As the need of the hour is sustainability and circular economy, BKS Textiles is all set to launch a sustainable bedding brand called ‘Ekoscious’ which comprises six collections made using different sustainable fibres
BKS Textiles has emerged as one of the most instantly recognised names in the home textiles segment. The company with its headquarters at Palladam near Coimbatore works with leading home textile brands in the US, UK, Australia, Canada and Japan. The company is all set to launch its ‘Ekoscious’ bedding brand at Heimtextil 2023. Beginning an exclusive interaction with her views on how 2022 has been for the home textile industry globally, Dr. Sudha Anand, Director, BKS Textiles, said: “Overall, 2022 has been a slow year for us and the textile industry. The volume of purchase was low because of increased inventory with the retailers and changes in consumer priorities and spending. Increased energy costs, inflation and increased food prices have resulted in low priority and spending towards home improvement goods.”
New Launch
The company has lined up an exciting launch for the forthcoming Heimtextil 2023 trade show. “As the need of the hour is sustainability and circular economy, we at BKS Textiles are launching our sustainable bedding brand ‘Ekoscious’ which comprises six collections made using different sustainable fibres like traceable organic cotton, linen, hemp, Tencel, bamboo and recycled polyester, ” Dr. Anand informed. Describing the highlights and special features of the collections, she elaborated: “The six collections that form part of the Ekoscious range are made using low impact fibre and incorporate tenets of sustainability and the circular economy. The collections are well-designed as per the seasonal trends and colours.”
“We believe these collections will be well-received at the show as they encompass sustainability, novelty and functionality,” she added. Today, the word sustainability is an overused terminology in textile, to the extent that those companies who are genuinely offering sustainable products don’t get the right attention. Explaining how the products that BKS Textiles offers are the most sustainable and how the company differentiates itself from others in a crowded marketplace Dr. Anand explained: “At BKS Textiles we walk the talk and deliver what we promise. Sustainable textile in its truest sense means a product manufactured from fibres, chemicals and processes that have minimum to zero adverse effect on the environment and products that are biodegradable or recyclable.”
“We ensure that the sustainable textiles that we make match the above requirements and we at BKS Textiles have an ‘AWE’ inspiring sustainability roadmap. This includes:
• A: Afforestation. So far we have planted around 7,000 trees in and around our premises. We intend to add another 2,000 trees by 2025.
• W: Women empowerment. Currently we have 50% women employees and we are intending to increase our women workforce to 65% by 2025.
• E: Green energy. We have two windmills and 40% of our power requirement is fulfilled through these. We are intending to increase the renewable energy to 60% through solar energy by 2025.”
Growth Plans and Outlook
Speaking about the company’s manufacturing capacity and plans to invest in expanding capacity, Dr. Anand said: “Bed linen is our main product category and currently we have the capacity to produce 5,000 sheet sets per day. We have started with other home textiles such as table and kitchen linens as well. We will keep increasing our sewing infrastructure to cater to the increasing demand in the future.” The world has been witnessing a lot of changes in the global geo-political alignments in the last couple of years.
Sharing her views on whether this is helping the Indian home textile industry in terms of more global brands and retailers looking to source from India, Dr. Anand observed: “At present, we export to the US, UK and Europe. We believe that 2023 will be a tough year because of fear of recession and there will be lot of changes in the global economy as well. Nevertheless, Indian textiles have a bright future as we will be the preferred destination for volume cotton goods, not to forget the free trade agreements in place and under discussion. Export of textile looks very promising as of now.”