4A Yarn Dyeing Limited is an example of the prodigious practices of sustainable initiatives. It is a yarn dyeing and outwears manufacturing facility located in Baipail, Savar, Dhaka. It is one of the sister concerns of Team Group which has other business units in the area of pharmaceuticals, retail, IT and real estate.
Team Group is a fast-growing business conglomerate in our country with more than 500 USD yearly turnover. The company was established in 2009 and only in one decade has it become one of the leading business organizations exposed to more than 15 countries. Recently, the Textile Focus team paid a visit with the BGMEA team to 4A Yarn Dyeing Limited to explore their factory operation and sustainable practices-
4A Yarn Dyeing Limited at a Glance
It is a 100% export-oriented specialized manufacturer of all types of outwear. It was set up in 2009 and today the total number of employees is more than 6500. The production capacity per month is more than 55000 pcs of high-quality garments. The product mix includes all kinds of jackets and suits. This factory is a one-stop solution for high-quality and sophisticated outwear, especially for the extreme winter season. Padded jackets, quilted jackets, seam-sealed jackets, down jackets, bomber jackets, ski-wear, jogging suits, rainwear, windbreaker and casual jackets, gilets and leather jackets- all kinds of jacket solutions are provided by this factory. Customers include H&M, S. Oliver, Reima, Intersport, Didricksons, and Craghoppers. 4A Yarn Dyeing Limited is an Accord-certified factory. The other major certifications achieved are Wrap, BSCI, SEDEX, and Organic 100.
Environmental and Sustainable Practices
4A Yarn Dyeing Limited is a Platinum LEED category factory practising state-of-the-art sustainable practices. Their sustainable practices encompass renewable energy, CO2 emission, sound pollution, waste management, solid waste recycling, OHS, procurement policy, and green cleaning and green education. They use solar power on top of generating captive power from gas. In the last 12 months, the total power generation from solar energy stood at 127.43 MWh. To reduce energy usage, they use energy-efficient appliances throughout the whole factory. They are using IE3 motors, the most energy-efficient motor on the market.
They are using world-famous power generation and utility systems, efficient LED lighting systems that reduce carbon emission by 93.2% and energy saving to 53.9%. They also installed a canopy system in the power generation room to reduce sound pollution which is uncommon in other factories. In fact, they installed floor-wise energy and CO2 controlling systems which is an exemplary practice seen in companies in a developed country.
Water conservation is another practice that we observed. They ensure rainwater harvesting and 75% of the total rainwater is restored on the premises. They are using advanced water technologies and low-flow fittings in the toilet to reduce water usage. It ensures more than 50% water usage in the toilets and flushes through this system.
Furthermore, the factory is also contributing passive energy savings by ensuring all the logistics support is within close proximity of the factory premises. The spare parts and the stationery supplier is situated within 500m of the factory. Even the bus, truck stations and transportation facilities are also located within 500m distance from the factory.
The workers’ and employees’ salaries are paid through digital channels. Employee-friendly policies make sure the workers are satisfied and completely loyal to the management. They regularly pay overtime, performance bonus and profit shares.
Altogether, 4A Yarn Dyeing Limited is an example of sustainable practices that others should follow. Most importantly, their good practices are translated into business success. They have the right people with the right mix of knowledge and experience at the right place, to make the right decisions and initiate the right processes.
Abdullah Hil Rakib, Managing Director Team Group and Director, BGMEA said, the fashion industry is very challenging and the behaviour of the customer changes with the changes in the situation.
So, people’s lifestyle has to be rebutted and investment has to be proportionately invested. We see that in the next two decades, people are becoming more health-conscious and they want to go to the gymnasium and engage in more activities as a result lifestyle active-wear comes into play.
It is high time for associations, industry partners, the government and all relevant stakeholders to come forward and invest more in awareness building, capacity building and training mid-levels to turn the ultimate challenge into an opportunity.
If we do not wake up now and invest to optimize and digitalize to build a process-driven system and train the mid-level, then in the next 5 to 7 years the RMG business may cease to exist here as we will perpetually lose profitability.
It needs to be addressed immediately by manufacturers. So, the smaller grows into the medium and the medium grows into the larger. If we can deal with mid-level management training and process-driven RMG industry well – by clustering these smaller and medium factories – then we can bring this industry to $100 billion in export.
