Trade Call Investments Apparel, or TCI Apparel, have just broken new ground as Africa’s first ever green Design Centre.

Taking place in Epping this past weekend, the Centre shows just how committed TCI Apparel is to championing the causes of sustainable fashion.

Using industry leading practices to lower its carbon footprint, the building will be a state of the art production centre for local retailers such as Woolworths, Truworths, Edcon Group and Queenspark, as well as international retailers like Top Shop, River Island, Superdry and Urban Outfitters to name a few.

Herman Pillay, CEO of TCI Apparel, was understandably proud:

“The garment industry has, in recent years, been one of the largest contributors to global carbon emissions. For this reason, we found it to be of the utmost importance to reduce the environmental impact of our operations in every conceivable way – from operations and processes to architecture.

We are delighted that we are able to position South Africa as a leader in green manufacturing.”

Also present at the opening were the Woolworths and Truworths CEOs, proving that even competitors in the retail industry share the common goal of ensuring a local fashion industry that is ethical, sustainable and contributes to the economy.

The Design Centre is the first industrial building of its kind with a sharp focus on being environmentally sensitive, achieved through green building practices.

These include the use of eco vinyl tiles, LED lighting, solar power, indoor plants, strategically tinted windows which retain heat in winter and expels in summer, environmentally sensitive ceiling boards, living walls, and a vegetable garden that will be utilised by the canteen providing meals for employees.

Given the current water crisis in the Western Cape, the Design Centre has been engineered to save every drop possible. By utilising borehole water for ablutions, and redirecting rainwater that would otherwise have gone unused into 40 000 litre storage tanks, TCI Apparel are also cutting the costs of producing some of the world’s top brands without cannibalising quality.

With Pillay at the helm, it shouldn’t come as much of a surprise that TCI Apparel is leading the way on this front. Having acquired the company in 2014, he has championed the cause for sustainable production ever since:

“We need to protect our planet and preserve the ecosystem. Unless we do that the planet will become inhospitable, water and food shortages will lead to a humanitarian disaster – threatening life as we know it. We need to respect the earth we live in. Environmental consciousness is of high significance.”

With a focus on empowering communities, nurturing relationships with retailers, and his keen consciousness of the environment Herman Pillay is paving the way for a more economically and environmentally sustainable clothing industry.

This video, via the TCI Apparel website, gives a good sense of their commitment to fostering an inclusive workplace:

Having added close to 1 300 jobs in the local manufacturing and fashion industries, Pillay is in a unique position to comment on the responsibilities that businesses have to the communities in which they operate:

“I feel that, as business owners and entrepreneurs, if we put our focus on our homeland and our own people the results will be a sustainable and stable economy. We need to be doing more to empower and improve our society.”

Breaking new ground with the Design Centre, it’s clear that TCI Apparel are at the forefront of leading that charge.

[source:tciapparel]