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'Let's work together and regain the lost glory of Indian textiles' – Varun Jiwrajka

12 Sep '11

10 min read

Varun does not credit himself for any achievement, but gives the whole credit to all the team members in the organisation. He shares an example of his idea of starting an activewear line. His team members went one step ahead, and tied up for the Brett Lee activewear collection.

The biggest challenge Varun foresees is attracting the right talent to the textile sector. He is of the opinion that the textile sector needs to change the perception of the industry in the minds of the youngsters in general, so that they may join textile degree courses and thereafter good textile companies.

He is also aware of the fact that textile companies are not a fancy for investors at the stock markets. The main reason according to him is the capital intensive and debt-heavy nature of the business, despite the industry chalking out healthy earnings and net profits. He believes, however that this should change soon, considering the bright prospects ahead for the industry.

When asked about corporate social responsibility (CSR) initiatives undertaken by Alok, Varun replies, “Alok is in the forefront of promoting use of organic cotton in its products. Our plant is located in a tribal belt, with most of the people residing there, hailing from economically disadvantaged families. We have provided the tribal women the requisite training in our plants and given them gainful employment.

“We have installed a polyester waste recycler in our polyester plant. Alongside we also have a plastic recycling plant, which recycles all the plastic waste generated in the plant. Air pollution is minimum due to installation of a Selective Catalytic Reduction (SCR) system. For a few plants we have even shifted to use of gas instead of furnace oil.

“Water conservation and recycling is a major feature of Alok's commitment to sustain and renew scarce resources. We have adapted the latest technology in effluent treatment plants and have also been using only eco-friendly dyes in our fabric processing activities. We have also started a School under the CBSE curriculum near our plant. Apart from the above, we are involved with local communities in upgrading infrastructure facilities around our plants”.

His mantra for success. “Generate passion in whatever you do. If you really want to be successful, you need to have your heart and the head in the same place. So in a nutshell – Love what you do”.

His parting words to other second or third generation textile leaders - “Let's all get together and bring back the glory of the heydays when India was a textile superpower. Make the industry exciting and interesting and thereby attract the right talent. When new and young people will come into the sector, it will automatically bring a change and push the textile industry forward”.

Varun firmly believes that the growth of the software industry and the resultant boom of the sector in India in the previous two decades is the kind of stimulus the Indian textile industry needs, to attract the right talent.

Fibre2fashion News Desk - India

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