A funding project to drive sustainable manufacturing practices is now under way in India. The project has been initiated by the Good Fashion Fund.
- The first deal under this programme was signed with Pratibha Syntex Limited for a long-term loan for $4.5 million in 2020.
- The final disbursement of the loan was made in June this year, and the first on-site monitoring visit was conducted this week.
- According to the project initiators, the investment is already showing fruitful results and positive financial, environmental, and social impact in Pratibha’s spinning, processing, and garmenting divisions.
The Early Results: The impact results of the equipment surpass the threshold of 50% savings in all key areas (specifically energy, water and materials).
- All parties were said to be impressed with the progress made on the environmental and social action items and particularly with the roadmap developed by Pratibha Syntex for further improvements as part of their vision for 2025 and beyond.
- Pratibha Syntex has installed new spinning equipment, solar panels, a continuous tumble dryer, and made enhancements to effluent treatment. The new spinning equipment (card chute, comber, ringrame, autoconer) operates significantly more efficiently than the legacy machinery, both in terms of energy usage and waste generated.
- Investment in solar panels is ongoing but already more than 30% of usage is met by renewable energy and additional installations are planned aimed at increasing that share to 50%.
- The continuous tumble dryer has replaced several pieces of equipment used for treating fabrics and has fully eliminated the need for water and has significantly reduced power usage in this process.
- The effluent treatment plant has been enhanced with new filters allowing for additional recycling of water, reclaiming most of the water used (some water is lost to evaporation), eliminating chemical sludge generated (reducing landfill waste) and reducing energy consumption.
- Pratibha Syntex is also setting up a process whereby neighbouring wastewater is treated in addition to their own, using the resulting clean water in their process. The impact of the investment thus touches upon freshwater use, waste (water) discharged, and chemical usage.
- Apart from manufacturing cotton, fibres, fabrics and apparel, Pratibha Syntex is also engaged in social initiatives to generate employment for women in rural communities.
The Fund: The Good Fashion Fund has been initiated by Fashion for Good and is a collaboration between Laudes Foundation, the Mills Fabrica and FOUNT complemented by Rabobank as lender to the Fund.
- The Fund provides long-term USD loans in addition to technical and environmental and social expertise to manufacturers in Asia, primarily India and Bangladesh.
- Financing is to be used to invest in impact equipment that deliver both economic growth and good fashion practice.
- The Fund has a blended capital structure with an actual fund size of $19 million.
What They Said:
We are very pleased with the partnership with Pratibha Syntex Limited, a frontrunner in terms of sustainability. The first environmental, social and financial impact resulting from our investment is above expectations and in line with our mission to connect impact technologies to the industry to collaboratively tackle its challenges. It is clear from the results of the monitoring visit that sustainability is ingrained in their DNA and thus fully aligned with the objectives of the Good Fashion Fund.
— Bernadette Blom
Director
Good Fashion Fund
Laudes Foundation supports brave action to inspire and challenge industry to harness its power for good through initiatives like the Good Fashion Fund. The environment and social impact that Pratibha Syntex has been able to make with this investment is a great example of how finance can rapidly accelerate apparel manufacturing decarbonisation and help provide safe and dignified jobs for all apparel workers.
— Kelly Clark
Director (Finance and Capital Market Transformation)
Laudes Foundation
