Our journey
Our journey towards Sustainability was not always an easy one. In 1990 when we started our exports in Tirupur town, all our products and processes were outsourced from other suppliers. Garment producers at the time seldom cared for sustainable manufacturing. Organic cotton was then unheard of and effluents from the dyeing factories were openly discharged into the water bodies, with no involvement from regulatory bodies. The rivers and lakes were left unfit for agriculture and affecting the local population that earlier depended on them.
Once Global Organic Textiles Standards (GOTS) came into existence in the year 2006 there had been some efforts towards going green and organic. Even then, many of the customers were not really interested in purchasing GOTS certified products.
By the year 2010 the situation became worse with the mushrooming of hundreds of new dyeng factories in and around Tirupur city, which became the dyeing suppliers to most manufacturers in Tirpur including Expoknits. That was the beginning of the farmer's agitation towards the textile industry.
In 2011 the Madras High Court ordered all Tirupur dyeing houses to close down unconditionally. In order to reopen, every factory had to prove that the processes and systems were 100% Zero Discharge. It took about 2 years for most of these factories to reopen and some of them who could not reconcile with the new system were permanently shut.
This total reset in minds and priorities paved the way for a Sustainable way of processing in Tirupur which is the knit capital of the world.
At Expoknits, we are proud to belong to this cluster being one of the most Sustainable mega processing center of the world. Buying organic or sustainable garments from us guarantees purity of material and processes and fair treatment and wages of the amazing people that make your clothes. Today we also own a Sustainable Garment brand- GOOD STITCH which is creating great interest among Sustainability minded people.