Shreyaskar Chaudhary receives Young Entrepreneur Award
Pratibha Syntex is a vertically integrated textile company known for its range of cotton quality, fibres, fabrics and apparels. Established in 1995, the company produces over 60 million pieces of apparel annually, including garments, inner wear, thermals and sleep wear, catering to the needs of more than 20 leading international garment brands globally.
The company was in news recently when Mr. Shreyaskar Chaudhary, its Managing Director, was conferred the ‘Outstanding Young Entrepreneur Award’ in the textile sector, in the category of Garments & Made Ups by the Textiles Ministry. Mr. Chaudhary for his initiatives in the area of product innovation, process innovation, sustainability initiatives and marketing & branding innovation.
Mr. Chaudhary, a graduate in Textile Technology from UMIST, Manchester, has, in association with the C&A Foundation, established first certified C2C (Cradle to Cradle) garments, contributing towards circular fashion. He initiated significant innovation in business practices, where majority of the raw materials used by Pratibha Syntex are sustainable, including sustainable cotton, recycled polyester, spun dyed viscose, linen, Tencel, etc. Under his leadership, Pratibha Syntex achieved 90.5 sustainability score in the Higg Index parameter for its main plant.
The Higg Index, developed by the Sustainable Apparel Coalition, is a suite of tools that helps accurately measure and score a company or product’s sustainability performance. Mr. Chaudhary has promoted the company as “More than Responsible Textile”, which abides by sustainable development goals.
In an exclusive interview to The Textile Magazine, Mr. Chaudhary spoke at length about the company’s history, its product range, sustainability initiatives and future plans.
Here are the edited excerpts:
Starting off the interaction with a brief on the company’s history, Mr. Chaudhary said: “Pratibha Syntex is a vertically integrated conglomerate which remains committed to minimize the environmental impact and the maximize social impact. A dream to set up a world-class textile company which can provide employment to the masses, as seen by its Chairman, Mr. S.K. Chaudhary in 1995, with installation of 25,000 spindles, has now become a reality, with the subsequent addition of our spinning, knitting, processing and garmenting facilities. We have recently started a garment manufacturing facility in Gurgaon.”
The company’s growth can be gauged from the fact that it has grown from employing just about 250 employees in its initial years to one which now has a team strength of 8,000 today. “We have a vision to develop this company as a global leader in sustainable textile products and practices. We are slowly and steadily moving ahead in this direction,” Mr. Chaudhary said.
Referring to the company product range, Mr. Chaudhary observed: “Recently in association with the C&A Foundation, we developed first global range of gold C2C certified garments. Our assortments majorly encompass sustainable cotton, recycled polyester, spun dyed viscose, linen, Tencel, etc.”
The company enjoys the patronage of globally well-known brands from around 20 countries. Some of the brands that Pratibha Syntex works for include C&A, Nike, Patagonia, MEC, Prana, Kathmandu, Woolworth, Jack & Jones, Zara, Ann Taylor, etc.
Speaking about some of the global certifications that the company has received for its products, he said: “We are proud to have certifications like WRAP (Gold), SA 8000, BlueSign, GOTS, OCS, GRS, ISO14001, Fairtrade, Cradle to Cradle, OekoTex, etc.”
The company’s annual spinning capacity is 20,000 tonnes of yarn, including ring-spun, compact, doubled, mélange, Airjet and open-end varieties. “We can produce around 10,000 tons of fabric and approximately 60 million knit garments annually,” he added.
Elaborating on the major investments that the company has made recently, Mr. Chaudhary disclosed: “As a part of our commitment to sustainability, we have planned to have on-site solar power generation. We are also planning to set up new manufacturing facilities.”
Own brand
According to Mr. Chaudhary, in 2016-17, out of the total turnover 67% was for export, while 33% was for domestic sales. “We have developed our own brand called ‘Carbon Basics’ for the domestic market, which is growing from strength to strength. Now the brand is available in 19 cities of three States – Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra and Rajasthan. The brand is famous for its quality at affordable price.”
Asked about the stiff global competition from companies in China, Bangladesh, Vietnam and, more recently, African countries like Ethiopia, Mr. Chaudhary said: “In a competitive world, there are various factors that drive the business. Besides cost, quality and speed, the brands are sensitive to the fact as to how the product impacts the environment and people. To cater to the fast-moving industry, our vertically integrated manufacturing supports us to maintain not only speed and cost, but sustainability initiatives also give us an edge.”
Sustainability initiatives
“Talking about the sustainability initiatives, he said: “We are recycling 100% water and 95% of recycled water is being reused in our processes. Of the total consumption, 30% of power comes from renewable sources. We have changed 14,000 tube lights with LED lights to save energy. Recently we installed biomass briquette boiler which has reduced 180,000 litres of diesel consumption annually and GHG emissions significantly.”
Further, he pointed out: “Under our initiative called ‘Gyanpeeth’, we had imparted textile training to rural people. After completion of the training, we had inducted trainees into our processes, thereby creating employment opportunities for rural people. Under the Gyanpeeth Scheme, we have imparted training to 5,000 people.”
Throwing light on the future target and vision of Pratibha Syntex Mr. Chaudhary stated: “We have taken up a goal to have a double-digit growth year on year to reach Rs. 200 million within the next 3-4 years. Also, we wish to achieve these targets keeping our commitments to the planet and people. Various actions have already been taken to design unique models of business which can set examples for others.”
By M.K. Prabhakar & K. Gopalakrishnan