Color City Ltd. (Eco Threads & Yarns) is a concern of DBL Group. Color City Limited; is a global quality sewing thread, dyed sweater yarn, fiber & yarn dyeing service to enrich our country’s garment & textile industry. Under the brand eco, it provides a unique combination of quality, service & comfort to brands, designers, manufacturers, and consumers for catering to the sewing thread, dyed sweater yarn, fiber & yarn dyeing service requirements. It produces solutions from eco-friendly, green, sustainable & environmental protective efforts, using state-of-the-art innovative European technologies & robust color science. Recently team Textile Focus had a conversation with Md. Shakhawat Hossain, CSCM, MCIPS, CPLM, Chief Operating Officer and Business Head at Color City Limited. Mr. Shakhawat has 23+ years of hands-on experience in Manufacturing & Supply Chain, Customer service, Information Technology, and various Supply Chain, Operations, Sales, IT, and Finance projects implementation in highly professional and dynamic environments. Experience includes Structure Manufacturing & Supply Chain Operations, Business process integration, Warehouse management Implementation, IT Infrastructure & system development, and business process engineering. He graduated from the Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology with a degree in Electrical Engineering and an MBA in Finance from the University of Dhaka. He also received so many global certifications in Supply Chain and procurement management. Key discussion points are mentioned below for our readers-
Textile Focus: Could you please share the current global sewing thread business status with us?
Shakhawat Hossain: One of the essential supplies for garment manufacturing is sewing thread. Today, sewing thread is used in the apparel industry and other sectors, such as home textiles, footwear, technical textiles, and automobile interiors. In Bangladesh and globally, the apparel and footwear industry market is growing progressively each year. It is challenging to estimate the global sewing thread market size accurately. Still, Bangladesh’s sewing thread market is currently valued at US$450–500 million and is growing promptly due to demand from the RMG sector. Our sewing thread industry is still largely dependent on the RMG industry. We are going forward and set a target of USD 100 billion for RMG exports by 2030, and if that is achieved, our sewing thread market will touch USD 1 billion by that year.
Textile Focus: As one of Bangladesh’s largest sewing thread producers, what was your business scenario in the Last FY22?
Shakhawat Hossain: In the past three decades, the apparel industry has advanced significantly, and the sewing thread industry has followed identically. It would be inaccurate to claim that this industry has only grown; it now exports goods overseas to satisfy the demands of nations worldwide. Previously, we observed that sewing thread was imported from outside the country to meet demand. But now that this industry has reached such a mature stage in our nation, it can satisfy the entire market of garment exporters while maintaining product quality and global standards following demand from foreign buyers.
Color City Limited’s “Eco Threads and Yarns” production unit has joined the industry at a time when environment and sustainability are being taken very seriously in the global RMG industry. Our “Eco Threads and Yarns” was born from our commitment and responsibility towards the environment and sustainability. Within 5 years of our inception, our capabilities, expertise, dedication, and actions towards our sustainability have established us as the preferred supplier of the world’s established apparel brands like M&S, Puma, G-Star, C&A, GEORGE, H&M, Perry Ellis, Bestseller, Uniqlo and many more. Since its beginning, we have been manufacturing sustainable products like Recycled Polyester, Organic cotton, and Biodegradable sewing threads and supplying a significant portion of the demand for sustainable products to the world’s leading apparel brands. Because of our excellent technical support, Eco Threads & Yarns is now recognized by the top apparel brands in the world and functions as both a product supplier and a solution provider to the RMG industry.
Our daily production of sewing thread is an average of 15 MT (150,000–180,000 cones) per day, and by 2024–2025, we plan to double the capacity. We faced the challenges posed by epidemics like COVID-19 shortly after the opening of our plant in 2017. As a result of overcoming those challenges, we contributed USD 22+ million in revenue in 2022 and anticipate crossing USD 28-30 million by 2023–2024.
Textile Focus: Bangladesh RMG makers set a target of 100 bn export by 2030; how do you evaluate this?
Shakhawat Hossain: As I mentioned earlier, despite a situation like COVID-19, our apparel industry has come a long way over the past three decades and is still expanding. Under the leadership of BGMEA, our apparel industry is exploring new markets outside traditional markets, working on product diversification, and moving high-value products beyond conventional products. There has been much infrastructural development in our country, and our government is actively supporting this sector of the economy. Over the period, our industry has grown in efficiency, industry owners have invested in new technologies, and most notably, Bangladesh has the world’s largest number of green factories that connect the current sustainable context. Also, considering the global trade situation, geopolitical issues, sourcing diversification plan from China, and Bangladesh’s overall strategic position in the global market for this RMG industry, the target of USD 100 billion is very sensible, and it will be achievable.
However, to achieve this goal, our policymakers must consider some crucial factors, including political stability, gas prices, energy costs, policy support, and determining a reasonable wage for workers in this industry.
Textile Focus: How do Eco threads & yarns maintain sustainability?
Shakhawat Hossain: Eco Threads & Yarns emerged in the sewing thread industry with the slogan, “With the promise of a sustainable tomorrow.” It clearly defines our vision and commitment to sustainability. Eco Threads and Yarns’ constant commitment to sustainability and the environment is confirmed by ongoing efforts to decrease carbon footprint, minimize waste, and save energy. By strictly adhering to six key principles, including water efficiency, energy, power conservation, carbon footprint reduction, environmental protection, sustainable product development, people and social responsibility, we can keep up this sustainable manufacturing activity. We have added an exhaust gas boiler, heat exchanger, economizer, and other integrated facilities to reduce our carbon footprint. We are maintaining one of the most significant biological ETPs in the country to support our sustainable manufacturing process. We reduced water use by implementing a rainwater harvesting plant, maintaining the lowest liquor ratio (1:5) using German dyeing machines, setting up an auto-dispensing facility, and other robotic integrated technologies. We have steam meters connected to a continuous monitoring system to prevent energy waste. Translucent sheets in the ceiling, glass windows, photovoltaic solar panels, variable frequency drives (VFD), and LED lighting facilitated us saving energy. Our auto-dispensing system prevents human body contamination and overuse of chemicals and enhances ecological safety. Our rainwater harvesting plant helps to take care of the underground water level and ensure social responsibility by reducing water usage.
Moreover, our product lineup has a versatile, sustainable product range, including recycled polyester, organic cotton, and biodegradable sewing threads.
Textile Focus: How do you see the Bangladesh market, and what challenges are you facing?
Shakhawat Hossain: Leading international economic institutions, including the World Bank and International Monetary Fund (IMF), have unanimously forecast a weak global economy in the new year amid rising inflation, rising energy costs, and cuts to global supply networks. Moreover, I believe 2023–2024 will be a good year for Bangladesh’s manufactured textile and apparel sector, despite some uncertainties like war and recession. There seems to be a change in the global supply chain. In the context of our sewing thread business, which is entirely dependent on our RMG industry, I can say for the time being that our RMG industry is working toward the target of $100 billion in exports by 2030 by thoroughly evaluating every aspect. I believe our sewing thread industry will also move forward accordingly.
There have been reports of buyers from Western nations, particularly the US, beginning to migrate their orders from China to minimize their reliance on Beijing for geopolitical reasons. Furthermore, I believe that Bangladesh will have a distinct advantage over other countries and will be at the top of the list of world consumers because of the adjustments, improvements, investments, technological advancement, and efficiency development in our RMG industry over the past three decades, and above all, Bangladesh’s strategic position in this industry.
However, among the many possibilities, some challenges are there. The biggest challenge in our industry right now is the need for a robust backward linkage. Our supply chain still faces numerous obstacles, and we rely heavily on external sources for raw materials. This prevents us as investors from fully capitalizing on any growth our sector may be experiencing.
Textile Focus: What is the future plan for Eco threads & yarns in Bangladesh?
Shakhawat Hossain: Our main objective is to provide our customers with the right product at the right time while maintaining international quality standards. A further significant aim is to position ourselves in the market as a solution provider rather than just a product supplier because the RMG and textile industries operate through a complicated process where new things must be introduced every day.
For our projects, we bring a group of qualified experts, the best European equipment, and advanced robotic technology. We are constantly working on innovative products using our expert R&D team. Besides recycled polyester, we have introduced our RMG manufacturers and global apparel brands to incredible products like corded cotton, organic cotton, denim specialty products, lyocell, supersoft polyester, and biodegradable products. Through our world-class products and technological excellence, we have expanded our products and services not only in the apparel industry but also in the footwear industry of Bangladesh. As you know, we are already working on setting up our project in Vietnam. In the future, we are determined to use our talent and technical expertise to establish Eco Threads & Yarns, a multinational brand in Bangladesh.
