Interviews

Why, do you think, Suvin has not been able to get the recognition that it deserves? After all, it was released for commercial cultivation way back in 1974. What has gone wrong? It has been 45 years since Suvin was introduced in India. Till the 1990s it was predominantly consumed by domestic mills in India for production of finer yarns of 120s counts and above for use in manufacturing super-luxury lustrous fabrics. Suvin cotton production had peaked to about 30,000 bales (170 kg / bale) in the...

You have taken over as ED of SAC at a very critical juncture. How do you assess the responsibility that comes with the new job? What would be your immediate priorities? I am honoured to be in this new role. It’s an exciting time at the SAC. The path we started on ten years ago was unchartered for any industry. The kind of collaboration the SAC has achieved in bringing the industry together to standardise social and environmental sustainability is groundbreaking. We hope it’s an example of how...

Has GenNext of the Indian textiles-apparel industry changed the way business is done? I strongly believe the newer generation of India’s fashion/apparel industry has changed the industry narrative in many ways. For instance, we have embraced the online business model in a much wholehearted way from the start. Traditionally, the apparel industry (along with other sectors of retail such as groceries) prioritised the offline mode and organic growth. The internet changed this and brought about a...

Subir Ghosh spoke to eight dynamic personalities who have remained in the news for the cutting-edge initiatives they have been taking, bringing about a change in the way business itself is done. There were two questions they were posed: * Has GenNext of the Indian textiles-apparel industry changed the way business is done? * How much do you think India's GenNext is geared up to changing things in the global context? The responses. Dhiraj Agarwal CEO and Co-Founder Campus Sutra Dhiraj Agarwal is...

How did your story / journey start? What exactly were you trying to do, or achieve when you set out? Looking back today, how much of your goal do you think you have been able to achieve? Fabric Monde was born out of the idea of catering to the demand and love of the urban markets towards indigenous handloom products. Evolved from there, today we are working on a global supply chain for the fabrics to support and enable fashion brands to source fabrics in a sustainable way. Part of our success...

Medical wearables are going to be big in the days to come? How "big" is "big"? Medical wearables are a sustainable business for the future. It will be a large industry covering multiple sectors. It is almost impossible to project how “big” is “big” as it spans so many categories from electronics, technology, med-device to fibers, fabrications and surface applications for fabrics. What do you think would be the driving force for this sector? Would it be performance-driven? Or, would there be...

How much do you think technical textiles / nonwovens will dominate the next decade? In which sectors / applications, are we most likely to see that kind of dominance? It is a fact that the technical textiles market is one of the most innovative in the world. It is reported to be among the top five technology-intensive markets with a great potential for advancement. The industry accounts for about 30 per cent of global textile production and it is expected to expand at an annual growth rate of...

How crucial is the role of a designer in a company that manufactures fabrics? In that light, how important is your own role at Arvind? To make a good garment, there should be a perfect match of the fabric and silhouette. That's where the designer's expertise and a keen eye for detail come into play. Working in a fabric mill gives you a great understating of fabric, its properties, the purpose of making it, and being a fashion designer, you possess the ability to visualise and render fabric into...

What are your impressions about the ways in that fabric trade has changed over the last 10 years? Could you enumerate a few? The overall industry has seen a gamut of changes over the past decade—be it in product, process and machinery. Let me outline a few: Technological advancements: All players are keeping a close lookout on tech advancements. They serve multiple purposes—from increasing shop-floor efficiency, reducing defects, ensuring streamlining of different processes, and their importance...

The backbone of the textiles and apparel industry, in many ways, are the countless MSMEs that are part of the supply chain. How and where exactly does a fintech company figure in this chain? MSMEs are a huge contributor to the textiles and apparel industry as is the case with the overall Indian economy. This is evident in cities like Tiruppur, Coimbatore and Ludhiana which are big textile industry hubs. Their overall trade cycle indicates that the MSMEs take between 90 and 120 days to meet their...