Innovation should bring not only skills and jobs but also increased incomes to people, said Peter McAllister, Executive Director of Ethical Trading Initiative, in Tiruppur on Thursday.
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Inaugurating the three-day Indian Knit Fair Golden Jubilee edition, Mr. McAllister said the industry’s deep roots in the region, its pride and history, and creativity and innovation were all to the advantage of the garment manufacturers. It was outward looking and customer focused and was already investing in measures such as renewable energy and effluent treatment that its customers and buyers wanted. On the social side, the role of the industry was important as it contributed to jobs, skill development, and local economy. Bringing all these together with a comprehensive vision was essential to sustain the growth. India had a natural advantage in Artificial Intelligence, one of the themes of the exhibition, because of the availability of young engineers. The skills and innovation should also maximise opportunities and increase incomes for the people, he said.
A. Sakthivel, chairman of the India Knit Fair Association, said the focus of the event this year was on active wear, sustainability, artificial intelligence, ESG, and digitisation. Products made of waste cotton, recycled fabric, PET bottle recycled fibre, etc were on display.
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Later, Mr. McAllister participated in the relaunch of Tirupur Stakeholders Forum.
The forum would include Tiruppur Exporters’ Association, Brands, NGOs, Trade Unions, Ethical Trading Initiative, Labour Department and Department of Industrial Safety and Health, Government of Tamil Nadu and UN Women Wing. It aimed to address issues related to labour and to ensure growth of the exports.
T. Christuraj, District Collector, Tiruppur, said bringing together all the stakeholders would be highly beneficial for the growth of Tiruppur.