Supplier in the spotlight
Karthic and I go back a few years as we have been working together on creating more sustainable products for joint clients. From going through the process of both becoming GOTS and Fairtrade certified, to visiting all steps in his supply chain, we did it all jointly.
The latter part brought us to the organic cotton farmers in Rajkot, India just before COVID hit us. Watch the short video (in Dutch) for more details.
Over to today, we first want to introduce VP Knit Fashions. What does your company do?
‘We are a circle knit confectioning factory in Tirupur, in the south of India.’
Tirupur is considered the circle knit capital of India indeed. Can you tell us a bit more about the background of your company?
‘My father-in-law Mr. C. Kumaraswamy started the company’s predecessor ArrKay Associates in 1987. I took over the company in 2015, changed the name to VP Knit Fashions, and now run the company with my brother-in-law. After I took charge, I decided to move the company towards sustainability, which resulted in becoming SEDEX, GOTS and FAIRTRADE accredited.’
You have made it clear from the start that you not only wanted to work with sustainable materials, but also give an insight in the supply chain to improve it. How important is a transparent supply chain to you?
‘From the manufacturing side, a transparent supply chain is very important to reduce the operating costs, as it helps us to control the variables. At the same time, it helps us to be a more sustainable partner for our clients.’
Sustainability is a hyped word these days, but I know that you have been on it for years. How does your business try to contribute to a better fashion industry, both on social as on environmental levels?
‘We are moving towards making our factory completely sustainable, making only sustainable products made of organic or recycled materials, whereby we also consider the social side and thus focus on for instance Fairtrade. We are transparent about our supply chain towards our clients, which is why we work with tex.tracer. The tex.tracer platform helps us to record each process and processing unit, which then helps our clients to identify and confirm that their product is made as agreed – ensuring a better fashion industry.’
Talking about transparency, what is the added value of tex.tracer to you?
‘Recording all activities in the supply chain enables us to control each variable, which not only creates a transparent supply chain but also reduces operating costs.’
Karthic, it’s been a pleasure to talk with you, thanks. Let’s hope we can meet again soon in person.
Find VP Knit Fashion online on https://vpknitfashions.com/ or through the below contact details:
VP Knit Fashions
#5, Ranganathapuram Extn,
Kongu Main Road, Tirupur, India
Talk soon, Jolanda
