Successful Swedish water project ensures cleaner textile production in India
(Stockholm, 25 March 2015) - By participating in a unique project for cleaner production, Sustainable Water Resources (SWAR), suppliers to the Swedish retail brands Indiska, KappAhl and Lindex have reduced their environmental impact and improved capacity through training on resource efficiency.
For a garment production factory in Noida, India, the idea of coupling sustainable practices with significant financial savings was initially far-fetched. However, through SWAR they have succeeded. Now, the factory has reinvested these savings in new technology which ensures efficient use of natural resources.
"We are now all aware of how important it is to save water, energy and chemicals, which is helpful in cutting factory costs. Building capacity and educating at every level in the garment industry needs to be an ongoing process", says Mr Ravinder Hand from garment manufacturer Radnik.
The SWAR project is a cooperation between the Swedish brands and their Indian suppliers, the Stockholm International Water Institute (SIWI), Sida, and India-based consultancy cKinetics. SWAR was co-financed by the brands and Sida, in a public-private partnership that linked business and international development goals.
More than 40 factories participated in the project. The project has contributed to saving 284 million litres of water and 402 tonnes of chemicals annually. The factories were also able to save an average of three per cent of their energy cost and three per cent of their operational costs.
"Being able to save costs through resources use efficiency is important, but it is not sustainable without a mind-shift. This is best achieved through continuous training and capacity development", says Rami Abdelrahman, Programme Manager at SIWI.
The project trained more than 13,000 factory workers and managers in the past two years.
The Indian textile industry contributes with three per cent to India’s GDP and employs more than 45 million people. The industry is one of the largest industrial water polluters in India, and is facing serious growth limitations due to increasing freshwater shortage.
The project expands
More than half of the participating factories will continue to work on their own, continuously communicating their development to their clients in Sweden. Others have joined a network created by SIWI and the three fashion brands for continuing the learning journey.
SWAR has inspired SIWI, Sida, the piloting brands and an additional 16 Swedish fashion brands to catalyse a shift toward sustainable production and continuous learning in major production hubs in Asia and Africa.
Starting in 2015, the project scales up to include several Indian states and four other countries in the world. It involves more than 120 suppliers globally and is a part of the project Sweden Textile Water Initiative, STWI.
Contact
Mr Rami Abdelrahman, Programme Manager, Stockholm International Water Institute (SIWI)
Tel: +46 720 50 60 33, Email: rami.abdelrahman@siwi.org
Further information
SWAR, Sustainable Water Resources Management for Textile Industries in Delhi and Jaipur, is a cooperation between the Swedish brands and their Indian suppliers, the Stockholm International Water Institute (SIWI), Sida and India-based consultant cKinetics. The project was initiated by SIWI, Indiska, KappAhl and Lindex and was financed by the three brands together with the Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency (Sida), along with the suppliers and sub-suppliers of the fashion brands in Delhi and Jaipur. www.siwi.org/project/6814/
Indiska Renee Andersson, Director of Ethics and Environment,
renee.andersson@indiska.se, www.indiska.com
KappAhl Eva Kindgren, Manager, CSR-production
eva.kindgren@kappahl.com, www.kappahl.com
Lindex Ingela Lind, Sustainability Coordinator for Production
ingela.lind@lindex.com, www.lindex.com
Stockholm International Water Institute (SIWI) www.siwi.org
Sida www.sida.se
cKinetics www.ckinetics.com
For more information, please contact:
Linda Skogsberg
Sustainability Communications Coordinator, Lindex
Phone: 46 (0) 31 739 51 58
E-mail: linda.skogsberg@lindex.com
Lindex is one of Europe's leading fashion chains, with more than 490 stores in 16 markets. Our business concept is to offer inspiring and affordable fashion. The Lindex selection encompasses a variety of fashion concepts within women's wear, men's wear, kids' wear and lingerie for women who are interested in fashion. Lindex is part of the Finnish-listed Stockmann group. More information is available at www.lindex.com
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