Karachi-based Rajby Textiles has become the first company in world to achieve the Cradle to Cradle (C2C) Platinum Standard for a product. Its Beluga denim fabrics have gained sustainability score in all five categories covered by the C2C standard, which is famed for being the toughest and most thorough assessment possible to put a product through.
Beluga denim fabric is based on 100 percent GOTS certified organic cotton and employs no hazardous chemicals in its production. At the same time, it is both recyclable and biodegradable, with 100 percent of the energy used in its production offset by green energy and involving a closed loop system with no wastewater generated and no material wastage.
The C2C Certified Product Standard guides designers and manufacturers through a continual improvement process to achieve a circular economy approach. The five quality categories on which products are graded are material health, material reutilisation, renewable energy and carbon management, water stewardship, and social fairness.
A product receives an achievement level in each of these categories – Basic, Bronze, Silver, Gold or Platinum. The criteria at each level builds towards the expectation of eliminating all toxic and unidentified chemicals, and the products breaking back down to nutrients after use to establish a safe, continuous cycle.
Rajby has already achieved Gold for its Greenmystery and Blue Magic denim fabrics and three other Monforts denim companies based in Pakistan have also achieved Gold to date – Artistic Fabric and Garment Industries for Earthmatics denims, Artistic Milliners for Dylan denim fabrics and Soorty, for both its Pure D and Smart Loop ranges.
To meet the active cycling requirement, Rajby has committed to using Beluga denim fabric exclusively in apparel products sold by retailers with take back programmes in place and estimated expected cycling rates for such products. Rajby collaborated with C&A, which led the research and quantification for this initial certification through its We Take it Back programme and will track active cycling rates through it.
With a 10,000-strong workforce, Karachi-headquartered Rajby Textiles has a monthly production of 3.2 million metres of denim and 1.3 million finished garments and sustainability is at the top of its agenda.
“When we started working for C2C Gold certification it wasn’t easy, because the requirements are very tough,” said Safdar Shah, who led the C2C project team at Rajby. “We worked very hard to create a completely green supply chain and we also modified our machines and processes to meet the standard, going beyond what was required and creating a 100 percent closed loop process, including zero waste water discharge dyeing and zero waste water discharge finishing.”
Shah added, “As a result, we have reduced the load of our biological ETP water effluent plant by approximately 99 percent, since we are not discharging a single drop of water in the entire process. The fabrics are named after the Beluga whale and dedicated to preserving ocean life.”
