Alpine becomes first apparel maker to undertake Future-Fit benchmark

Announced on the occasion of Alpine Group’s 40th anniversary, the adoption of the benchmark marks a step forward in driving progress for an industry where consumers, investors, and employees alike are demanding more accountability, especially from brands.

“In the early years when I was visiting textile and dyeing mills, I had seen with my own eyes the damage the industry was doing, and no one seemed to care about sustainability then. Fixing that broken system requires collective effort,” said Ashok Mahtani, co-founder and chairman of Alpine Group.

“At Alpine, we have spent the past 40 years researching and pioneering sustainable breakthroughs in materials science and manufacturing technology. Adopting the Future-Fit Business Benchmark now is our way of accelerating change by 2 bringing the rest of the industry – brands and partners alike – on this journey with us. We do it so that our innovation and manufacturing can positively impact the entire value chain,” he further added.

In line with the Future-Fit Business Benchmark, Alpine is pursuing a comprehensive sustainability strategy dubbed ‘Threading the Future’ that will address three holistic areas of impact, namely materials and innovation; people development and empowerment; as well as environmental impact and community action.

The company’s announcement follows the recent launch of its 'Factory of the Future' as part of Alex Apparels' state-of-the-art manufacturing facilities in Egypt. Set to open in late 2022, the factory is expected to provide an additional 2,000+ jobs for the local community. The company is in the process of securing LEED Gold certification for the facility, a voluntary environmental certification system to recognise the sustainability attributes of design, construction, operation and maintenance of buildings.

Commenting on the significance of Alpine's announcement for the industry at large, Geoff Kendall, co-founder and CEO of Future-Fit Foundation, said: "The transition to true sustainability is going to be long and hard for any business — and like any journey, you don't get very far unless you know exactly where you're going. The Future-Fit Business Benchmark defines the destination all companies need to aim for and offers guidance to steer toward it. Unfortunately, many businesses still find the idea of real transformation daunting, so settle for incremental improvement to the unsustainable status quo. That widespread lack of ambition only serves to underline the importance of Alpine's commitment to Future-Fit. It's a milestone development that stands to pave the way for the fashion industry as a whole. Hopefully other organisations will follow Alpine's lead — to play their part in building a better world."

Fibre2Fashion News Desk (HO)