Angel Peng
Specialist, Marketing Department’s Project Management Team
In price-sensitive Africa, we
manufacture basic products like
jerseys and T-shirts for domestic
markets, and companies like Edcon
Limited, Price Group and JC Penney
for domestic consumption.
Is your company taking certain
initiatives for sustainable and eco-
friendly textile production?
We have Oeko-tex and bluesign
certifications for quality and
sustainable production respectively as
well as those meant for environmental
compliance. For sustainable
production, the textile industry is
shifting to waterless dyeing. TexRay
will soon launch a series of products
for waterless dyeing with over 2,000
colours on offer. We are putting in
efforts to fulfill our commitment to
the Zero Discharge of Hazardous
Chemicals (ZDHC) 2020 joint
roadmap.
Our quality assurance team takes
care of energy conservation in all
manufacturing units and we are ISO
15001 certified. We also have plans to
take the Higg Index of the Sustainable
Apparel Coalition.
What are your thoughts on the ZDHC
2020 joint roadmap? Will companies
indeed benefit from it?
What consumers think and feel
has an effect on the brand and this
definitely influences their buying
behaviour. Some brands do use ‘being
eco-friendly’ as a marketing tool.
But at TexRay, we understand what is
important for us and for brands. We
try to find a balance between being
totally eco-friendly, almost eco-friendly
and somewhat eco-friendly for our
brands. We do not do it for being
titled as environment-friendly, it is a
conscious decision. We tend to analyse
ISO and other certifications and how
they can benefit us and the brands we
manufacture for. We keep it real. It
not only benefits the environment but
cuts costs. But to achieve the ZDHC
2020 goal, everyone needs to work
in alignment, right from consumers to
brands to manufacturers. Only then can
it be achieved, because it’s a chain.
Who are your competitors in the
international market?
We are a core integrated company.
Yong Tai is our competitor for dyeing
and finishing but the company is also
a supplier for garments. In reality, we
do not have any competitor. There
are times when we buy fabrics from
our competitors and there are times
when our competitors buy fabrics
from us. So, in that sense, there is
no competition. But there are other
vertically-integrated manufacturing
companies that supply to the same
brands that we do. But we find our
own way to survive.
How do you see your market
segment growing in the next 5-10
years both locally and internationally?
For TexRay, smart clothing will play a
vital role in the next 5-10 years. We
have two subsidiaries that specialise in
manufacturing metallic yarn for smart
sensored products that help make smart
e-clothing. Smart clothing is the way
forward for TexRay and that’s going to
be our strength. Along with that, we
also see the potential for functional
textiles growing. We will be displaying
all our innovations at Titas, InterTextil
Shanghai, the Outdoor Show, maybe
in Premier Vision next year, and even
Performance Days. Our members got
to the other side of the world, like
the Midwest Weaving Conference, to
get first hand information and predict
future market trends.
Does India seem to be a potential
target market in the future?
Business in India is always a nice
proposition because it has the second
largest population. But India has its
own rules. Already there are good
players and competition in India.
Without a decent partner in the
country, it is hard for us to easily step
into that market.