Cape Town was once the proud textile capital of South Africa. But then something happened.

Like most industries around the world, companies chose to import fabrics and clothes from cheaper sources like China, and the once booming local industry slowed down, with job casualties numbering in the thousands.

One of the companies – which began in 1957 – survived and has, in fact, grown into an amazing example of a successful local business:

Trade Call Investments Apparel (TCI), is one of South Africa’s leading apparel design and manufacturing companies, and the majority shareholder is the Southern African Clothing & Textile Workers Union. In April 2014, TCIA was formed through the acquisition of the Seardel Apparel Group, with the purpose of securing jobs in the local sector and creating a sustainable, world class Clothing and Textile value chain within Southern Africa.

Today we would like to tell you about TCI’s Design Centre.

We had a chat with TCI Apparel’s Chairman and CEO, Herman Pillay, about the company, during which he touched on the company’s Epping-based Design Centre.

A collaborative space, TCI’s Design Centre sits at the cutting edge of local design, interpreting future trends and making them customer relevant. Offering a more customer-friendly, creative experience, the space allows for a more effective collaboration on collective product strategies for the future.

But what is more interesting is the fact that the Design Centre is the first green centre of its kind, having created various elements in and around the building that focus on reducing TCI’s carbon footprint.

From tinting on the windows on the south side of the building, which keeps heat in winter and cool in summer, to a borehole that supplies the toilet system, there are 40 000 litre water tanks, a veggie garden, energy efficient LED lighting, vinyl tiles, locally produced furniture (recycled wood, plastic and steel), eco-friendly ceiling boards, living walls and indoor plants.

But that’s not where it ends. These guys have taken things to the next level.

Here’s what Pillay had to say on the Design Centre:

 We have planted many trees and plants around the design Centre thereby reducing our carbon footprint. The seeds for our vegetable are grown and prepared onsite. We have dug a borehole 100m into the ground and have reduced our dependency on the council. The water is recycled and is used in all our lavatories. Our sewing machines have the latest innovation in energy consumption and has reduced our electricity consumption drastically.

We have employed a full time horticulturist to ensure that the sustainable vegetable garden is well maintained so that the harvest is sufficient to feed and nourish our staff. We do not discard any waste at the facility and all discarded food or vegetables that has passed its shelf life, is recycled back to the vegetable garden in the form of compost.

The knock-on effect of this is that it creates a space that influences TCI’s employees and clients to be green-focused and innovative themselves – a lesson we can all take on board.

Sorry, did someone say solar? Not to worry, TCI don’t miss a trick. They’ll begin the installation of solar panels this month.

And that’s why TCI get our pick for ‘Greenest Local Company’.

Does your company have a strategy in place for reducing its carbon footprint? We very much doubt it could rival TCI’s.

But please, let us know and we’ll feature it in our next piece. Email editor@2oceansvibe.com.