ECHOTEX

PLANET PEOPLE PRODUCT

Seeing this factory was an insane eye opening experience; witnessing full sewing rooms, large printing machines, embroidery rooms and over 8000 people gathering for lunch. 

We had the pleasure of meeting and chatting with founder Mohammed Quasem. Guiding us through this monumental and impressive facility, this proud man was eager to share the many positives this business brings. 

Although this factory does supply for fast fashion giants, who arguably are filling the world with more 'crap' they are truely doing the best they can with the cards they have been dealt with, considering their impact on each aspect of operation and continually growing and planning for the future. 

It was positive to see that over 8000 local people now have steady income, safe working conditions and most importantly an opportunity to help provide for they families. 

producing for 

• H&M

• Primark

• inditex

• Sainsburys

• Tesco

• Debenhams

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PLANET

• effluent treatment plant (ETP), treating 100% of wastewater to a standard far above the minimal requirements.  

• less water used in dyeing

  • With only 45,000-50,000 litres of water used per tonne of fabric, this factory is more than four times efficient than the average dyeing plant in Bangladesh.

• rain water harvesting 

• LED sewing machines

• All sewing machines are controlled by servo drive that protects motor life and conserves electricity use by 60%.

Through such pioneering practices, Echotex is saving 19,577,964 KWh of energy per year and reducing CO2 green house gas emissions by 4,191 tons per year.

 AIMING FOR

• zero discharge ETP

• solar energy

• sludge to fertiliser - Sludge is a solid secondary waste produced after treating dyehouse wastewater using a common ETP.

• air con from waste heat

PEOPLE

• savings

  • Over 65% of our employees are part of a provident fund scheme. They contribute 8% of their basic salary to this fund each year and Echotex match this contribution.

• account

  • Every worker is given a BRAC bank account when they come to Echotex, free of charge. In addition we arrange personal loans and deposit schemes through the bank.

• Wages are raised by 10% after the first year following good performance and to compensate for inflation.

• time off

  • All workers have the right to 10 days casual leave each year and can earn up to 18 additional days off. 14 days of paid annual sick leave is also awarded.

• FREE LUNCH

  • The founder states that brands had been asking about living wages and proving lunches prior to the implementation of the program. 

  • He highlights that if you raised their wage to allow for lunch costs they will most likely spend on families not themselves. 

• on site GP

• paternity leave

  • first factory in Bangladesh to introduce paternity leave (1 week paid) alongside our ongoing maternity leave (16 weeks paid) commitment.

• Free sanitary products are provided for all female workers.

• creche

• professional development

• 5600 taka/month lowest wage ($3.10AUD/day) (Bangladesh min wage)

PRODUCT 

• Total Investment: Over US $70m

• Annual Turnover: US $100m

• Garment Output: 36m per year

• Investment by 2017: US $200m

• approx 3.4 million pieces a month

Knitting

• 58 circular knitting machines with a capacity to make 20 tons of fabric/day.

• Single Jersey, Rib, Interlock, Fleece, Loop Back, Custom Rib, Pique, Stripes, Twill Tape and Flat Knitting for polo shirts’ tricot rib.

Dyeing

• Capable of double rope dyeing in case of low GSM. Also able to dye regenerated cellulosic derivatives Viscose, Modal, Tencel and its blends.

•  Two modern equipped laboratories’ one for dispensing & dipping another one for running products & finished products quality based testing lab that are already accredited by Debenhams and H&M.

Sewing 

• Echotex have the capacity to produce over 3.5M units/month.Also have an automated Italian cutter and spreader to support 150,000 units/day.

• In the process of adding warp knitting, outerwear and denim production as our new project with an investment of $100m

Printing 

• screen, sublimation and digital printing facilities, for both placement and all over prints. specialised placement print including CMYK, discharge, flock, foil, pigment, plastisol, heat transfer, crack, metallic, high build, glow in the dark, heat and light sensitive prints. PVC, Phthalate and Azo free inks.