We are associated with sportswear
brands like Nike, Adidas, Under
Armour, Puma and for outerwear, we
have ties with Columbia Sportswear.
We also supply to casual wear
companies like H&M.
What percentage of your production
goes to big brands and to non-
brands?
We are working only with brand
customers at present.
Jeffrey Hsu
Manager, R&D Centre/Innovations, Marketing & Partnerships
Martin Cheng
Senior Manager, Knitting Fabric SBU
Our nylon 6,6 business is based in
Taiwan and China. In the last five years,
we have integrated ourselves with so
many projects through our internal
resources that we act as a total supply
solution provider to the brands. There is
no other company that fully integrates
everything, from PTA, garment variation
to a lot more, like we do in the textile
industry globally.
In garment manufacturing, do you
plan to enter the shirt division as well?
We have a small shirting division, but we
are not planning to expand it. However,
we have our own authorised Manhattan
shirt brand and menswear brand HSM.
We will come out with sportswear and
athleisure wear in the future.
Which brands and retailers are you
currently associated with? Who are the
major buyers for your knitted fabric?
Is your company taking initiatives for
sustainable and eco-friendly textile
production?
I think recycling is very important
nowadays compared to five years ago.
All leading brands have a milestone to
work towards recycling, otherwise by
2020 or 2022, we might be running
short of resources. Therefore, it has
become important to save energy,
reduce waste and reuse resources.
Brands are driving their supply chain
to convert their virgin polyester to
recycled one or even use green bio-
materials. But all this depends on the
cost of the material compared to that
of the new material and the virgin one
as well. We should continue to take
steps to make production in textiles
more sustainable.
Do you have a specific department to
look after sustainability or is it part of
the management?
We have a specific corporate social
responsibility (CSR) team. On the
environment front, we are spread
in three dimensions. First, we have
reduced consumption in manufacturing
by putting a lot of effort to save energy.
Second, we are the only one in Taiwan
to have an integrated recycling system.
Taiwan ranks first in the recycled
ring globally. Ninety five per cent of
polyester bottles are being recycled,
out of which Far Eastern has a 50
per cent share. Our internal division
cooperates with all major brands for
promoting this concept. Third, we are
very strong in bio-based material in
Asia, we serve several brand customers
who are specifying bio-based polyester
products.
As far as the performance
and functionality of the fabric is
concerned, we are not compromising
on what already exists except zero
waste destruction or zero toxicity. We
provide solutions to our customers at
affordable rates keeping sustainability
in mind.
Who are your competitors in the
international market?