How a Tiruppur apparel unit became a model for net-zero industrial design

When U.S. President Donald Trump announced a 50% tariff connected Indian textile exports connected August 27, 2025, Tiruppur — India’s knitwear nervus centre — was momentarily stunned. However, the disruption besides pushed galore successful the manufacture to rethink resilience, innovation, and the precise foundations of however they operate.

One striking illustration stands close successful the bosom of Tiruppur. A dynamic solid facade that plays connected optical illusion turns heads for its minimal yet striking plan arsenic 1 enters the garment manufacturing installation of SAGS Apparels successful Tiruppur.

On a built-up country of 52,900 sq.ft., with one-third of the onshore devoted to landscaping, this concern gathering buzzing with implicit 400 unit has earmarked spaces for greenery, and boasts naturally-lit workspaces, and energy-efficient air-cooling systems that guarantee comfortableness adjacent successful highest summers.

“How to trim biology footprint astatine each measurement was the archetypal question that popped up,” says designer Arun Prasad Prakashan of Coimbatore-based Arun & Associates. His gathering plan for SAGS Apparels, called Samya, Sanskrit connection for balance, harmony, and proportion, marks a paradigm displacement successful concern architecture. While it was designed to conscionable LEED Platinum standards successful sustainability (the highest level of greenish gathering standing awarded by the U.S. Green Building Council), including net-zero successful vigor and h2o usage, comfortableness and wellness of the occupants person besides been prioritised.

Smart facade controls

“All the solid windows astatine the bureau unfastened to canopied trees successful the courtyard oregon the garden, bringing successful a consciousness of calm. There is nary air-conditioning. We person adopted an evaporative cooling strategy that keeps the mill six degrees cooler than outside,” explains Prakashan, adding that the astute facade controls vigor and airy flow. Right from the predisposition stage, the squad focused connected plan that helps chopped down vigor and vigor usage wherever possible. For example, the extortion uses Tata Borescope sheets with a precocious Solar Reflectance Index (SRI) to minimise temperature.

“We wanted our garments, beryllium it the T-shirts, hoodies oregon jackets, to person ‘life’ and basal for thing meaningful,” says Ganesh Anantharaman, managing spouse and CEO of SAGS Apparels. 

“We nutrient sustainable garments with 100% integrated and just commercialized cotton. We started retired with conscionable 30 people. Today, we person employed 450 radical and export to premium clients crossed Germany, from Bundesliga shot clubs to state stations and automotive brands similar Mercedes-Benz. We won the German Sustainable Award successful 2020 for our achievements. We wanted our gathering to beryllium iconic, dynamic and an inspiration for different MSMEs successful the portion to execute precocious standards successful sustainability,” Anantharaman explains.

The mill is solar-powered with a 250-KW star photovoltaic (PV) system, which is 35% much than its existent vigor requirement. Rainwater is harvested successful a 5-lakh litre underground tank, and the retention is utilized to conscionable the h2o requirements for 3 months. The remainder of the stormwater is diverted into an intelligent borewell recharge system.

“Our nonsubjective from time 1 has been to chopped down c emissions. Our garment manufacturing installation has achieved nett zero successful energy, water, waste, and carbon. The magnitude of vigor consumed is adjacent to the magnitude of renewable vigor created on-site from renewable sources, the star panels. Same with water,” says Anantha- raman.

He added that they minimise h2o usage portion tapping into alternate sources similar rainwater oregon treated wastewater to conscionable requirements. 

According to Prabhavathi Paramedian, elder spouse astatine Chennai-based Conserve Consultants Private Limited, the sustainability consultants for the project, documenting c footprint simplification successful greenish buildings involves meticulous tracking astatine each signifier of the construction. “From the materials chosen and the vigor consumed during gathering to however the operation operates implicit time, everything counts. It’s each portion of a larger extremity of fostering sustainability, and it ensures that the task stays existent to its c simplification objectives,” she adds.

Minimal sound pollution

The task followed greenish standards astatine each signifier of operation and took implicit a twelvemonth to complete. “We had to travel the greenish discipline. We excavated the affluent topsoil and stockpiled it successful a designated country on-site. Then, we dispersed it implicit again aft the operation for landscaping. We cannot nonstop debris and discarded successful immoderate signifier to the landfill. 

We besides ensured that the sound contamination was minimal during the construction,” says Prakashan.

However, procuring materials wrong a radius of 300 km was challenging. All the products, from paints and solid to aluminium and furniture, are greenish certified. The roofs besides diagnostic aluminium cladding integrated with glazing to modulate heat. “We person utilized a batch of pre-engineered alloy structures. And, show solid that lets successful airy but blocks heat. We minimised eastbound and westbound openings to artifact harsh sunlight. Each zone, from proscription to packaging, is cautiously planned to enactment creaseless operations and communication,” explains Prakashan. While landscaping uses native, drought-tolerant taxon to trim h2o needs, the bureau furnishings was chosen from brands similar Steelcase, which predominantly uses recycled materials and sustainable innovations.

Prakashan points retired that sustainability is the mode guardant for Indian companies. “Statistics accidental that California unsocial consumes vigor which is adjacent to our full country’s consumption. There won’t beryllium capable resources near successful the satellite unless we marque judicious choices. Manufacturing units utilizing cleanable vigor pull planetary buyers successful a large way. Soon, buildings volition person to comply with mandatory greenish vigor codes to support vigor depletion successful check.”

Anantharaman adds that with stringent European Union norms, including a imaginable ‘carbon tax’, sustainable operations go inevitable. “An effectual usage of the Internet of Things (IoT) besides helps. For the landscape, we person an automated irrigation strategy with astute sensors. We person employed a ‘sustainable executive’ whose occupation is to support way of h2o and vigor usage successful each block. Being an environmentally affable cognition gives america an edge. We person shown that adjacent arsenic an MSME, it is imaginable to physique a mill that’s genuinely future-ready. Many exporters successful the portion are rethinking their approach. It is astir doing what is close — for the radical who enactment with america and the planet.”