The largest exporter of home textiles from Pakistan has recently joined forces with international retailers and manufacturers to establish the Sustainable Textile Coalition.
Launched in February 2013 in New York, the coalition aims to lead the industry toward a shared vision built on a common approach for measuring and evaluating textile product sustainability.
“At present retailers and sourcing managers operate on individually created guidelines for social compliance. By forming the Sustainable Textile Coalition we aim to standardize the measurement and evaluation methodology to assess environmental and social performance across the textiles value chain on a global scale while building a repository of best practices for the industry as a whole to benefit from” said Mr. Nisar Palla, Chief Operating Officer of Yunus Textile Mills while speaking to Textiles Update.
The implementation of sustainability initiatives is not new to the company. A shining example is the manner in which Yunus Textile Mills ensures that all waste water from textile processing is treated before being released using the most advanced bio-reactor waste water treatment plant in Pakistan. This is being taken to the next level with the “installation of a membrane based ultra-filtration plant, which is expected to be operational by September 2013.
“This first of its kind unit in Pakistan will save 800,000 gallons of water per day” said Mr. Palla. He also added that this has been done “despite the initiative being a zero investment return to Yunus Textile Mills. Yet our responsibility to our community, environment and country tells us this is the right decision to take”.
The focus on efficiency attained through sustainability is a core value of Yunus Textile Mills. Installation of LED lights, reuse of hot water on bleaching machines, reuse of hot water from washing chambers to the mercerizing process, caustic recovery plant, water based screen stripping and replacement of old power generators with new energy efficient engines are just some of the initiatives undertaken over the past few years to reduce energy, water and chemical consumption.
These sustainability efforts have yielded benefits. Total energy consumption in weaving and processing has decreased 6.5% while production in weaving increased by 4.5% and in processing by 22.4% Yunus Textile Mills is parts of the Yunus Brothers Group who continue to invest in the future of Pakistan.
Through the decision to join the Sustainable Textile Coalition as a founding member, “not only do we want to identify methodology to achieve efficiency and best practice, we want to show the world that such long term thinking and global leadership can be found in Pakistan” said Mr. Palla. It is this desire for continuous improvement and evolution that keeps Yunus Textile Mills on the forefront of global sustainability.
While production efficiency is key among all companies under the Yunus Brothers banner, the group plays an active role in striving to make the lives of those around them better through company funded ventures such as the Tabba Heart Institute, Aziz Tabba Dialysis Center, blood donation camps, medical awareness sessions for diabetics, hepatitis and HIV along with hospitals and dispensaries for women and children.
With an empathetic approach to those working for and with them, it is only natural that Yunus Textile Mills is playing a vital role in laying the foundation of the Sustainable Textile Coalition so that community, country and the global textile industry all gain from their leadership of holding oneself to the highest standards of performance.
About Yunus Brothers Group
Established in 1962 as a fabric trading business house, Yunus Brothers Group is today one of the largest conglomerates in Pakistan. Yunus Brothers Group has investments in Textiles, Cement, Construction, Real Estate, Energy, and Commodity trading with an annual turnover exceeding US $ 750 million.
The latest addition to the group owned companies is the Yunus Textile Mills Spinning plant, established with an initial investment of US $ 15 million. This is yet another step towards acquiring continuous vertical growth aimed at providing excellent integrated solutions to customers.
