GHCL is steadily increasing its presence in the home textile segment. Instead of operating in the commodity space, GHCL is offering innovative and sustainable solutions which have been very well received in the global market. Talking about the company’s presence in the home textile segment and its participating at Heimtextil 2019 at Frankfurt, Mr. Manu Kapur, President and CEO of GHCL Home Textile, said : 2018 was a good year for us at GHCL’s Home Textile Division. We very firmly laid out our 4 Pillar Strategy – Sustainability, Traceability, Innovation and Giving Back to Society. The highlight for us was that we consistently demonstrated our passion on caring for the environment, thru the successful launch of two major brands REKOOP and CIRKULARITY.
GHCL currently offers bleached, dyed and printed Bed Sheets made of cotton and blended fibers to the global market. The company’s operations are completely integrated, right from spinning to weaving, processing and cut & sew. The company has established good presence in key global markets including US, Canada, UK, Europe, Australia and successfully forayed into Japan this year. Currently GHCL has established an annual capacity of 25,000 tonnes for spinning, 15 million meters for weaving and 45 million meters for processing. The company can cut and sew 7.2 million sheet sets annually.
Success of REKOOP
In March 2018, GHCL had launched REKOOP, a unique bedding concept that blends cotton with recycled polyester, made using post consumer PET bottles. The recycled polyester is then forensically tagged thru the CertainT platform of Applied DNA Sciences in New York, that establishes its provenance and tracks it all through the supply chain. Recycling PET bottles results in a tremendous reduction of landfill space, crude oil consumption and carbon emissions.
“The interest in REKOOP, a concept that resonates very well with the millennial customer since it is both, sustainable and forensically traceable, has been overwhelming. We are in discussions with major retailers for the placement of REKOOP on a global scale. This March will see the launch of REKOOP on Amazon in the United States”, says Mr. Manu Kapur.
CIRKULARITY
In September 2018, GHCL launched “CIRKULARITY”, a range of bedding that supports the Circular Economy and centers on ‘Reduce, Reuse and Recycle’, reinforcing its passion towards sustainability, traceability, innovation and giving back to society.
Mr. Manu Kapur says, “We were keen to take our passion for sustainability to the next level and worked on launching a brand with multiple collections that support the Circular Economy and center around ‘Reuse, Reduce and Recycle’. The response to Cirkularity has been overwhelming. Customers the world over have shown tremendous interest in the collections that form part of CIRKULARITY. Our plan for CIRKULARITY for the near term is to focus on markets that have a mature customer base that is sensitised to and willing to support the pressing need of curtailing environmental degradation – markets such as the US, Canada, Europe and Australia. We plan on launching some collections within CIRKULARITY in India online in 2020”.
Heimtextil 2019
At the Heimtextil 2019 in Frankfurt, GHCL is launching a very exciting new collection under CIRKULARITY called The Sativa Collection, which is a 70% BCI Cotton, 30% Hemp solution. Hemp, a natural plant fiber, is known for its extreme strength and durability. It is a truly sustainable fiber, which returns 60-70-% of the nutrients it takes from the soil. Its cultivation requires very little water, especially when compared with cotton.
Two other new collections that we the company would be showcasing during the Heimtextil are : The Aurum Collection – a sustainable luxury Percale collection with 100% Supima Cotton and The Platino Collection – a sustainable opulence Sateen collection with 100% Supima Better Cotton
Outlook for 2019
Mr. Manu Kapur says : “Our endeavor to consistently work on offering unique, innovative products that center around sustainability and the Circular Economy, gives us a competitive edge and makes us interesting in the eyes of customers the world over. We are keenly looking forward to the launch of our new brand, centering around Health and Wellness, in March 2019 during the New York Home Fashions Market Week. Our expectation is that this brand alongwith our leadership position in sustainability will propel us into a clear trajectory of growth”
“In my opinion, the trends that are going to drive the Home Textiles business in 2019 and beyond are Sustainability and Traceability. Customers today, are very conscious about their responsibility towards the planet and according to a recent study, 66% of global millennials are willing to spend more on brands that are sustainable. Clearly, sustainability is where brands will compete for the millennial spend. Morever, there is no sustainability without traceability. Provenance and supply chain traceability of raw materials is of paramount importance for retailers and brands to stand behind their claims of sustainability”, he added.