Srihari Balakrishnan
Managing Director Sri Kannapiran Mills Limited
We are today the world’s true sustainable denim manufacturer
Sri Kannapiran Mills Limited, the flagship company of $250 million KG Group, is a leading producer of 100 per cent cotton yarn matching the world’s most stringent quality standards. Incorporated in 1946, the company presently has two open end and two ring spun yarn units that are equipped with modern, state-of-the-art machinery, and produces cotton yarn for both domestic and international markets. In an interview with Fibre2Fashion, Managing Director Srihari Balakrishnan discusses sustainability in cotton yarn and denim production.
Sri Kannapiran Mills has been in operation since 1946 and it is one of the leading producers of cotton yarn. Could you discuss some key moments in the company’s history that have defined its current position in the market?
Sri Kannapiran Mills Limited is a leading producer of cotton yarn and blended yarn, producing 80 tons of yarn per day.
KG Fabriks is a division of Sri Kannapiran Mills which produces 20 million metres of denim fabrics per annum. The denim division was set up in 2005 and that has been one of the key moments in the company’s history. We are today the world’s true sustainable denim manufacturer, and all our efforts are backed by necessary and relevant certifications.
What are some of the latest technological advancements in textile manufacturing?
Smart apparel produced with the integration of technology in clothing for healthcare is one technological advancement that will grow in leaps and bounds in near future. Post COVID, athleisure has seen a tremendous increase in popularity. Digitisation of payments and Artificial Intelligence used in fashion industry to enhance the consumer experience in the stores have resulted in a comfortable buying behaviour, thus enhancing the shopping experience. Use of blockchain mechanism for supply chain transparency has ensured complete traceability in the supply chain.
Data analytics, CRM tools, e-commerce platforms and mobile commerce are some other recent trends in the apparel industry.
The Internet of Things (IoT) enhances the capability of manufacturing process. At KG Fabriks, we have a digital denim website which is revolutionising the way of fulfilling merchandisers’ and designers’ fabric requirement. Our website is one of the kind which shows each style in a sample folder view, garment view and digital draping view in different washes on real life style models, enabling designers to take a conscious choice of what styles suit them best, ensuring sustainability of sampling.
We also give hangtags of our three brands to the garment manufacturers, which are supplied according to the number of garments produced per dispatch. These hangtags have a scan code at the back and when the consumers scan this code, they are taken to the website of KG Fabriks, certifying that the garments are made from True Sustainable Denim Fabric of KG Fabriks.
How have the advancements in technology influenced the efficiency and productivity of your mills?
We are a Zero Liquid Discharge and Zero Solid Discharge plant requiring less than 15 litres of water per kilogram of denim fabric manufactured. We use proprietary iTop and iWash technologies which result in dye uptake of 85 per cent as against the industry average of 65%. These cutting-edge technologies ensure that we are above the rest in the competitive market.
What strategies do you employ to promote your products to the international buyers in this competitive market?
We have upgraded our spinning facilities for production of gassed, mercerised, slub, neppy, uneven, parallel, soft twist, zero pill yarns which are used in the manufacture of denim, towels, socks, dhotis, furnishing, made ups, floor covering, carpets etc.
KG Fabriks markets denim fabrics in three registered brand names—Green Dnm (true sustainable denim), Product Zero (Super sustainable denim) and Nature’s Blue (most sustainable denim). Product Zero uses recycled cotton and recycled polyester as raw materials while Nature’s Blue is produced with natural plant based indigo.
The yarns and denim fabrics that are produced at our factories are green products certified by GreenPro. The denim division, KG Fabriks, is the first company in the textile weaving and processing sector to get certified as GreenCo Gold. These certifications, which talk about our wholesome sustainability efforts, help us to supply the international brands in a better way.
What measures is the company taking to ensure sustainability and environmentally responsible practices in its operations?
We are ZDHC level 1 certified and ensure all chemicals used are sustainable materials. We provide relevant international certifications like GOTS, OCS, GRS, RCS, BCI, OEKO-TEX for brands requiring the same.
We have been certified by Sustainable Apparel Coalition’s Higg rating, which is at 94 per cent in Higg FEM and 93.9 per cent in Higg FSLM. We are Great Place to Work certified and recognised by various brands in their environmental and social audits. We use more than 51 per cent of sustainable fibres and 60 per cent of renewable energy. And, as mentioned earlier, we are a Zero Liquid Discharge and Zero Solid Discharge company.
This only proves that sustainability for us is like meditation, and we make every effort to contribute to make our mother earth a safe place to live in.
The company’s In-house Research and Development Unit has been recognised by the Ministry of Science and Technology. Could you share some highlights of your recent research activities?
Our inclination to try new products resulted in a tripartite collaboration between the Ministry of Textiles and South India Textile Research Association to produce, for the first time in the world, natural plant based machine dyed indigo denim fabrics, using green alkali and biodegradable reducing agent.
We extensively work with designers across various brands and do research and development to ensure that we continually develop new products as per current market trends, be in yarn or denim fabrics.
How is the textile industry, especially in Tamil Nadu, addressing the issue of availability of skilled labour?
We have migrant labour as well as local labour working in our units. We have multiple centres of excellence across our various locations. We have Pradhan Mantri Kaushal Vikas Yojana (PMKVY) work integrated short term courses, two-year flexi ITI programmes in 3 locations and three-year diploma D Voc in 1 location, where people get enrolled and trained in various skill sets. We also adopted Paramakudi ITI in South Tamil Nadu. So, at present, we do not have any issue of availability of skilled labour.
Can you tell us about the recent investments your company received for promoting sustainable practices?
The Good Fashion Fund, the Laudes Foundation and the Fashion for Good initiated fund made an investment of $2.5 million in Sri Kannapiran Mills Limited. This was to encourage us to dig deeper into sustainable practices by replacing existing machinery with more sustainable equipment in our spinning units and also our denim division, KG Fabriks.
What is the company’s vision and long-term strategic direction?
We continue to pursue our vision in the medium to long term to be the best company in textiles to deliver sustainable yarn and denim fabric.
Interviewer: Shilpi Panjabi
Published on: 22/09/2023
DISCLAIMER: All views and opinions expressed in this column are solely of the interviewee, and they do not reflect in any way the opinion of Fibre2Fashion.com.
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