them to introduce best practice in all possible areas . ITF ’ s cotton team is actively working with more than 60 top ginners of Maharashtra , Telangana , and Karnataka .
“ Contamination-controlled cotton is our focus for the year . During the first year of operation ( 2016-17 ) as a consortium , ITF cotton team has purchased 1.85 lakh bales and so far in cotton year of 2017-18 , the purchase is of 3.8 lakh bale which is expected to be 5 lakh bales in next cotton season . With this growing purchase , our focus is also on awareness ,” told Prabhu . He further added that best ginners award is also planned for 15 ginners to motivate them . ITF is also distributing caps and wearable bags to the workers , planning to send technical teams for training for further improvements . Ginners from these three states are regularly visiting spinning mills of ITF members to understand the first-hand experience of cotton performance and related subjects so that they can improve the overall process . Spinning mills are also benefited from ginners ’ visit as they ( ginners ) discuss with them about the practical and ground level situations .
Is Medha Patkar behind ‘ turbulence ' at Pratibha Syntex ?
CottonUP is a practical resource to inform and guide business leaders and sourcing teams on the issues , benefits , and options for sourcing more sustainable cotton . The guide is part of Cotton 2040 , a multistakeholder initiative to significantly increase the use of sustainable cotton internationally .
cotton and are making it easier for them to source across multiple standards . Anita Chester , Head of Sustainable Raw Materials , C & A Foundation said , “ There is significant work to do to align and harmonise the many sustainability-focused activities across the apparel sector , and to drive production of more sustainable cotton from around 15 per cent to beyond 30 per cent from 2020 .”
It seems that NGOs have become a major sore-point for Indian apparel exporters . The latest incident involves Indore-based apparel export house Pratibha Syntex , which is attracting flak from Medha Patkar , the Indian social activist , as claimed by nearby villagers and sources working at the export house .
The company manufactures garments for some of the most respected brands and buyers across the globe . As per reports , due to continuous instigation from people like Medha Patkar , Pratibha has decided to close down its units which have not been operational due to the unrest . So far , for the long-term resolution of this problem , Pratibha has terminated services of 76 notorious associates and offered all other workers to work in the third unit . Sources informed Apparel Online that workers were being misguided by the NGO to intentionally go slow in production from 1st June , and many of them even went on strike from 15th June . They were provoked to ask for hike in salary . However , after an emergency meeting between workers ’ union , villagers , and company ’ s management , nearly 5,000 workers have shown willingness to work with the company . The villagers , who are offering various services like running their shops for the factory workers etc ., are also facing loss due to suspension of operations . Now , as local villagers have come forward to support the company , the organisation is taking fresh initiatives for confidence building .
“ We are giving school fees for worker ’ s children which will not be charged from their salary . Because of our proactive approach , many workers are now ready to work in the third unit ,” informed Mukesh Vyas , Corporate HR-Head of the company .
The company reported to have been striving for development of associates . Recently the management had come up with a scholarship schemes for meritorious children of employees . This year , Pratibha management provided scholarship to 44 children of the employees , who appeared in class X , XII and college . “ My daughter Seema Soni secured 90 per cent marks in her XII class . It was a very proud moment for me when my daughter received scholarship from our Chairman ,” said a stitcher Mamta Soni working at the shopfloor . Work-life balance is being given utmost importance in this industry , said Mukesh Vyas , adding that a number of sports events are being organised every year . In the month of January , every year , a signature event called ‘ Pratibha Premier League ’ is being organised . To develop intellectual capital spiritually and emotionally , sessions by ace speakers are organised in campus . Besides , health sessions are organised every month in the campus to ensure well-being of the employees . “ Recently , we had celebrated Annual Day in memory of Chogmal Ji Chaudhary , wherein a celebrated anchor and singer enthralled employees with his endearing style ”, Mukesh added .
www . apparelresources . com | AUGUST 1-15 , 2018 | Apparel Online India 15