Good Fashion Fund reveals results of its first investment

The Fashion for Good and Laudes Foundation‘s Good Fashion Fund,  an initiative to promote environmentally friendly production methods for clothing, recently showed the results of its initial investment.

The Netherlands-based company paid a visit to Pratibha Syntex Limited’s production facilities last week in Indore to demonstrate successful outcomes and favorable effects on Pratibha’s spinning, processing, and garmenting divisions’ finances, the environment, and society.

It’s important to note that Pratibha Syntex received a US $ 4.50 million long-term loan from the Good Fashion Fund in 2020, with the last payment being due in June of this year.

Shreyaskar Chaudhary, managing director of Pratibha Syntex Limited, said that Pratibha Syntex can invest in assuring a sustainable future for our processes with the funds granted by the Good Fashion Fund, which will have favorable, compounded consequences down the value chain. They are thrilled about the relationship and eager to move forward with their mission to make a positive difference.

The Good Fashion Fund’s advisors, Sphera, Fairwear Foundation, Global CAD, and Adelphi, assisted the fund’s first on-site monitoring visit in order to determine the progress made since the investment.

According to the corporation, the effect results of the equipment comfortably exceeded the benchmark of 50% savings in all important categories, particularly the three goods: Energy, Water, and Materials.

The environmental and social action items have made significant progress, and all stakeholders who visited Pratibha Syntex Limited’s facilities were impressed. They were especially delighted with the company’s roadmap for future improvements as part of their vision for 2025 and beyond.

Bernadette Blom, Director of the Good Fashion Fund, said that they are thrilled to be working with Pratibha Syntex Limited, a leader in sustainable business practices. The first financial, social, and environmental effects of their investment have exceeded their expectations and are consistent with their aim to link impact technology to the industry in order to jointly address its problems. The outcomes of the monitoring visit make it abundantly evident that sustainability is inherent in their DNA, totally aligning them with the goals of the Good Fashion Fund. They will continue to invest in apparel manufacturers in India and Bangladesh to deliver good fashion practice, economic growth, and fair jobs – demonstrating how to invest beyond sustainability and towards a restorative and regenerative apparel supply chain.

Since the investment was made, Pratibha Syntex has upgraded effluent treatment, added solar panels, a continuous tumble dryer, and installed new spinning machinery.

The outcome shows that both in terms of energy usage and waste generated, the new spinning equipment (card chute, comber, ringrame, and autoconer) functions substantially more efficiently than the historical machinery.

Solar panel investments are still being made, but renewable energy sources already account for more than 30% of demand, and more installations are planned with the goal of raising that percentage to 50%.

The continuous tumble dryer has completely removed the need for water and has greatly decreased power consumption in this process, replacing a number of pieces of fabric-treating machinery.

New filters have been added to the Effluent Treatment Plant (ETP), allowing for increased water recycling, recovering the majority of the water utilized (some water is lost to evaporation), removing chemical sludge produced (cutting landfill waste), and consuming less energy.

Pratibha is establishing a procedure whereby additional wastewater from nearby neighbors is treated together with their own, using the resulting clean water in their process, in order to attain complete circularity and lessen the demand for freshwater. Thus, the investment’s effects on freshwater use, wastewater output, and chemical use are all affected.

Kelly Clark, Director Finance and Capital Market Transformation at Laudes Foundation, said that through programs like the Good Fashion Fund, the Laudes Foundation encourages courageous action to inspire and challenge the industry to use its potential for good. The environmental and social impact that Pratibha Syntex has been able to make with this investment is a great example of how finance can quickly accelerate the decarbonization of the apparel manufacturing industry and help provide safe and respectable jobs for all apparel workers.